For the Missing

This smash hit Swedish debut breathes new life into a few well-worn det-fic themes to create a thriller that lingers in the memory * SUNDAY TIMES CRIME CLUB * A powerful Scandi Noir debut by a promising new author ... Atmospheric, evocative and with a heroine who overcomes some of the genre's clichs, this is a first-class procedural with all shades of grey unveiled like onion peel as the narrative progresses. With various parallel story strands deepening the mystery before they all come together in a flurry of unwelcome truths, this makes for an altogether excellent thriller -- Maxim Jakubowski * CRIME TIME * This debut novel from a psychology teacher upholds the recent tradition of dark Nordic noir. A girl goes missing on her way home from the party in the forested village of Gullspang. Enter a Stockholm detective with a secret of her own * THE i PAPER * This may be the debut novel for Lina Bengtsdotter, but it immediately slots her into the pantheon of Scandi Noir greats. She is a seamstress. She weaves a wonderful, embracing picture of life in a down-at-heel, dying, remote and rusty, Swedish industrial eyesore; and gradually unpicks the different threads, laying each out, its sparse clarity giving the reader a myriad of separate storylines ... For The Missing begins with the speed and power of a hydrofoil on the dangerous lake, and delves deeply into a sea of contradictions: not just involving the search for the missing girl, but the enthralling personalities and twists that Bengstdotter creates ... the pace is fast and unrelenting, but the style allows the reader to relax and absorb the plot ... For The Missing takes crime fiction to a disturbingly personal, high level -- Tony R. Cox * SHOTS MAG * This debut novel is intelligent and arresting. And grim -- Mat Coward * MORNING STAR * A brilliant, dense crime novel * Dagens Nyheter (Sweden) * The next big Swedish crime sensation * Dagbladet (Norway) * A wonderful debut * Dziennik Zachodni (Poland) * The dark humour, compelling characters and exquisite writing means you're always in for a treat with Lina Bengtsdotter's novels * Camilla Lckberg * Lina Bengtsdotter's books are beautiful, dark and completely addictive. I love them! * Katrine Engberg *

Lina Bengtsdotter grew up in Gullspng, Sweden. She is a teacher in Swedish and Psychology and has published a number of short stories in various newspapers and magazines in Sweden and the Nordic countries. She has lived in the UK and in Italy and today resides outside of Stockholm with her three children.