Reijo Mäki

Reijo Juhani Mäki (born 12 October 1958 in Siikainen, Satakunta) is a Finnish writer of crime fiction.

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

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).