What happens, when those who have tolerated and endured everything can’t take it anymore?
Author: Kari Hotakainen
Finnish original: Henkireikä
Publisher: Siltala, 2015
Genre: literary fiction
Number of pages: 200 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English sample
Rights sold: Denmark, Gyldendal; Hungary, Polar; Italy, Iperborea; Norway, Cappelen Damm
The solitary, unnamed Detective Superintendent sings in a choir to escape the crushing weight of his work. In the choir, however, are also the Verger and the Hairdresser. As they are spilling out their ordinary and extraordinary troubles to the Superintendent, he is unable to avoid becoming involved.
Everyday concerns, small things but also dark, secret deeds create anxiety, and soon the problems have grown into a desperate and tangled web. The result is a dizzying plunge into the anatomy of murder, and moreover into those decisive moments before an irrevocable deed is committed.
Lifeline gives a voice and a chance to act to those who usually are deprived of it. It is filled with raw emotions: fury, love and hate. All of it boils down to one question: can there be a return back to normal, if those who have always put others before themselves cross the line?
“When it comes to key ingredients, quality is prioritized over quantity. Kari Hotakainen requires just three people, a couple of strong motives, and one simple, yet suitably off-the wall situation, to build a quality novel.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
“This is a book of great epiphanies […] Hotakainen’s novel throws together love and hate, revenge and murderous feelings. The author does not paint above-mentioned characteristics as symptoms of illness, but rather as integral parts of the human psyche.”
– Aamulehti newspaper
Also available:
The Disciple (2022)
Story (2020)
The Word of God (2011)
The Human Part (2009)
Trench Road (2002)
About the author:
Kari Hotakainen