Books from Sweden

Disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired by aging industrialist Henrik Vanger to solve the forty-year-old disappearance of his teenage grand-niece Harriet from the family's island estate. Joined by Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant and dangerous young hacker, he uncovers decades of buried cruelty and corporate corruption. The first novel in the Millennium trilogy and a defining work of Nordic noir.

• revenge
• morally grey
• mystery box
• anti hero

Ove is a man of strict routine, a retired craftsman who has spent years quietly grieving his wife's death by becoming increasingly bitter and isolated. When a boisterous new neighbor and her family move in next door, his carefully controlled world begins to unravel in unexpected ways. Told through a darkly comic, first-person narrative that alternates between the present and the past, the novel reveals the warmth and love beneath Ove's gruff exterior, and the impact of the people around him on his outlook on life.

• grumpy sunshine
• redemption arc
• multiple povs

On New Year's Eve, a botched bank robbery turns an apartment viewing into an unexpected hostage situation. A diverse group of strangers, each with their own anxieties and secrets, find themselves trapped together. As the police surround the building, they must navigate their shared predicament and discover the surprising connections that bind them.

• heist
• locked room
• forced proximity
• multiple povs

In the second novel of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, Mikael Blomkvist and his magazine are preparing to publish an explosive exposé of sex trafficking that implicates powerful men across Swedish society. On the eve of publication, the two researchers behind the story are murdered—and the fingerprints on the weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander. Overnight, Lisbeth becomes the most wanted woman in Sweden, hunted by police, the press, and shadowy figures who would prefer she stay buried. Convinced of her innocence, Blomkvist launches his own desperate investigation, even as Lisbeth goes underground to pursue the truth on her own terms. Their parallel searches force open the sealed records of Lisbeth's childhood, revealing the origins of her rage, her genius, and the enemies who have haunted her all her life. Faster and more personal than its predecessor, The Girl Who Played with Fire turns its unforgettable heroine from investigator into quarry, blending Nordic-noir crime with a searing story of institutional abuse and survival. It deepens the trilogy's central mystery and should be read after The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

• revenge

Pippi Longstocking is an irrepressible force of nature, living alone in her colorful house with a monkey and a horse. When her new neighbors, Tommy and Annika, meet her, their quiet lives are turned upside down by Pippi's incredible strength and boundless imagination. Join them for a series of hilarious and heartwarming adventures.

• fish out of water

In a remote farmhouse near Skara, two people are brutally murdered: old man Johannes Lövgren is tortured to death and his wife Maria beaten nearly to death. When her dying words — "foreign" — leak to the press, it sparks racial tension throughout the town of Lunnarp. Detective Kurt Wallander must navigate both a case and a growing public hysteria as he investigates who was responsible.

Two brothers, Karl and Jonathan, find themselves in the magical land of Nangiyala after a devastating illness. There, they must confront a terrifying dragon and a tyrannical ruler amidst a land ravaged by war. Their journey will test their bravery and their unbreakable bond as they fight for a just future.

• portal fantasy
• quest
• sacrifice

From the dean of Scandinavian noir, come s a riveting mystery set in frozen north of Sweden. . When retired policeman Herbert Molin is found brutally slaughtered on his remote farm in the northern forests of Sweden, police find strange tracks in the snow — as if someone had been practicing the tango. Stefan Lindman, a young police officer recently diagnosed with mouth cancer, decides to investigate the murder of his former colleague, but is soon enmeshed in a mystifying case with no witnesses and no apparent motives. Terrified of the disease that could take his life, Lindman becomes more and more reckless as he unearths the chilling links between Molin’s death and an underground neo-Nazi network that runs further and deeper than he could ever have imagined.

A brutal murder in a remote church in northern Sweden pulls tax lawyer Rebecka Martinsson back to her childhood home. Her former spiritual mentor has been found mutilated, and the local police suspect a member of his congregation. As Rebecka investigates, she uncovers a web of secrets and lies within the isolated religious community, forcing her to confront her own past.

