Matti Yrjänä Joensuu (31 October 1948, in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
– 4 December 2011, in
Valkeakoski
Valkeakoski (; lit. "white rapids") is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located south of Tampere, north of Hämeenlinna and north of Helsinki in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
wh ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
) was a
Finnish writer of
crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
. He has been awarded the State's Literature Prize (1982), ''Vuoden johtolanka'' prize (1985, 1994, 2004), and he has been nominated for two
Finlandias. He received the
Martin Beck Award The Martin Beck Award is an award given by the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy (''Svenska Deckarakademin'') for the best crime novel in translation. It is one of the most prestigious international crime-writing awards.
The Award is named after Martin ...
in 1987.
The protagonist of Joensuu's novels, the senior constable Timo Harjunpää, is a sympathetic character who is equally human about the criminals he encounters in his work as his family. Joensuu also describes the world of thought of his people. The surname Harjunpää writer borrowed from 1966 from a deceased constable Reino Harjunpää.
Joensuu's Harjunpää stories have also been adapted for Film &
TV. Joensuu's work has been translated into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Bulgarian
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* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
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* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
,
Dutch,
Italian,
Norwegian,
French
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* Something of, from, or related to France
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** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Swedish
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Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
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,
German
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** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
,
Slovak,
Danish
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* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
,
Hungarian,
Armenian
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* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
,
Russian and
Estonian
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* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
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See also ...
.
Timo Harjunpää novels
Joensuu has written several novels about the personal life and work of policeman Timo Harjunpää. He is a very credible and pleasant man, who treats the criminals as humanely as his own family, which consists of Timo, his wife Elisa and three children (Valpuri, Pipsa and Pauliina). Another major character is Harjunpää's police partner Onerva Nykänen.
List of Harjunpää novels
*Väkivallan virkamies (1976)
*Possu ja paavin panttivangit (1977)
*Harjunpää ja pyromaani (1978)
*Harjunpää ja kapteeni Karhu (1981)
*Harjunpää ja ahdistelija (1982)
*Harjunpää ja poliisin poika (1983) (Harjunpää and the Stone Murders, translated in English by Raili Taylor)
*Harjunpää ja heimolaiset (1984)
*Harjunpää ja rakkauden lait (1985)
*Harjunpää ja kiusantekijät (1986)
*Harjunpää ja rakkauden nälkä (1993) (To Steal Her Love, translated in English by David Hackston)
*Harjunpää ja pahan pappi (2003) (The Priest of Evil, translated in English by David Hackston)
*Harjunpää ja rautahuone (2010)
Harjunpää adaptations
References
1948 births
2011 deaths
Writers from Helsinki
Finnish crime writers
Finnish crime fiction writers
{{finland-writer-stub