13.06.1962 (62 gadi) (Luumäki, Finland)
Petri Pykälä (born 13 December 1962), commonly known by his pseudonym Ilkka Remes, is a Finnish author of thrillers for adults and for young adults. Remes was born in Luumäki. He has stated he uses a pseudonym because he does not want to be considered only a thriller writer, and wants to be able to write other genres of books in the future. Remes lives in Belgium with his wife and two children. He was awarded the Kalevi Jäntti Literature Award in 1997, the Clue of the Year Award from the Finnish Detective Novel Society in 1999 and the Olvi Foundation Literature Award in 1999. The Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja commented on Remes' book Ruttokellot on his homepage in January 2001. His review on the book was rather negative and he found it troubling that so many of the antagonists in Remes' books were of Russian origin. (see Russophobia).