| Matti Yrjänä Joensuu | |
| Birth Date: | 1948 10, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Helsinki, Finland |
| Death Place: | Valkeakoski, Finland |
| Nationality: | Finnish |
| Occupation: | Author |
| Years Active: | 1976–2010 |
| Genre: | Crime fiction |
| Notableworks: | Timo Harjunpää series |
Matti Yrjänä Joensuu (31 October 1948, in Helsinki, Finland – 4 December 2011, in Valkeakoski, Finland)[1] [2] was a Finnish writer of crime fiction.[3] He has been awarded the State's Literature Prize (1982), Vuoden johtolanka prize (1985, 1994, 2004), and he has been nominated for two Finlandias.[4] He received the Martin Beck Award 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.[5]
Joensuu's Harjunpää stories have also been adapted for Film & TV. Joensuu's work has been translated into English, Bulgarian, Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, French, Swedish, German, Slovak, Danish, Hungarian, Armenian, Russian and Estonian.
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.
| Year of Release | Title | Harjunpää actor | Media type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Harjunpää och kalla döden / Harjunpää ja kylmä kuolema | TV | ||
| 1985 | Harjunpää och antastaren / Harjunpää ja ahdistelija | Johan Simberg | TV | |
| 1993 | Harjunpää ja kiusantekijät | Film | ||
| 1995 | Harjunpää ja heimolaiset | Kari Heiskanen | TV | |
| 2007 | Rakkauden nälkä | TV | ||
| 2010 | Harjunpää & pahan pappi (Priest of Evil) | Film | ||
| 2022 | Harjunpää | TV |