The Healer

It's two days before Christmas and Helsinki is battling ruthless climate catastrophe: subway tunnels are flooded; abandoned vehicles are burning in the streets; the authorities have issued warnings of malaria, tuberculosis, Ebola and the plague. People are fleeing to the far north where conditions are still tolerable. Social order is crumbling and private security firms have undermined the police force. Tapani Lehtinen, a struggling poet, is among the few still willing and able to live in the city. When Tapani's wife Johanna, a journalist, 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 politically motivated 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... The Healer is set in desperate times, forcing Tapani to take desperate measures in order to find his beloved. Atmospheric and moving, The Healer is a story of survival, loyalty and determination. Even when the world is coming to an end, love and hope endure. Breathtakingly tense, with the taste of blood on every page. It is impossible to stop reading until you reach the end... - Turun Sanomat (Finland) 'Tuomainen truly succeeds in conveying the glistening streets and the neon-lit, rain-saturated, decaying urban environment. - Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)