Nordic noir and post–Civil War Westerns about the chapters history forgot, by Finnish author Ilpo Halo.
The Freedom Fighters' Enigma
A historical Nordic noir set in Finland and Estonia
Four Estonian freedom fighters walked onto the frozen Baltic Sea in spring 1918 — and disappeared.
Twelve years later, Karl Pokka arrives in Helsinki under a false name. His mission, issued by the Estonian secret police: find out the truth. Helsinki in 1930 is a city on edge — bootleggers and secret policemen share the same back rooms. Witnesses have been silent so long they have begun to believe their own lies.
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You enjoy Westerns with courage, love and a horse with opinions.
Start with Horse RangerYou're looking for a funny, illustrated adventure for readers 12 and up.
Start with The Wild West Drifter HorseYou like Nordic noir and real history with its secrets still intact.
Get Helsinki 1930 news firstBoth Horse Ranger books follow Lance Jacobs and his horse Light in the years after the American Civil War. Each one can be read on its own.
Threatened Love
A historical Western, 1865–1867
The war is over. The fighting isn't.
A wounded officer, a spirited nurse and a sharp-witted horse face a frontier where the law is thin and old loyalties run deep. Courage, justice and love on the American frontier — a Western with a new kind of soul, partly told by the horse himself.
Also available in Finnish as Hevoskulkuri I – Uhattu rakkaus.
The horse's own story
An illustrated historical adventure for readers 12+
Most Civil War stories are told from the saddle. This one is told by the horse.
Light, a thoroughbred stallion, loses his rider Lance Jacobs at the Battle of Palmito Ranch in 1865, one of the last battles of the war. On his own in Texas, he runs with wild horses, is captured by Comanches and given a new name, and never stops looking for the way back. A sardonic, funny coming-of-age tale, with black-and-white drawings by Mervi Jakonen.
Originally written in Finnish as Villin Lännen kulkurihevonen.
Lance Jacobs returns, now a sheriff, in Reconstruction-era South Carolina.
"If you like historical fiction, romance, and tons of excitement, read this book!"
"This book had me laughing, gasping and even swiping away a tear."
A Truly Original Take on the Western Genre!"
Try the stories before you buy, or spend a little more time in their world.
Character voices from Horse Ranger and the song "Miss Sis Sippy".
Ilpo Halo is a Finnish author based in Vantaa. His first book, a collection of short stories, was published by WSOY in 1990.
For most of his career he taught languages, and in 2005 the Federation of Foreign Language Teachers in Finland (SUKOL) named him Language Teacher of the Year. The same year he founded Euneos with two colleagues, a company that ran training courses for teachers from across Europe within the EU's education programmes, and he chaired its board until 2024. He has also worked as a journalist and an information secretary of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.
His novels start from real history that has been half forgotten: the last years of the American Civil War and the lawless times that followed, and the unsolved disappearance of Estonian freedom fighters on the Baltic ice. He writes in Finnish and English.
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