Reviews

• “Engman chooses to make the subject [femicide] explicit and does so sharply and with the intense details that we have come to expect from him. /…/ In the end, Engman manages to wrap up the plot excellently. The separate storylines come together and [Engman] even manages to add a satisfying – and perhaps somewhat surprising – climax. Add up the strengths of Femicide and you can conclude that the Scandi genre has a new top performer. His name is Pascal Engman.”

• “As if under a magnifying glass, [Pascal Engman] dissects an outrageous social problem and takes a clear stance. [Engman] even gives minor characters to life in an authentic way. This powerful novel makes a clear statement in the #MeToo debate.”

• “I have followed Pascal Engman’s development (…). I get more and more impressed and even more sure that he is on the way to become one of the greatest within the suspense novel genre. /…/ Read Femicide! I guarantee you quivering thrills while given new insights of grand societal issues.”

• “In a very nice manner, Pascal Engman depicts the helpless clumsiness of the man who isn’t seen as attractive, the incomprehension when he does everything women says they appreciate, and the rising rage that comes from constant mockery. /…/ One reads Pascal Engman for the tempo: he has an unfailing ability to build tension.”

• “[Femicide] is a page-turning, absorbing and uncomfortable Swedish thriller. /…/ Pascal Engman dives into the world of incels through Tom, a very believable character. /…/ Continuing in the tradition of fellow Swedish authors Sjöwall and Wahlöö, and Henning Mankell, Pascal Engman uses his writing to comment on societal values making Femicide an interesting, fictional take on the multifaceted topic of violence against women. The book stood out to all the Petrona judges for several reasons. The way Femicide opens the reader’s eyes to the steadily increasing threat of the incel movement and what makes these men tick was felt by all the judges. Femicide is a challenging read that broadens thinking. The writing is well informed, the book has a good sense of urban space, and it picks up pace in a satisfying manner. There is a cast of interesting, and sometimes unconventional, characters for the reader to get to know. All the judges felt this book offered something creatively original that captured the zeitgeist of the early twenty-first century and it is a deserved winner.”