Reijo Juhani Mäki (born 12 October 1958 in

Siikainen Siikainen ( sv, Siikais) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the former province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in Satakunta in t ...

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...

) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

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, ...

. Mäki published his first novel ''Enkelipölyä'' in 1985. His most well-known character is

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Jussi Vares who was first introduced in the novel ''Moukanpeli'' released in 1986. A total of 25 novels about Jussi Vares have been published to date (in addition to his other non-Vares books). All novels take place in the portuary city of

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, and in its grim granite jail, Kakola prison (maximum security prison, abandoned in 2007, see http://abandonedplaces.livejournal.com/2589107.html). Nine of the Vares novels have been made into feature films. The first two (2004–2007) feature Juha Veijonen as Jussi Vares. The next seven (2011–2015) feature Antti Reini; the first six of these (2011–2012) have been released on DVD in Region 1. Some films have been released in movie theaters in Finland and some

straight-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

. Mäki is one of the most influential modern Finnish authors. His most recent novel ''Cowboy'' was released in 2014 and is the final book in a trilogy (the other two are ''Sheriffi'' and ''Intiaani'').

Works

* ''Enkelipölyä'' (Angel Dust) (1985) * ''Liian kaunis tyttö'' (Too Beautiful Girl) (1993) * ''Rahan kääntöpiiri'' (Turning Tide of Money) (1994) * ''Kruunun vasikka'' (Snitch of the Crown) (1994) * ''Tatuoitu taivas'' (Tattooed Heaven) (1996) * ''Aito turkki'' (Real Fur) (2001) * ''Kaidan tien kulkijat'' (2001) * ''Tukholman keikka'' (Stockholm Case) (2002) * ''Pitkä lounas'' (Long Lunch) (2002) * ''Ehtookellot'' (Evening Bells) (2007) * ''Sahanpururevolveri'' (2013)

Jussi Vares series

* ''Moukanpeli'' (1986) * ''Satakieli lauloi yöllä'' (A Nightingale Was Singing In The Night) (1987) * ''Marraskuu on musta hauta'' (November Is a Black Grave) (1989) * ''Sukkanauhakäärme'' (Garter Snake) (1989) (Movie: Vares – Sukkanauhakäärme 2011) * ''Jäätynyt enkeli'' (Frozen Angel) (1990) (Movie: V2 – jäätynyt enkeli 2007 2 – Frozen Angel * ''Kuoleman kapellimestari'' (Dirigent of Death) (1991) * ''Kaidan tien kulkijat'' (1992) * ''Enkelit kanssasi'' (Angels With You) (1995) * ''Pimeyden tango'' (Tango of Darkness) (1997) * ''Pahan suudelma'' (Kiss of Evil) (1998) (Movie: Vares – Pahan Suudelma 2011) * ''Keltainen leski'' (Yellow Widow) (1999) (Movie: Vares – yksityisetsivä 2004) * ''Mullan maku'' (Taste of Dirt)(2000) * ''Kolmastoista yö'' (13th Night) (2001) * ''Black Jack'' (2003) * ''Jussi Vareksen drinkkiopas'' (Drinking Guide of Jussi Vares) (2003) * ''Huhtikuun tytöt'' (Girls of April) (2004) (Movie: Vares – Huhtikuun tytöt 2011) * ''Nuoruustango'' (Tango of Youth) (2005) * ''Hard Luck Cafe'' (2006) * ''Uhkapelimerkki'' (Gambling Chip) (2007) * ''Lännen mies'' (Man of the West) (2008) * ''Valkovenäläinen'' (Belarusian) (2009) * ''Kolmijalkainen mies'' (The Three-Legged Man) (2010) * ''Mustasiipi'' (Black Wing) (2011) * ''Sheriffi'' (The Sheriff) (2012) * ''Intiaani'' (The Indian) (2013) * ''Cowboy'' (2014) * ''Tulivuori'' (Volcano) (2015) * ''Hot Dog'' (2016) * ''Kakolan kalpea'' (2017) * ''Gekko'' (2018) * ''Tolvana'' (2019) * ''Soopeli'' (2020) * ''Sulhasmies'' (2021) * ''Hotel California'' (2022)

References

External links

1958 births Living people People from Siikainen Writers from Satakunta Finnish mystery writers Finnish crime writers Crime fiction writers {{Finland-writer-stub