Mission Nearly Impossible Series
by Timo Parvela & Mari Luoma
Timo Parvela’s compelling six-part series, seasoned with his trademark humor, unravels in an exciting mystery about a boy who is sent on a mission to unearth his own past. English translations of Books 1-3 available.
Mission Nearly Impossible 1: The Marked Child
Melkein mahdoton tehtävä 1: Merkitty lapsi, WSOY 2022, 112pp, 9+
12-year-old Elias knows nothing of his real family until a photo and a text message, on a stranger’s phone, raises his hopes of finding out his true identity.
Scrolling through the phone he’s just found at a landfill, 12-year-old Elias comes across a photo of a couple with a baby. The tiniest pixel detail captures all his attention; the baby has a little black mark on its ankle —identical to the tattoo Elias has on his! Convinced that he is the baby in the picture, Elias is hopeful of finally learning more about his past. Elias’ life with Aunt Paula has always had more downs than ups, and her story about having found him as a baby at the landfill outside her house has always sounded so strange. What kind of parents would throw their baby out with the rubbish? Cruel ones? Stupid? Absent-minded? Or desperate? But then again, what kind of parents would tattoo their baby? Maybe Elias is finally able to get some answers!
A sudden ping of the phone makes Elias jump. A text message asks the recipient to find someone. When Elias asks for more information the sender remains silent. Elias decides he must complete the mission to get the sender tell him more about the photo. How difficult could it really be to track someone down? Elias ropes in his less enthusiastic best friend Mino. The streetwise Molly joins them soon after receiving similar messages. Their search soon turns into a dangerous mission—one that frightens even the hard-as-nails Aunt Paula.
Mission Nearly Impossible 2: Up in Smoke
Melkein mahdoton tehtävä 2. Savuna ilmaan, WSOY 2023, 123pp, 9+
The exciting mystery continues! 12-year-old Elias still knows close to nothing about his origins, but is on a mission to find out…
Elias’s past is still shrouded in a thick veil of mystery when a new text message sends him on a new mission. This time the sender asks Elias to find out who was responsible for blowing up The Albert Institute. Soon Elias, his best mate Milo and their new friend Molly are sucked into a whirlwind adventure and impossible situations. After an unexpected resolution, Elias is one step closer to the answer to his most crucial question: who am I, really?
Mission Nearly Impossible 3: The Master of the Web
Melkein mahdoton tehtävä 3. Verkon valtias, WSOY 2023, 132pp, 9+
The mystery of Elias’s past is about to be revealed in the third part of Parvela’s thrilling series! But what are the implications of the truth to Elias’s present and future?
The new revelations have left Elias reeling! The truth about Aunt Paula, and about him having a brother who has been guiding Elias with those mysterious text messages. When the terrifying Von Maxx captures Elias and takes him to Alapuro Manor, Elias faces brutal interrogations. A daring escape follows, with Elias’s brother saving the day and dismantling von Maxx’s operation for good, or so they hope. Elias has finally learned the truth about his origins and gained a brother in the process!
But then his phone vibrates with a new message. It’s a new mission!
Mission Nearly Impossible 4: Castor’s Heart
Melkein mahdoton tehtävä 4. Castorin sydän, WSOY 2024, 120pp, 9+
Elias and his trusty friends embark on a new thrilling and action-packed mission to find a missing boy!
With revelations about his past now in the open, Elias cannot help feeling like he’s on top of the world and with superhuman powers! However, this euphoria quickly fades when Molly comes across a chilling discovery in an abandoned part of town, thrusting Elias, Molly and Mino into the middle of a dangerous feud between street gangs.
Their new mission—to unravel the mystery of a missing policeman’s son—multiplies the dangers they face, yet Elias’s new family member just might tilt the scales in their favour…
The fourth installment of Timo Parvela’s excruciatingly thrilling series, spiced with his trademark humor, is a new, standalone puzzle for Elias and his crew.
Mission Nearly Impossible 5: The Hunt
Melkein mahdoton tehtävä 5. Jahti, WSOY 2024, 128pp, 9+
The fifth book in the popular “Mission Nearly Impossible” mystery series takes the reader on a wild online hunt for Elias’s brother Castor who has suddenly disappeared.
Conversations with Castor have become more important to Elias than anything else—until Castor suddenly stops responding to messages. When Elias attempts to re-establish the connection, he can only hear the distant barking of bloodhounds. The frantic search for Castor leads Elias, Mino, and Molly on the door of a real-life tech wizard and a suspicious dog shelter. Yet the final hunt for Castor’s whereabouts takes place online.
Mission Nearly Impossible 6: The Cyborg’s Embrace
Melkein mahdoton tehtävä 6. Kyborgin halaus, WSOY 2/2025, 128pp, 9+
In the sixth and final part of the mysterious Mission Nearly Impossible series, there’s a nasty surprise in store for Elias! The villanous von Maxx resurfaces, but knowing Elias and his friends, they are not ones to back down quietly!
Elias’s life has become suspiciously quiet, making him feel like something is afoot. When the same van follows him a bit too often, Elias decides to take fate into his own hands—with shocking consequences…
RIGHTS SOLD FOR THE SERIES: Finnish WSOY (orig.), Polish: Dwukropek (books 1-3)
Materials available: Full English (1-3) set in lay-out, Finnish editions of books 1-5
PRAISE FOR THE SERIES:
“Parvela knows how to write engagingly for young readers who read little or avoid books. There is nothing superfluous, and the plot never stalls for a moment.”
Timo Parvela is a much-beloved author of over a hundred works that have been translated into more than 30 languages.
Mari Luoma is an author, illustrator and graphic novel artist.
Author portrait © Jari Kivelä
Illustrator portrait © Kieran Sheehan