Overview

A riveting new thriller by a writer universally acknowledged as Sweden's leading criminologist.   A young man falls to his death from a window in Stockholm. The police want to write it off as an accident, or possibly a suicide, but superintendent Lars Johansson feels otherwise. Soon it is revealed that the young man was an American journalist, working on a project about his uncle, a CIA agent, who may have had ties to the highest reaches of Sweden's political community. Johansson's search for the truth will take him to New York and the FBI Academy in Virginia, and finally down into a dark web of international espionage, backroom politics, and greed, exposing the sheer incompetence that led to a devastating tragedy.

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9780307390202

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Reviews

An addictive thriller. --Raleigh Times-Dispatch Laced with irony and satire . . . Reminiscent of Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson in its toughness . . . Persson does a fine job of pitting one desperate soul against another in a philosophically charged tale worthy of Ingmar Bergman--but with lots more guns. -- Kirkus (starred) A brilliant political thriller. --Der Tagesspiegel One of the best Swedish crime novels of all time. --Expressen This is not only a compelling crime story to be read without stopping until the last page. It is not only an unforgettable tale with a ferocious and bitter unexpected ending. It is much more. This is a masterpiece. --Il Sole 24 Ore A teeth-gritting political thriller . . . Authentic with silent anger, tough and utterly haunting. --Berliner Morgenpost One of the most exhaustive investigations ever to have been written about. A plot full of suspense, a great adventure, and a philosophical view of the dark and painful sides of life. --Il Giornale di Vicenza Funny, sharp, thrilling, and entertaining. Indeed, you almost think it's too good to be true, at least until you start reading and are convinced. --Kristeligt Dagblad Leif GW Persson's big lush novel is a tale of mystery and intrigue and murder. Mostly set in Sweden before the collapse of the Soviet Union it begins with the body of an American falling from a building. Was it an accident or a suicide? Surely it couldn't have been a murder, or so the police believe. Enter Lars Johansson, a police official known as 'a real policeman.' His interest in the dead American will take him to New York and to the FBI academy in Quantico, and will reveal Cold War machinations from a generation earlier that are connected to the man who fell from the building. For Johansson, entering this case is like entering a hall of mirrors within a maze, where international scheming, secret police, including one with bizarre sexual proclivities, and even the assassination of a prime minister, are all connected one way or the other to that American. From a country known for terrific crime novelists, Sweden's great crime writer Leif GW Persson brilliantly takes the reader into a world of fascinating mystery and secrets. --Joseph Wambaugh

Laced with irony and satire . . . Reminiscent of Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson in its toughness . . . Persson does a fine job of pitting one desperate soul against another in a philosophically charged tale worthy of Ingmar Bergman--but with lots more guns. <br>-- Kirkus (starred) <br> A brilliant political thriller. <br> --Der Tagesspiegel <br> One of the best Swedish crime novels of all time. <br> --Expressen <br> This is not only a compelling crime story to be read without stopping until the last page. It is not only an unforgettable tale with a ferocious and bitter unexpected ending. It is much more. This is a masterpiece. <br> --Il Sole 24 Ore <br> A teeth-gritting political thriller . . . Authentic with silent anger, tough and utterly haunting. <br> --Berliner Morgenpost <br> One of the most exhaustive investigations ever to have been written about. A plot full of suspense, a great adventure, and a philosophical view of the dark and painful sides of l

An addictive thriller. --Raleigh Times-Dispatch Laced with irony and satire . . . Reminiscent of Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson in its toughness . . . Persson does a fine job of pitting one desperate soul against another in a philosophically charged tale worthy of Ingmar Bergman--but with lots more guns. --Kirkus (starred) A brilliant political thriller. --Der Tagesspiegel One of the best Swedish crime novels of all time. --Expressen This is not only a compelling crime story to be read without stopping until the last page. It is not only an unforgettable tale with a ferocious and bitter unexpected ending. It is much more. This is a masterpiece. --Il Sole 24 Ore A teeth-gritting political thriller . . . Authentic with silent anger, tough and utterly haunting. --Berliner Morgenpost One of the most exhaustive investigations ever to have been written about. A plot full of suspense, a great adventure, and a philosophical view of the dark and painful sides of life. --Il Giornale di Vicenza Funny, sharp, thrilling, and entertaining. Indeed, you almost think it's too good to be true, at least until you start reading and are convinced. --Kristeligt Dagblad Leif GW Persson's big lush novel is a tale of mystery and intrigue and murder. Mostly set in Sweden before the collapse of the Soviet Union it begins with the body of an American falling from a building. Was it an accident or a suicide? Surely it couldn't have been a murder, or so the police believe. Enter Lars Johansson, a police official known as 'a real policeman.' His interest in the dead American will take him to New York and to the FBI academy in Quantico, and will reveal Cold War machinations from a generation earlier that are connected to the man who fell from the building. For Johansson, entering this case is like entering a hall of mirrors within a maze, where international scheming, secret police, including one with bizarre sexual proclivities, and even the assassination of a prime minister, are all connected one way or the other to that American. From a country known for terrific crime novelists, Sweden's great crime writer Leif GW Persson brilliantly takes the reader into a world of fascinating mystery and secrets. --Joseph Wambaugh

Author Information

Leif GW Persson has chronicled the political and social development of modern Swedish society in his award-winning novels for more than three decades. Persson has served as an adviser to the Swedish Ministry of Justice and is Sweden’s most renowned psychological profiler. He is a professor at Sweden’s National Police Board and is considered the country’s foremost expert on crime. He lives in Stockholm.

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