The Bomber, by Liza Marklund (Bantam Press, RRP $37):
Swedish author Liza Marklund delivers, once again, a fast- paced thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Just days before Christmas, a phonecall in the wee small hours wakes newly promoted Stockholm-based crime editor Annika Bengtzon with the news that there has been a fatal explosion at the Olympic Stadium.
But as Annika digs into the details in an attempt to find out who was behind the bombing, there is another explosion.
This is set to become the biggest story of Annika’s career but only if it doesn’t end her life.
As she uncovers more and more details on the case it becomes clear she has uncovered a little too much and is now herself the target of the killer.
However, Liza Marklund’s lead female character is no shrinking violet so there is no chance she will back off.
It is refreshing to have a female character who comes across as strong, independent and believable and it is easy to see why this book held on to the No 1 spot on the Swedish bestseller list for a whopping 17 consecutive months.
Marklund has been compared to the late Stieg Larsson, author of the Millennium trilogy.
The first book from that series – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – was last year remade into a Hollywood movie but the trilogy was first filmed by Swedish film and television company Yellow Bird.
That company has also acquired film rights to six of Marklund’s Annika Bengtzon books and plans to produce movies for the Scandinavian and international film markets.
Interestingly, Yellow Bird was co- founded by yet another talented Swedish author, Henning Mankell, to produce films based on his Kurt Wallander crime novels.
But back to this book: The Bomber is a detailed but absorbing read that will have you hooked from the first page.