The Living and the Dead
  • Published: 8 January 2026
  • ISBN: 9781405980548
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 400
Categories:

The Living and the Dead

Formats & editions
EBook
8 Jan 2026
Audiobook
8 Jan 2026
Hardback
8 Feb 2026
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A dazzling, multi-award-winning mystery from the 'finest crime writer in Sweden' (David Lagercrantz)

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...
  • Published: 8 January 2026
  • ISBN: 9781405980548
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 400
Categories:

About the author

Christoffer Carlsson

Christoffer Carlsson has a PhD in criminology, and is a university lecturer in the subject. He has written five crime novels, including the bestselling The Invisible Man from Salem and the Young Adult noir October is the Coldest Month.

portrait photo of Christoffer Carlsson

Also by Christoffer Carlsson

Under the Storm
Blaze Me a Sun
See all

Praise for The Living and the Dead

I just don't know anyone else who writes quite like this. All the makings of a page-turning thriller, but with an emotional depth that is truly rare. Carlsson is far and away my favourite Scandinavian crime writer at the moment, and The Living and the Dead is among his very best.

Fredrik Backman, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The Living and the Dead deserves to reach readers worldwide

Palle Rosenkrantz Prize for Best Translated Crime Novel