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For fans of The God of the Woods and All the Colours of the Dark, The Living and the Dead is a beautifully written, haunting murder mystery, set in a rural Swedish town, where one community's secrets will be laid bare over the next twenty years . . .

On a cold, snowy winter's night in 1999, Sander and Killian leave a house party together, in a small town in rural Sweden. The very best of friends, they imagine they will remain so forever.

The next morning, each is a key suspect in a murder. Each has something they want to conceal from the police. And from the other.

The hunt for Mikael Söderström's killer will take over twenty years. It will see a detective leave the force forever. And it won't end until a second body is found, and the tight-knit community's secrets are finally brought to light...

'The finest crime writer we have in Sweden' DAVID LAGERCRANTZ
‘All the makings of a page-turning thriller, but with an emotional depth that is truly rare’ FREDRIK BACKMAN
‘Carlsson is to the police procedural what Cormac McCarthy is to the Western. You’ll find yourself gripped by the ingenious plotting and moved by the gorgeous writing’ ANTHONY MARRA
‘Carlsson plumbs what can and cannot be known about human lives and criminal investigations’ NEW YORK TIMES

© Christoffer Carlsson 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025