Pen 33 - Tapa blanda

"It's like Traffic on the Swedish-Polish border, but everything from the weather to the criminals' hearts is a little colder."--People Magazine

"Provocative . . . The masterful writing and cleverly constructed layers make a handsome reward for those who can bear the graphic, first-person descriptions of murders."--Booklist (Starred Review)

"Gritty and frequently chilling . . . Pen 33 is a disturbing novel as it indicates that events cannot always be seen in black-and-white."
--New York Journal of Books


Winner of The Glass Key 2005 for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year
Praise for Roslund & Hellstrom
"A thrill-a-minute cat and mouse game . . . A grimly amoral tale."--Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"A sprawling and often gripping thriller . . . The gritty details of drug dealing, of prison life, and of the relations between cops and informants are all rendered with convincing authority in Three Seconds."--Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

"The twisty plot makes for propulsive reading."--Entertainment Weekly

"Blistering . . . Roslund and Hellström force [readers] to consider who in this denunciation of governmental policies and practices are the victims and who are the criminals."--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Known for the social consciousness they bring to their [books], Roslund and Hellström depict a world riddled by abuse . . . This is no standard thriller. [They] chill the bone with their account of a monstrous pedophile."
--Kirkus Reviews


"Of all the books in the series, this is arguably the most important and controversial one . . . Roslund and Hellström's brutal collaboration provides stark and unforgettable imagery, and raises questions that aren't easily answered to anyone's satisfaction."
--Joe Hartlaub, The Bookreporter

BERNT LUND IS AN UNREPENTANT MONSTER. AND NOW HE'S ON THE LOOSE . . .

AN UNFLINCHING EXPLORATION OF WHAT PEOPLE--BOTH CRIMINALS AND VICTIMS--ARE CAPABLE OF WHEN THEY RELINQUISH SELF-CONTROL.
"BLISTERING." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED REVIEW)
"PROVOCATIVE." --BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)
"THIS IS NO STANDARD THRILLER." --KIRKUS REVIEWS

Bernt Lund harbors a sickness. He is a monster, an unrepentant child molester and serial killer. In the mind of society, in the minds of his nine-year-old victims' parents, and in the minds of his fellow inmates, he is a waking nightmare. And now he has escaped from custody--the worst scenario imaginable for Aspsås Prison's Department for Sexual Crimes.
Detective Superintendent Ewert Grens is about to encounter the most profoundly appalling case in his career, and perhaps in Stockholm's history. During the course of one long, hot summer, Sweden will face an explosive series of events that spread across the country like wildfire, events that call into question the very nature of humanity, duty, forgiveness, and self-defense. And justice.