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The Healer
The Healer
Apr 21, 2025 12:54 PM

Author:Antti Tuomainen,Lola Rogers

The Healer

It's two days before Christmas and Helsinki is battling ruthless climate catastrophe: subway tunnels are flooded; the streets are full of abandoned vehicles; the social order is crumbling and private security firms have undermined the police force. Tapani Lehtinen, a struggling poet, is among the few still willing to live in the city.

When Tapani's journalist wife Johanna goes missing, he embarks on a frantic hunt for her. Johanna's disappearance seems to be connected to a story she was researching about a serial killer known as 'The Healer'. Determined to find Johanna, Tapani's search leads him to uncover secrets from her past: secrets that connect her to the very murders she was investigating...

Reviews

Tersely written, full of twists and sudden violence, this is nothing less than the birth of a new genre: dystopian detection

—— Sunday Telegraph

Thrillingly atmospheric

—— Liz Jensen

This chilling novel compels…clever, atmospheric and wonderfully imaginative

—— Sunday Mirror

Tuomainen's book is set in the near future, but nothing here is less than frighteningly plausible...a compelling crime story

—— Barry Forshaw , Independent

I implore you to read one more Scandinavian thriller. Antti Tuomainen's The Healer is a mix between Stieg Larsson and an introduction to Cormac McCarthy's The Road

—— Patrick Neale , Booksellers' Choice

The murders and their culprit take a backseat in this fraught thriller as Tuomainen conjures up in spare, softly poetic prose the collapse of social order and human decency in the face of environmental havoc

—— Metro

The ability to use all the tricks of crime fiction and all the tools of poetry makes Tuomainen's work unique, and that combination makes the reader fall in love with his style. You cannot but value things around you more after reading The Healer

—— Sofi Oksanen, author of Purge

Tuomainen's sparse and precise style and rapid dialogue place him in the best noir tradition. The intensity of both the plot and narration enhances the harsh realism of his language

—— The Clue Award for 'Best Finnish Crime Novel 2011'

Impressive...the clever plot illuminates the social issues and personal despair that often accompany immigration to cities already suffering financial stress

—— Marcel Berlins , The Times

An absorbing, provocative tale… This is an exceptional debut

—— Irish Times

A stunning debut... The subject matter is fascinating, the execution of it is a joy to read

—— James Oswald, author of Natural Causes, the winner of the Richard and Judy 2013 Summer Book Club

Eva Dolan’s debut novel in the increasingly crowded world of crime fiction deserves a little stand-out time… A highly effective and meaty crime novel…complete with twists and turns that genuinely take you by surprise

—— Glasgow Sunday Herald

Long Way Home is one of the strongest debut novels I've read in a long time. Beautifully written and imagined, Dolan renders a previously hidden world alive with compelling detail. Original and gripping, compassionate and salutary, you won't want to stop reading until the final page

—— Stav Sherez, author of A Dark Redemption

A brilliant introduction to a new crime series… The plot is tight, the anger righteous and the action thrilling

—— Paul Connolly , Metro

An absorbing debut detective series. The burnt body of a migrant worker is found and it's up to DI Zigic and DS Ferreira to find out the truth. We loved it – keep an eye out for this author!

—— Essentials

Cool, confident and classy, Eva Dolan's LONG WAY HOME is a stand out debut that combines intelligent, issue-led crime fiction with a vivid prose style, a compelling plot and a detective duo to root for. Dolan provides a fresh and fascinating insight into a little-known aspect of Modern Britain, and I can't wait to read more of DI Zigic and DS Ferreira in future books

—— Chris Ewan

Long Way Home is a truly exceptional debut crime novel, a perceptive, smart and harrowing look at modern England. Written with great skill, confidence and originality, it feels like a game-changer for twenty-first century British crime fiction

—— Doug Johnstone, author of Smokeheads and Hit and Run

Long Way Home gave me that tingle of excitement that only happens rarely, the feeling I got when I first read George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane - the combination of brilliant writing, a thrilling plot and social heart. I genuinely think it's one of the best debuts I've ever read

—— Mark Edwards

Eva Dolan is the real deal. Plenty of contemporary British crime writers claim to write about the real world but in Dolan's brave, brilliant debut she nails it completely. The Daily Mail will hate it. I loved it.

—— Martyn Waites

A pacy, twisty, compelling and addictive crime thriller - but it's so much more besides. For me, the best experiences in literature are those that take you somewhere you don't know; to people and places you have never encountered. I was hoping for a rattling good page-turner. I wasn't expecting anything quite so profound

—— Kevin Sampson

Eva Dolan’s stunning novel is a gritty and unflinching look into a seedy, violent world that most of us would rather pretend never existed. In DI Zigic and DS Fereira, Dolan has created two authentic and intriguing characters

—— Howard Linskey, author of The Drop and The Damage

Crisp and intelligent writing, strong characters, a great mystery and an engaging style. From the first page, I knew I was in safe hands

—— Dan Smith, author of The Child Thief and Red Winter

An assured and compelling debut that brings multi-cultural Britain vividly to life. I feel I know Zigic and Ferreira, the protagonists of this terrific novel, and look forward to their next outing. I hope I don’t have to wait too long

—— Craig Roberston, author of Random and Witness the Dead

A novel set in Peterborough might not be the most tempting of premises, but this is worth your time detective duo Zigic and Ferreira, Dolan has created two engaging characters. The first of a series, this is a promising debut that pulls no punches

—— Shortlist

With such compelling characters, Dolan breathes new life into the police procedural novel and marks herself out as an exciting writer to watch

—— UK Press Syndication

Dolan's a terrific new talent, and I can't wait to be kept awake by her next novel

—— Kate Saunders , Saga

A great read, a real page turner and a very satisfactory ending

—— Jeremy Ransome , Spalding Guardian

An impressive series debut, and the next book will be eagerly awaited

—— Good Book Guide

Raw and real start to a new series

—— Sarah Hilary , Red Online

What could be standard police procedural stands out for its excellent character work and the timely way it deals with hot-button political topics dominating the headlines

—— Herald

The plot is tight, the anger righteous but not worthy, and the action thrilling. Happily she has a new novel out next year

—— Metro

Gripping…Excellent book.

—— Dorothy Flaxman , Nudge

A fine, literary thriller; cold, at times almost nauseatingly disturbing

—— Alison Flood , Guardian

A fascinating, subtle, really original modern Gothic thriller

—— Rebecca Chance , Daily Record
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