Reviews

• “The Crow Girl is a psychological crime novel that stands out on the ever-growing crime fiction market. As a reader you are surprised over and over again by the twists and turns and dead ends the two women stray into, at the same time as one gets disgusted and frightened by how childhood abuse can destroy a human being.”

• “The Crow Girl is a psychological thriller that will take you to the darkest corners of human insanity. /…/ In a direct and sharp style without embellishments, the authors portray a painful dimension with a stunning strength that will leave readers breathless.”

• “A profoundly frightening novel, a dark fairy tale that stands out in the Scandinavian crime fiction tradition. /…/ This novel is a psychological noir that analyzes the human soul and digs deeply into human vices, repressed, subconscious perversions, and the inherent violence of the human nature.”

• “Erik Axl Sund’s style is in perfect harmony with the story they tell. This aspect makes their thriller easy to read, engaging and absorbing.”

• “A raw and dark thriller, but at the same time elegant.”

• “A Swedish thriller destined to become a literary sensation, written by an eclectic Swedish writing duo. /…/ An original voice, tough and dark, that stands out in the Swedish literary world.”

• “Erik Axl Sund has created an hypnotically fascinating story. The Crow Girl is a book that is full of violence and hard to put down.”

• “A staggering thriller that keeps you off balance. For readers with a strong stomach, since it’s not just about the killing, there’s a macabre and cruel plan behind it all.”

• “The Crow Girl is a thriller that resembles a house. A cold, dark house full of sinister secrets.”

• “The Crow Girl is a creepy thriller in which two extremes gradually crawl toward each other. /…/ The authors have a thorough knowledge of psychological patterns, and also know how to create an astonishing finale.”

• “The Crow Girl is a strange book where the tension only starts three quarters in – but then it really starts getting creepy – and it ends with a cliffhanger that makes sure you want to buy the second book as well.”

• “Very suspenseful.”

• “The grand finale comes as a huge shock and the writers keep you in anxious uncertainty. We are looking forward to the next book.”

• “This is a debut out of the ordinary! Here, two author buddies have written something that really stands out from the published books I’ve had a chance to read. In fact, The Crow Girl is terrible. No, wrong expression. It’s a harrowing story that unfortunately feels very believable. /…/ Throughout this novel runs an undercurrent of impending threat, a creeping sense of danger that is very palpable also for the reader. It’s almost impossible to stop reading. It’s a good thing some of the chapters are quite short, sometimes just one page, so that one can get some respite. But good luck trying to avoid continuing reading… I’m impressed.”

• “Oh no, I certainly do not like psychopathic serial killers who lock people up and torture them to death, not one bit… No, I don’t like those kinds of crime novels. Apart from Val McDermid’s The Mermaid’s Singing and The Wire in the Blood which are exceptional – and now also The Crow Girl by the debut author duo Erik Axl Sund. /…/ So, I surrender. I will not mock choices of subject any more. You can write about what the heck you want, as long as you do it well. Like Erik Axl Sund.”

• “Certain stories creep under your skin. As an experienced thriller reader one can usually distance oneself from the depictions of violence that today’s crime fiction offers, but sometimes one cannot fend it off. The Crow Girl is one of those books. It is a very dark story. The author duo known as Erik Axl Sund offers no liberating solutions in their debut. /…/ An incredibly strong story by two authors who indisputably know how to write both engagingly and suspensefully, and who don’t flinch at illustrating the most loathsome acts without mincing words.”

• “The new Millennium.”

• “The trilogy is probably the best thing that has happened in this genre after Stieg Larsson, and maybe even before him.”

• “The first book of this psychological thriller trilogy is in its creepiness the best thing that has been published in the crime scene in a long time. The only thing worth spoiling about the book is that it is exceptionally well written and the plot is both eventful and extremely interesting.”

• “The magnificent opening for the trilogy of darkness.”

• “Erik Axl Sund really goes one step further in criminal thriller tradition.”

• “The best souvenir from Sweden right now.”

• “I’m still stunned by what I’ve just read! We’re still in March, but this is undoubtedly one of the best reads of this year. It’s disturbing, shocking, scary and awesome. Definitely recommended for fans of darker literature.”

• “A tense, violent and unvarnished narrative, written bluntly. In spite of all the darkness around characters and places, every time you put the book aside in order to breath, you can't help but grab it back, because you want to unravel the secrets hidden in each page. Chilling, intense, macabre.”

• “Excellent debut.”

• “First-class thriller for readers with nerves of steel.”

• “A dark, hypnotic and captivating novel.”

• “The fourth Millennium? / …/ The Crow Girl is perhaps the first generational thriller of its kind.”

