A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he's dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him.

Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful roller-coaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists. With a nod to Fargo and the best elements of the Scandinavian noir tradition, The Man Who Died is a thriller brimming with the blackest comedy surrounding life and death, and love and betrayal, marking a stunning new departure for the king of Helsinki Noir.

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Product details

Listening Length	9 hours and 17 minutes
Author	Antti Tuomainen, David Hackston
Narrator	Kris Dyer
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	14 December 2017
Publisher	Audible Studios
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0785F69ZD
Best Sellers Rank	66,256 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 115 in Dark Humour Literature & Fiction 173 in Medical Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) 268 in Modern Detective Mysteries

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2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Humour and murder combined.

Reviewed in Australia on 26 February 2019

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This is a very well constructed murder-in-progress (poison) novel with great humour in spadefuls. The translator has obviously done a wonderful job and has been acknowledged by a Finnish State Award for his translations from Finnish to English. This quality writing shows that an author does not have to have the plot travelling along at speed. Time to enjoy the writing, the humour, the impending death. I have yet another author to add to my expanding list of further reads. Very highly recommended.

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Adwrighty

Dry, funny, entertaining, couldn’t stop reading.

Reviewed in Australia on 13 May 2020

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This was a random find and now I’ll be looking for my next Antti Tuomainen book. This was like Fargo and my favourite Scandi Noir combined into one.

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Heather Hollingworth

Must read

Reviewed in Australia on 9 September 2018

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One of the better books I've read this year. Great sense of humour and compassion. Beautifully written

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C Knight

A Different sort of crime story

Reviewed in Australia on 13 December 2017

“Because yesterday was the day I died. Because yesterday I finally came to life.”

Who’d have thought the world of mushrooms could be so complicated? Poison, adultery, murder, betrayal! “The Man Who Died” is set around a dried mushroom outfit which is unusual to say the least!

I really felt for our main character, from the start we know he’s dying and from that point onwards his life is turned upside down both by his nearest and dearest and those further afield.

I don’t know if it’s me, but I’ve found the Scandinavian novels that I’ve read so far aren’t as fast paced as some of their modern UK or US cousins. This is far from a bad thing. It simply changes my reading style, I slow down so I can absorb the narrative.

This is the first book I’ve read by Antti Tuomainen but it won’t be the last. I heard him read an extract from The Mine at an Orenda event earlier this year which also piqued my interest. I have to say despite this being crime fiction, it has humour thrown into the mix. Quite dark humour really which was a distinct change for me. I’ll definitely be reading some of Mr Tuomainen’s other novels!

Huge thank you to the amazing Karen Sullivan of Orenda Books for sending me a copy of The Man Who Died!

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Falling Sands

Thoroughly enjoyable!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2018

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Very easy to read in one evening sitting and well worth the effort.

Totally different from Antti Tuomainen's normal dark Scandinavian noir, which I love anyway.The book glides along with a tongue-in-cheek humour that's impossible to resist. The plot is extremely well constructed and keeps the reader guessing until the end. The main character - who narrates the story - is suffering from systematic mushroom poisoning, which is terminal. The story is about his search for the perpetrator of the dastardly deed. The characterisations are drawn in strong but subtle ways that leap out from the pages. Despite the dark humour underpinning his writing, Tuomainen manages to leave the reader with some poignant insights into the approaching end of the narrator's life.

5 people found this helpful

Squeaky Joe

A gripping and highly entertaining read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 January 2021

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Mushroom entrepreneur Jaakko is only thirty-seven years of age, so when a doctor reveals that he’s been poisoned and will soon die, Jaakko is determined to find out who is responsible. But that isn’t his only problem - the new mushroom company across the street are trying to steal his customers, one of his most trusted workers has been offered a new job, and his wife is cheating on him. Can Jaakko fend off the competition, catch the killer and uncover the truth before the poison finishes him off?

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but apparently, it’s very different to his other books. No matter, this one grabbed me from the first page and the gradually unfolding mystery kept me rivetted right until the end. Though translated books are always a little harder to judge, since they depend on the skill of the translator, David Hackston is highly rated for his work on Swedish and Finnish books. Given that he’s been awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation, I think it’s fair to say he’s pretty damn good.

Back to the book. There’s a wonderfully black humour that underscores the plot and Tuomainen’s storytelling is nothing less than superb. Not to give too much away, I loved the antics involving the Samurai sword and the sauna – witty and hilarious without allowing the hero’s adventures to shoot off in unrealistic directions. The characters are well-rounded and believable, and the author’s skill keeps us guessing all the way to the final conclusion.

A gripping and highly entertaining read.

James Tormey

Death and mushrooms

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 January 2021

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When I first heard about this book, and found it was about mushrooms I was a bit put off. I’m not a big mushroom fan but a friend of mine was talking about it online and made such a case for it that I decided to go ahead and buy it. I’m glad I listened because this turned out to be a brilliant book.

What would you do if you found out that somebody had been poisoning you? Your doctor tells you you have little time left, and that you have surely been exposed to poison over a long period of time. You start thinking of who would do this to you, and why. This is exactly what happens to our protagonist Jaakko, and we get to go along for the ride – and what a ride it is.

Jaakko decides, for better or for worse, not to get the police involved. He will figure out himself who has been trying to kill him. We get to follow this investigation throughout the book and I couldn’t help but laugh at some moments. His search for who “killed him” is ever so slightly reckless (I mean, he’s dying anyway) and also tinged with a sense of paranoia that seemingly everyone he knows is out to get him.

I really enjoyed this one – it’s quite different to your normal noir/thriller in that the person who has “been killed” is not dead yet, and trying to find their own killer. I recommend you check it out.

Lagoon

Hits the spot.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 December 2018

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Jaakko Kaunismaa has it all going for him. Or so he thought. Funny how you come to realise that nothing in life is a given;especially life itself.

When his doctor lays things out for Jaakko, he seizes the opportunity to set a few things straight. When you may not be around to see in the next week let alone your next birthday, your life,what is left of it, appears in technicolour.

What follows is a deliciously dark and candid take on the fragility of life and the enormity of what we all take for granted.

Far from tying up administrative loose ends and saying his goodbyes to loved ones,Jaakko determines to go out with a bang and with his own death sentence already confirmed, what has he got to lose?

Very funny, refreshing and poignant.

One person found this helpful

Kaffmatt

Definitely worth a read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 April 2021

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A lighthearted and refreshing ‘take’ on a- soon to be a dead man- murder mystery. A clever ‘who dunnit’ without the usual corruption, violence or sex.
If you’re like me and get fed up with the same old, churned out, so called thrillers; sit back, relax and enjoy.

2 people found this helpful

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