Christoffer Carlsson

Rachel Willson-Broyles

This is genre fiction with literary aspirations resembling a novel by Thomas Hardy or William Faulkner rewritten as Scandi crime. [...] Stylistically classy and psychologically rich

Strikingly individual... An epic, ambitious literary crime novel

I just don't know anyone else who writes quite like this. All the makings of a page-turning thriller, but with an emotional depth that is truly rare. Carlsson is far and away my favourite Scandinavian crime writer at the moment, and The Living and the Dead is among his very best.

Fredrik Backman, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Carlsson twines together national and personal trauma to devastating effect . . . What I most loved is how Carlsson plumbs what can and cannot be known about human lives and criminal investigations . . . how familial love can blind people to difficult truths, and how 'closure' often never happens.

Here's a thriller to break your heart: a magnificent new novel, epic but immediate, menacing yet moral, that assembles some of the most beloved tropes of recent years - the frostbitten danger of Scandinavian crime; the small-town intimacy of Broadchurch - and charges them with fresh dark energy. And if you think international fiction isn't for you, The Living and the Dead proves that fear needs no translation.

AJ Finn, #1 bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

The finest crime writer we have in Sweden.

David Lagercrantz, bestselling author of The Girl in the Spider's Web

A tender and beautifully written novel about a crime that rocks a small community. But really it is about the people involved, the impact of violence and the danger of keeping secrets. Atmospheric and thought provoking, I became totally immersed in this cold, fractured world.

Araminta Hall, author of One of the Good Guys

Carlsson is to the police procedural what Cormac McCarthy is to the Western . . . If you read crime fiction, you’ll find yourself gripped by the ingenious plotting. If you read literary fiction, you’ll find yourself moved by the gorgeous writing.

Anthony Marra, New York Times bestselling author of Mercury Pictures Presents

Carlsson has a knack for psychological procedurals, as his latest proves, with numerous characters and motives to keep readers guessing. . . . A must for Nordic noir and psychological mystery fans.

The Living and the Dead deserves to reach readers worldwide

Palle Rosenkrantz Prize for Best Translated Crime Novel

I have long maintained that Nordic noir is the crème de la crème of contemporary crime fiction; Christoffer Carlson is the crème de la crème of Nordic noir

Among the snowy hills of rural Sweden in December 1999, a brutal murder claims the life of a teenage boy. Two decades later, the community is still searching for justice in this page-turning Nordic crime novel

Sweeping . . . Carlsson’s evocative sense of place keeps the plot at a steady simmer . . . Devotees of Scandinavian noir will relish this

Publishers Weekly, Most Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers of the Fall

In a skilfully constructed psychological thriller, Carlsson drives foreshadowing and plot developments through the detectives’ narratives while revealing the depths of loyalties and betrayals through Sander and Killian’s voices. Twists and high emotional stakes drive tension as Carlsson explores weighty questions about irreparable mistakes and what could have been . . .

Brooding and brilliant . . . This 'novel about a crime' goes beyond clever plotting to examine Swedish identity, life in a new era, and the ties between living and dying

A brilliantly measured author who creates space for reflection and speculation between his words . . . Mesmerisingly good

A psychologically rich study of guilt and memory

On a cold, snowy winter's night in 1999, Sander and Killian leave a house party together, in a small town in rural Sweden. The very best of friends, they imagine they will remain so forever. 
 
The next morning, each is a key suspect in a murder. Each has something they want to conceal from the police. And from the other. 
 
The hunt for Mikael Söderström's killer will take over twenty years. It will see a detective leave the force forever. And it won't end until a second body is found, and the tight-knit community's secrets are finally brought to light...

Christoffer Carlsson

Praise for The Living and the Dead

This is genre fiction with literary aspirations resembling a novel by Thomas Hardy or William Faulkner rewritten as Scandi crime. [...] Stylistically classy and psychologically rich

Strikingly individual... An epic, ambitious literary crime novel

I just don't know anyone else who writes quite like this. All the makings of a page-turning thriller, but with an emotional depth that is truly rare. Carlsson is far and away my favourite Scandinavian crim ...

This is genre fiction with literary aspirations resembling a novel by Thomas Hardy or William Faulkner rewritten as Scandi crime. [...] Stylistically classy and psychologically rich

Strikingly individual... An epic, ambitious literary crime novel

I just don't know anyone else who writes quite like this. All the makings of a page-turning thriller, but with an emotional depth that is truly rare. Carlsson is far and away my favourite Scandinavian crim ...

This is genre fiction with literary aspirations resembling a novel by Thomas Hardy or William Faulkner rewritten as Scandi crime. [...] Stylistically classy and psychologically rich

Strikingly individual... An epic, ambitious literary crime novel

I just don't know anyone else who writes quite like this. All the makings of a page-turning thriller, but with an emotional depth that is truly rare. Carlsson is far and away my favourite Scandinavian crim ...

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter