Stina Jackson and Kristina Ohlsson have both been shortlisted for the prestigious 2020 Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award for ‘Best Swedish Crime Novel’. Jackson is nominated for The Last Snow, while Ohlsson is shortlisted for her upcoming title Stormvakt, the first installment in a new series.
The winning author will be announced on November 22.
Johan and Anna, a pair of lovers in their mid-thirties, check into a small-town hotel in western Sweden. Johan has just left his wife for Anna and is now looking forward to a night of celebrating. But Anna has something different in mind: she has decided to call it quits. Her family is more important than her longing for happiness.
The weekend doesn’t turn out as either of them expected. A deadly mistake forces the pair to make a fateful decision then and there, and soon they are traveling down a nightmarish road that will change their lives – forever.
In Capable People, Klas Ekman weaves a lean, tight and incredibly gripping psychological thriller about ordinary people finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances, and how a fatal decision can lead to the downfall of one’s morals.
The author distinguishes himself by skillfully pulling the story through the darkest corners of the human psyche, displaying an expert touch for dialogue and multi-layered characters that together form a Hitchcockian page-turner that will stay with you long after reading.
Hans Rosenfeldt’s When Crying Wolf is No. 2 in hardcover on the latest Swedish bestseller list, claiming the No. 4 spot on the audio list as well. Simona Ahrnstedt debuts on the lists with her just published Hearts on the Line, which is No. 2 in e-book and No. 4 in hardcover. Finally, Niklas Natt och Dag’s 1794 comes in at No. 5 in paperback.
Published in Finland on Wednesday, Lars Kepler’s eighth installment in the Joona Linna series, The Mirror Man, has gone straight to No. 1 on the Finnish bestseller list and tops the general list across all genres and formats, as well as the hardcover fiction list.
The official bestseller lists of week 42 see Jørn Lier Horst’s A Question of Guilt claim the No. 1 spot on the e-book list and No. 5 placement on the hardcover one. Kristina Ohlsson meanwhile claims the No. 5 spot on the paperback list with the third Martin Benner book, To Him Who Knocks.
Lars Kepler’s The Mirror Man, the just today published eighth installment in the Joona Linna series, has gone straight to No. 1 in the Czech Republic.
Jo Nesbø’s recently published stand-alone The Kingdom is No. 1 in both Hungary and Russia this week.
A young woman disappears when she is on her way home from school. Five years later, she is found murdered on a playground in central Stockholm. Via CCTV footage, Joona Linna manages to track down an eyewitness. When it turns out that the witness is a mentally ill man who doesn’t have any memories whatsoever of what he saw, Joona reaches out to the hypnotist Erik Maria Bark.
The Mirror Man is the eighth installment in the Joona Linna series.
HBO has greenlit a limited series adaptation of Jo Nesbø’s #1 internationally bestselling novel The Son with Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners, Nightcrawler, Brokeback Mountain) attached to star and produce, and director Denis Villeneuve (Dune, Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival) on board to direct. Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are attached to executive produce together with Gyllenhaal, Villenueve, Nesbø and Niclas Salomonsson.
Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming says:
“Denis is a master at weaving visually exquisite and unique narratives, Jake is a gifted actor and producer whose work often traverses provocative and compelling terrain, and of course, he and Denis have collaborated brilliantly in the past. We are beyond excited to see how this powerhouse team tackles this exceptional work.”
Click the ‘Read more’ button below to read more in Deadline.
This weekend Beartown premiered on HBO to fantastic reviews. The acclaimed series is based on Fredrik Backman’s novel of the same name, directed by Peter Grönlund, and written by Anders Weidemann, Antonia Pyk and Linn Gottfridsson.
Beartown has among else been praised by the largest Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, and Expressen.
“Beartown is a home run. Hallelujah! HBO Nordics’ Beartown, based on Fredrik Backman’s novel, is unquestionably the best Swedish TV series of the year so far. /…/ The result is outstanding. A Swedish production that is powerful, heavy, and beautiful like a bear, keeping a high quality in every aspect, and a tight hold on the viewer from start to finish.” ★★★★
– Aftonbladet
“The best Swedish series right now. /… / So well-acted and engaging that you can feel the ice burn your cheeks.” ★★★★
– Dagens Nyheter
“Chilling drama from start to finish. The grand scale production Beartown is a well-made series about ice hockey and toxic masculinity.” ★★★★
– Svenska Dagbladet
“One of this year’s best Swedish TV experiences. /…/ With Beartown, Peter Grönlund and the screenwriters Anders Weidemann, Antonia Pyk and Linn Gottfridsson succeed in crafting a moral story that never runs out of steam. /…/ Big parts of the series feel like highly credible pieces cut from reality.” ★★★★
– Expressen
Netherlands, House of Books
Two-book deal closed by Tor Jonasson
Albania, Dudaj
Three-book deal closed by Emma Granberg
Denmark, Bogoo Books
Two-book deal closed by Linda Andersson
Lithuania, Baltos Lankos
Closed by Emma Granberg
Bulgaria, Enthusiast
Closed by Emma Granberg
Taiwan, Azoth
Three-book deal closed by Emma Granberg
It’s reminiscent of an Agatha Christie tale, where the group is slowly whittled down. Although the cover labels it a thriller, there’s a strong detective element too: Who’s targeting them? Why? And how is someone managing to manipulate their environment? The answers are revealed gradually—the most crucial ones saved for last, and they’re far from easy to predict.
– DAST Magazine
Lovrenski writes with mordant wit throughout /…/ Lovrenski is a gifted writer.
– The Telegraph
There is of course plenty of giggles, laughter, and the occasional scream, just as intended I suppose.
– Mariestads-Tidningen Plus
In short, [it’s a story] about a completely ordinary and strikingly beautiful life, which you would have to be made of Bornholm granite not to be touched and moved by.
– Kristeligt Dagblad
This is the beauty of this novel: without directly verbalizing it, it achieves to say so much of that which is part of our human experience, our fears, our suffering.
– Il Giornale
Psychologist Kari Voss is grieving for her dead husband when she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.
