Overdue book returned to Finnish library after 84 years

May 30 (UPI) -- A book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was returned to a library in Finland 84 years past its due date.

Helsinki Central Library Oodi said on social media that a person recently brought in a Finnish translation of Doyle's historical novel Refugees that has been due back Dec. 26, 1939.

"Always better late than never," the post said.

Librarian Heini Strand said there was no information on why the book was 84 years overdue, but she offered a theory.

"Usually these kinds of loans returned decades after the due date are books found when people go through deceased relatives' belongings," Strand told The Guardian.

Strand pointed out the book had been due back one month after the Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939.

"The return of the book might not have been the first thing on the borrower's mind when the due date approached," she said.