• mystery box
• reluctant hero

Product Description Nourris de légendes suédoises, huit récits de Noël, auxquels le talent de conteuse de Selma Lagerlöf confère un charme incomparable. From the Back Cover Nourris de légendes suédoises, huit récits de Noël auxquels le talent de conteuse de Selma Lagerlöf confère un charme incomparable. Au fil de ces récits de Selma Lagerlöf, inspirés de légendes suédoises et aussi savoureux que des contes dits à la veillée - celle de Noël, bien sûr -, on fera la connaissance d'une petite fille qui reçoit un livre d'étrennes... en français, qu'elle désespère de jamais pouvoir lire. On découvrira l'origine de la légende de sainte Luce, très prisée en Suède. On saura ce que font les animaux durant la nuit de Noël et comment le rouge-gorge devint rouge. On apprendra qu'une mère peut être jalouse de sa propre fille, parce que son mari en est trop proche. On lira l'aventure d'un colporteur, voleur et repenti ; on assistera au dialogue entre un fossoyeur et le crâne d'un homme assassiné ; et l'on sera surpris par une confrontation inédite entre Jésus et Judas. De ce recueil, profondément empreint de foi religieuse mais aussi de chaleur et de philosophie, émane ce que l'on appelle volontiers la magie de Noël : un mélange de générosité et de mélancolie, de compassion et de joie, sublimé par le talent de conteuse de Selma Lagerlöf. EXTRAITS DE PRESSE "On retrouve dans Le Livre de Noël, petit recueil d'esprit chrétien, sa connivence avec des mondes invisibles et son légendaire talent pour raconter les mythes de sa province." Claire Devarrieux, Libération "Au pays de la Reine des neiges on n'échappe pas au rêve. Toutes les histoires se nimbent de magie et plus encore sous la plume de Selma Lagerlöf." Annick Merchez, La Voix du Nord "Non, la romancière suédoise n'a rien perdu de son charme optimiste, ni ses contes de leur mystère lyrique." L'Express "Puisant dans ses souvenirs de petite fille de dix ans, Selma Lagerlöf nous y confie surtout que le plus beau des cadeaux de Noël est un livre..." Xavier Houssin, Point de vue-Images du monde "Des récits merveilleux et édifiants puisés à l'oeuvre d'une grande romancière." Monique Verdussen, La Libre Belgique L'AUTEUR Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940), prix Nobel de littérature en 1909, est sans conteste l'un des plus célèbres écrivains suédois. Son oeuvre est nourrie des légendes et de l'histoire de la région de Värmland, merveilleusement transposées par son imagination lyrique hors du commun. Parmi ses livres les plus fameux on peut citer La Saga de Gösta Berling et le texte qui lui valut sa renommée internationale : Le Merveilleux Voyage de Nils Holgersson à travers la Suède, réédité par Actes Sud dans sa version intégrale en 1990. Chez Actes Sud ont aussi paru Le Livre de Noël (1994), Des trolls et des hommes (1995 ; Babel n° 716), Mårbacka. souvenirs d'enfance (1997), Le Cocher (1998 ; Babel n° 566), Le Banni (1999 ; Babel n° 510), Le Violon du fou (2001 ; Babel n° 775), Les Liens invisibles (2003), L'Anneau maudit (2006). About the Author Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940), prix Nobel de littérature en 1909, est sans conteste l'un des plus célèbres écrivains suédois. Son oeuvre est nourrie des légendes et de l'histoire de la région de Värmland, merveilleusement transposées par son imagination lyrique hors du commun.

When a ruthless enemy agent devises a plot to assassinate key Western scientists and leaders, counter-agent Matt Helm is called in to stop the conspiracy before it triggers a global conflict. To protect a targeted female scientist and draw out her stalker, Helm must adopt a false identity and enter into a sudden, legally binding marriage with her. As the shadowers close in, Helm has to navigate a deadly web of professional killers, personal vendettas, and a high-stakes charade where one wrong move means death.

• secret identity
• marriage of convenience
• anti hero
• revenge

This short story by Camilla Läckberg presents a puzzling death. The circumstances surrounding an 'elegant death' are explored, drawing readers into a concise tale of crime and suspense. It offers a characteristic glimpse into the author's acclaimed work.

Es verano en Suecia, cuando brilla el sol de medianoche y el largo invierno ha sido olvidado. En este tiempo mágico, una pastora protestante, Mildred, es hallada muerta con signos de tortura en la ciudad de Kiruna. Mildred era una feminista, una luchadora amada y odiada por igual. Está claro que no todos aceptan a una mujer en la Iglesia. Rebecka Martinsson vuelve a Kiruna, el lugar donde creció, y pronto se ve envuelta en este misterioso caso: sólo ella es capaz de desenmascarar a los habitantes de esta gélida ciudad.Åsa Larsson sorprendió a los lectores con Aurora boreal, un éxito que la encumbró como la autora revelación de la novela negra escandinava. Con Sangre derramada, ganadora del Premio a la Mejor Novela Negra Sueca del Año, Larsson vuelve a envolvernos en la inolvidable e inquietante atmósfera de Kiruna.

Isak n'aurait jamais imaginé revoir son père. Il avait six ans quand ce dernier l'a abandonné, après l'incendie qui a coûté la vie à sa mère et à sa petite sœur. Pourtant, près de deux décennies plus tard, l'homme refait surface dans sa vie. Atteint d'un cancer incurable, il souhaite renouer avec son fils avant de mourir. Isak accepte de se rendre sur Gotland, l'île isolée au large de la Suède, où vit sont père. Il ne se doute pas que la demeure « Ajkeshorn » va être le décor d'un redoutable duel psychologique, où la frontière entre réalité et cauchemar s'estompe - un jeu de vie et de mort. Maniant avec une habilité diabolique la tension dramatique, Ulf Kvensler trame un roman noir puissant, où il est question de rédemption, d'identité et de tentation.

Agreeing to let Milena bring her boyfriend Jacob on their annual hiking trip, Anna and Henrik find their hike going terrifyingly wrong when all three of them realize that taking Jacob was a decision that could change their lives forever.