The Swede - Hardcover

Karjel, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062339583 ISBN 13: 9780062339584

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2015

Synopsis

A sophisticated debut novel about a Swedish security force agent on a mysterious special assignment to the U.S., The Swede fuses the psychological tension of Jo Nesbo's thrillers with the gripping international intrigue of I Am Pilgrim and Red Sparrow.

Ernst Grip of the Swedish security police has no idea why he's been dispatched to a remote American military base in the Indian Ocean. Met by FBI agent Shauna Friedman, he learns that the U.S. wants him to determine whether a prisoner they're holding is a Swedish citizen.

The detainee, known only as "N.," is a suspect in an Islamist-inspired terror attack in the U.S. heartland. Tortured by the CIA, he refuses to talk. Yet all the evidence points to a cabal of survivors from the devastating 2004 tsunami that struck Thailand: a ruthless American arms dealer, a Czech hit man, a mysterious nurse from Kansas, a heartbreakingly naive Pakistani--and a Swede.

But the prisoner is not the only one harboring dangerous secrets. Grip hides a double life that will lead him into terra incognita, and Friedman, too, is not who she appears to be. In a world ruled by fear, mistrust, and deadly betrayal, these unlikely partners must learn to trust one another if they hope to stay alive.

Drawing on his military and diplomatic experience, Robert Karjel explores the uneasy repercussions of 9/11, illuminating the moral compromises that people--and nations--make in the name of security and survival.

About this title

Review:

Think le Carr? meets Homeland. --Entertainment Weekly"

A superior thriller . Filled with rich characterization and unforeseeable twists and revelations, this mesmerizing first in a planned series will leave readers gasping for breath. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

[Karjel s] English-language debut, which has already drawn comparisons to Homeland and been optioned for U.S. television, is consistently smarter and more nuanced than most genre fiction, and his cynical take on geopolitics has the ring of real experience. . . . A compelling read. --Entertainment Weekly"

With this smart, compelling English-language debut, Karjel deserves a place in the rankings of notable Nordic crime writers. --Booklist (starred review)"

A "superior thriller.... Filled with rich characterization and unforeseeable twists and revelations, this mesmerizing first in a planned series will leave readers gasping for breath."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"With this smart, compelling English-language debut, Karjel deserves a place in the rankings of notable Nordic crime writers."--Booklist (starred review)

"[Karjel's] English-language debut, which has already drawn comparisons to Homeland and been optioned for U.S. television, is consistently smarter and more nuanced than most genre fiction, and his cynical take on geopolitics has the ring of real experience. . . . A compelling read."--Entertainment Weekly

"Think le Carre meets Homeland."--Entertainment Weekly

-[Karjel's] English-language debut, which has already drawn comparisons to Homeland and been optioned for U.S. television, is consistently smarter and more nuanced than most genre fiction, and his cynical take on geopolitics has the ring of real experience. . . . A compelling read.---Entertainment Weekly

A -superior thriller.... Filled with rich characterization and unforeseeable twists and revelations, this mesmerizing first in a planned series will leave readers gasping for breath.---Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the Back Cover:

A Swedish security agent is summoned to interrogate a terror suspect held by the FBI in this sophisticated, fast-paced thriller--but the prisoner isn't the only one with something to hide.

At a remote military base in the Indian Ocean, the FBI is trying to get a prisoner to confess. But the detainee, a suspect in an Islamist-inspired terror attack in the United States, refuses to talk.

Ernst Grip, a Swedish security officer, has no idea why he's been dispatched to New York City. The FBI agent he meets on arrival, Shauna Friedman, seems to know a little too much about him. And when he arrives at his real destination, the American authorities have just one question: Is their terror suspect a Swedish citizen?

In the process of uncovering the prisoner's true identity, Grip discovers the man's ties to a group of other suspects--a ruthless American arms dealer, a Czech hit man, a mysterious nurse from Kansas, and a heartbreakingly naive Pakistani. The closer Grip gets to the truth, the more complicated the deception becomes. Who is real and who is leading a double life?

The Swede is a riveting, intense novel about the compromises that people--and nations--make in the name of security and survival. Within this world built on secrets, Grip and Friedman have to learn to trust each other if they hope to stay alive.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0062339583
• ISBN 13: 9780062339584
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 341