The Swede: A Novel - Hardcover

Karjel, Robert

3.47

1,058 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062339583 ISBN 13: 9780062339584

Publisher: Harper, 2015

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A sophisticated debut novel about a Swedish security force agent on a mysterious special assignment to the U.S., The Swede fuses the psychological tension of Jo Nesb�’s thrillers with the gripping international intrigue of I Am Pilgrim and Red Sparrow.

Ernst Grip of the Swedish security police has no idea why he’s been dispatched to a remote American military base in the Indian Ocean. Met by FBI agent Shauna Friedman, he learns that the U.S. wants him to determine whether a prisoner they’re holding is a Swedish citizen.

The detainee, known only as “N.," is a suspect in an Islamist-inspired terror attack in the U.S. heartland. Tortured by the CIA, he refuses to talk. Yet all the evidence points to a cabal of survivors from the devastating 2004 tsunami that struck Thailand: a ruthless American arms dealer, a Czech hit man, a mysterious nurse from Kansas, a heartbreakingly na�ve Pakistani—and a Swede.

But the prisoner is not the only one harboring dangerous secrets. Grip hides a double life that will lead him into terra incognita, and Friedman, too, is not who she appears to be. In a world ruled by fear, mistrust, and deadly betrayal, these unlikely partners must learn to trust one another if they hope to stay alive.

Drawing on his military and diplomatic experience, Robert Karjel explores the uneasy repercussions of 9/11, illuminating the moral compromises that people—and nations—make in the name of security and survival.

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From the Back Cover:

A Swedish security agent is summoned to interrogate a terror suspect held by the FBI in this sophisticated, fast-paced thriller—but the prisoner isn't the only one with something to hide.

At a remote military base in the Indian Ocean, the FBI is trying to get a prisoner to confess. But the detainee, a suspect in an Islamist-inspired terror attack in the United States, refuses to talk.

Ernst Grip, a Swedish security officer, has no idea why he's been dispatched to New York City. The FBI agent he meets on arrival, Shauna Friedman, seems to know a little too much about him. And when he arrives at his real destination, the American authorities have just one question: Is their terror suspect a Swedish citizen?

In the process of uncovering the prisoner's true identity, Grip discovers the man's ties to a group of other suspects—a ruthless American arms dealer, a Czech hit man, a mysterious nurse from Kansas, and a heartbreakingly naive Pakistani. The closer Grip gets to the truth, the more complicated the deception becomes. Who is real and who is leading a double life?

The Swede is a riveting, intense novel about the compromises that people—and nations—make in the name of security and survival. Within this world built on secrets, Grip and Friedman have to learn to trust each other if they hope to stay alive.

About the Author:

Robert Karjel was a lieutenant colonel in the Swedish Air Force for 25 years. His job as a helicopter pilot took him all over the world, from peace-keeping missions in Afghanistan to pirate-hunting in Somalia, and he is the only Swedish pilot who has trained with the U.S. Marine Corps and flown its attack helicopters. He is the author of The Swede, his first novel to be published in English, and one of the most sought-after motivational speakers in Sweden. He lives with his family outside of Stockholm.

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