Helena Halme - The Red King of Helsinki - Lies, Spies and Gymnastics

‘You’re a good girl, Pia.’ Miss Joutila took hold of Pia’s hand and Pia saw how tears started running down her face.

‘It’s alright, Miss Joutila. He’s not coming back.’

Miss Joutila was silent for a long time. Her face was pale, apart from a couple of red patches on her cheeks and forehead. There was a deep gash on her jaw.

Heikki and Anni said, almost at the same time, ‘What do you mean?’

Pia looked over to the door and got up to shut it.

‘Kovtun has gone. I saw him fall overboard on the ship before it sailed,’ she whispered when back at her seat by Miss Joutila’s bed.

Everybody stared at Pia.

‘He killed that poor woman…’ Miss Joutila started sobbing, ‘and it’s my fault.’

Pia thought how brave Miss Joutila had been after all. Iain had told her she’d tried to save Pia when Kovtun had drugged her, only to be beaten up by the Russian herself. She was only saved by a passing car, which had disturbed Kovtun enough for him to leave Leena to die in the cold. It was a miracle she’d been able drag herself to the main road where the police had found her.

The door opened and the nurse came in. She went to wipe Miss Joutila’s eyes and face with a white cloth.

‘Now, now,’ she said and turned to give Pia a stern look, ‘this won’t do. You mustn’t upset your aunt so!’ Her severe dark eyes met each of them in turn. ‘I think you’d better go.’

Pia looked at Miss Joutila and said, ‘I’m really glad to see you, Leena.’

Miss Joutila tried to smile and squeezed Pia’s hand. Pia wanted to hug her, but was afraid the nurse would tell her off, or that she would hurt Miss Joutila.

‘Get better soon,’ Pia shouted from the door, ‘I need to practise my back flip!’ Pia heard a gurgling sound from the room as she closed it after her. What do you know, the gym teacher had a sense of humour too! She took hold of Anni’s arm and walked up to Heikki.

‘Rixi Bar?’ she said.

They sat in a corner table at the coffee place. Anni bought cinnamon buns. While Pia watched Heikki eat two in quick succession, Anni spoke in a low voice.

‘My Dad says the Soviet Embassy hasn’t said a word about Kovtun. Just that they’re making some routine staff changes.’

‘What does that mean?’ Heikki said with his mouth full of food.

‘They’re sending the current people to Siberia and replacing them with more reliable ones.’

‘Is that good or bad for Finland?’ Pia asked.

Anni shrugged her shoulders. ‘They’re all bad.’

Pia looked at her friend. She wanted to tell her how worried she’d been about her, but something stopped her. Perhaps Anni would always be alright and Pia should instead worry about herself. She was the only person who could make her own dreams come true. She smiled at Heikki who was reaching for the last of the cinnamon buns.

‘Hey, I think that’s mine,’ she said and leant over and kissed Heikki lightly on the mouth.

‘What was that for?’ Heikki said smiling.

‘Nothing.’ Pia linked arms with Anni and got up. ‘We’re going to be late for the Old Crow.’

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She’s just 14. He’s 21 and a grown man. Is she too young to fall in love?

Kaisa is the new girl in town – again. When a messy divorce forces Kaisa’s mother to move to a small flat in an island suburb of Helsinki, Kaisa isn’t looking forward to another new school. But in Lauttasaari she meets Vappu Noren, and begins to spend all her days in Vappu’s large, chaotic house, filled with her three unruly siblings and their friends. Kaisa doesn’t notice that she is being quietly observed by the friend of Vappu’s brother, a much older, serious boy, called Matti.

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The Young Heart (Prequel)

The English Heart (Book 1)

The Faithful Heart (Book 2)

The Good Heart (Book 3)

The True Heart (Book 4)

Coffee and Vodka: A Nordic family drama

The Red King in Helsinki: Lies, Spies and Gymnastics

Helena Halme grew up in Tampere, central Finland, and moved to the UK via Stockholm and Helsinki at the age of 22. She is a former BBC journalist and has also worked as a magazine editor, a bookseller and, until recently, ran a Finnish/British cultural association in London.

Since gaining an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, Helena has published seven novels and is working on the next book in The Englishman series.

Helena lives in North London with her ex-Navy husband and an old stubborn terrier, called Jerry. She loves Nordic Noir and sings along to Abba songs when no one is around.

You can read Helena’s blog at www.helenahalme.com, where you can also sign up for her Readers’ Group.

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I am in greatest debt to my family, particularly to David, but also to Markus and Monika. If it hadn’t been for their patience and encouragement, I’d be no kind of writer at all. Thanks must also go to Sadie Walters, Pauline Masurel and Robin Pridy, for reading many early drafts of this novel. I am also grateful for my editor Dorothy Stannard for her impeccable eye for detail.

Copyright © 2017 by Helena Halme

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

e-ISBN: 978-0-9573711-5-6

Paperback ISBN 978-0-9957495-5-9

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