• “The Crow Girl goes beyond the borders of the mere crime fiction novel.”

• “The most haunting and shocking book which I've read since Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

• “A gigantic book that lets Stieg Larsson, may God rest his soul, and actually all Scandinavian horror and crime specialists look like highly sensitive orphans”

• “This trilogy is likely the best thing to have happened to Swedish crime fiction tradition since Stieg Larsson.”

• “Brutal, upsetting and brilliantly written, it is the best crime novel of the year so far /…/ The joint authors rage against misogyny and sexism. They decry child abuse and human trafficking. And, perhaps most importantly, they tell a brilliant story. This novel is dark – jet-black dark. /…/ The authors’ biggest triumph, however, is to make 750 pages whizz past /…/ terse, direct and compelling.”

• “A breakneck journey through a plot of labyrinthine complexity … Sund boldly places dissociative identity order at the heart of this extremely disturbing novel”

• “[A] challenging multifaceted descent into the abyss of evil and madness.”

• “Make sure you are not home alone when you tackle this Scandinavian thriller …. Creepy is elevated to an art form in this tale of dysfunctional characters, peppered with paedophilia, guilt, pain, powerlessness, denial and betrayal. The subject matter makes for harrowing reading at times, but skilfully escalating suspense keeps you hooked all the way through its 760-pages. … translated into beautifully economic prose by Neil Smith, who also translates for Jo Nesbo. Ultimately, this novel proves that what frightens us most are not outward acts of violence, but the quiet horrors of the human psyche.”

• “A compulsive page-turner /…/ There is so much action in its 768 pages that it’s easy to become overwhelmed but it is ridiculously entertaining.”

• “Dark, powerful, disturbing and creepy.”

• “[A] gruesome, compelling and deeply unsettling debut thriller /…/ This is Nordic uber-noir, so dark and uncomfortable that it is like wading through a sewer. /…/ we are left gasping for breath. ”

• “Thriller of the Month. /…/ The most disturbing book you’ll read all year. /…/ There’s a fantastic twist in store, very well executed, and a successful conclusion for the complex web of evil Sund weaves over the course of the novel. His Sweden, too, is pitch-perfect and the sheer over-the-top awfulness of it all is clearly recognized by the author. /…/ There’s obviously always darkness in store in thrillers, but The Crow Girl feels like it’s taken a step further into the night.”

• “The Swedish thriller tipped to make a killing.”

• “Skilfully escalating suspense keeps you hooked through its 760-pages. This novel proves that what frightens us most are not acts of violence, but quiet horrors of the human psyche.”

• “[A] breakout novel /…/ peddling high-concept stories [with a] compelling voice.”

• “Written in an unadorned but fiercely concentrated style /…/ [The Crow Girl] takes the reader down the mean streets of Stockholm to minatory locales where unspeakable deeds are done. The personalities of the women at the heart of the book (particularly the single-minded Jeanette), all driven in distinctive ways, are carefully and successfully wrought. The narrative slowly and surely exerts an inexorable grip; its multiple timeframes do not interrupt the unerring building of tension. And, as with the best of Scandinavian crime fiction, from Henning Mankell to Stieg Larsson, there is still room for an acute element of social commentary. Like Mankell and Larsson, the Erik Axl Sund duo are careful to present an unvarnished picture of their society, some distance from the smoothly functioning social democracy that British readers once imagined the country to be. /…/ If you’re not fazed by the daunting length and unsparing gruesomeness of The Crow Girl, you will find it to be among the most wide-ranging and forceful Scandinavian crime novels you have encountered.”

• “[A] hit across continental Europe. It’s easy to see why /…/ A smart, rewarding psychological thriller, with an emphasis on both of those genre terms.”

• “The reader is immediately sucked into a grim world where no one is who they seem, where lies are told and revised. To say much more would spoil the tangled, engrossing web this best-selling, award-winning psychological thriller weaves. /…/ This disturbingly fascinating look at revenge, abuse, and the impact of childhood on adult choices is not for the faint of heart, but it is highly recommended for those that appreciate dark, psychological mysteries.”

• “It’s an extraordinary, complex, unpredictable piece of work that clocks in at over 700 pages! But don’t let the size put you off — you won’t be able to stop turning the pages.”

• “What is it about Sweden that produces such deliciously, darkly off-kilter thrillers, featuring idiosyncratic, complex characters such as Lisbeth Salander (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and now Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg? As Kihlberg investigates a killer who targets immigrant children, she must deal with xenophobia, extreme right-wing politics, and other hot-button issues that only deepen our morbid fascination.”