The Living and the Dead
- Published: 8 January 2026
- ISBN: 9781405980548
- Imprint: Penguin eBooks
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 400
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
Here's a thriller to break your heart: a magnificent new novel, epic but immediate, menacing yet moral, that assembles some of the most beloved tropes of recent years - the frostbitten danger of Scandinavian crime; the small-town intimacy of Broadchurch - and charges them with fresh dark energy. And if you think international fiction isn't for you, The Living and the Dead proves that fear needs no translation.
AJ Finn, #1 bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
A tender and beautifully written novel about a crime that rocks a small community. But really it is about the people involved, the impact of violence and the danger of keeping secrets. Atmospheric and thought provoking, I became totally immersed in this cold, fractured world.
Araminta Hall, author of One of the Good Guys
Carlsson twines together national and personal trauma to devastating effect . . . What I most loved is how Carlsson plumbs what can and cannot be known about human lives and criminal investigations . . . how familial love can blind people to difficult truths, and how 'closure' often never happens.
New York Times
Carlsson is to the police procedural what Cormac McCarthy is to the Western . . . If you read crime fiction, you’ll find yourself gripped by the ingenious plotting. If you read literary fiction, you’ll find yourself moved by the gorgeous writing.
Anthony Marra, New York Times bestselling author of Mercury Pictures Presents
Carlsson has a knack for psychological procedurals, as his latest proves, with numerous characters and motives to keep readers guessing. . . . A must for Nordic noir and psychological mystery fans.
Library Journal, starred review
The finest crime writer we have in Sweden.
David Lagercrantz, bestselling author of The Girl in the Spider's Web