'A breath of fresh cold air . . . a dangerous edge to gladden fans of Lisbeth Salander' Boyd Tonkin The first in the Rebecka Martinsson series from the million-book bestselling author, for fans of Stieg Larsson, The Bridge and The Killing TV series. A church in the glittering frozen wastes of northern Sweden. Inside, a sacrifice: the body of a man - slashed to pieces, hands severed, eyes gouged out. The victim's sister is first to discover the body and she soon finds herself the police's only suspect. Terrified and confused, she calls on an old friend: hot-shot city lawyer Rebecka Martinsson. Can Rebecka dig beneath the surface of the community that she once fled, and find the truth? 'A chilling plot knee-deep in blood-spattered snow' Jim Kelly 'A labyrinthine conspiracy, superlative storytelling' Independent A nail biting, suspense-filled mystery' Sunday Telegraph

WINNER OF SWEDEN’S BEST FIRST CRIME NOVEL AWARD • In the land of silence and snow, the killing has begun . . . Rebecka Martinsson is heading home to Kiruna, the town she’d left in disgrace years before. A Stockholm attorney, Rebecka has a good reason to return: her friend Sanna, whose brother has been horrifically murdered in the revivalist church his charisma helped create. Beautiful and fragile, Sanna needs someone like Rebecka to remove the shadow of guilt that is engulfing her, to forestall an ambitious prosecutor and a dogged policewoman. But to help her friend, and to find the real killer of a man she once adored and is now not sure she ever knew, Rebecka must relive the darkness she left behind in Kiruna, delve into a sordid conspiracy of deceit, and confront a killer whose motives are dark, wrenching, and impossible to guess. . . . Praise for Sun Storm “Richly atmospheric.”—Kirkus Reviews “Larsson builds suspense gradually but inexorably, and she is equally good at creating mood. . . .This impressive debut heralds another striking voice from Scandinavia.”—Booklist “For those who eschew exotic travel in favor of the familiar hammock, there’s nothing better than a well-written and well-translated story from some place you’ll probably never visit. is that story and more!”—Rocky Mountain News

'A breath of fresh cold air . . . a dangerous edge to gladden fans of Lisbeth Salander' Boyd Tonkin The first in the Rebecka Martinsson series from the million-book bestselling author, for fans of Stieg Larsson, The Bridge and The Killing TV series. A church in the glittering frozen wastes of northern Sweden. Inside, a sacrifice- the body of a man - slashed to pieces, hands severed, eyes gouged out. The victim's sister is first to discover the body and she soon finds herself the police's only suspect. Terrified and confused, she calls on an old friend- hot-shot city lawyer Rebecka Martinsson. Can Rebecka dig beneath the surface of the community that she once fled, and find the truth? 'A chilling plot knee-deep in blood-spattered snow' Jim Kelly 'A labyrinthine conspiracy, superlative storytelling' Independent A nail biting, suspense-filled mystery' Sunday Telegraph Asa Larsson has sold over a million and a half books worldwide. Her first novel, The Savage Altar, won the award for Sweden's best first crime novel. Her second novel, The Blood Spilt, is also available from Penguin now. %%%Before Stieg Larsson, there was Asa Larsson . . .The Savage Altar is a truly absorbing, atmospheric and fast-paced thriller featuring lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, a fantastic character in the mould of The Silence of the Lambs'Clarice Starling. A church in the glittering frozen wastes of northern Sweden. Inside, a sacrifice- the body of a man - slashed to pieces, hands severed, eyes gouged out. The victim's sister, Sanna, is first to discover the body and immediately finds herself the police's only suspect. Terrified and confused, she calls on a friend- got-shot city lawyer Rebecka Martinsson. Rebecka hardly wants to return to Kiruna - the small town she fled in disgrace years ago. But Sanna is frightened and she needs a loyal friend to clear her name. Someone not scared to dig deep and find the true killer. Yet Rebecka is not especially welcomed into the closed-lipped community. She might know the town, the people and how suspicious they can be of strangers but she has still to find out how dark the town's secrets have become in her absence. 'A chilling plot knee-deep in blood-spattered snow' Jim Kelly 'A labyrinthine conspiracy, superlative storytelling' Independent A nail biting, suspense-filled mystery' Sunday Telegraph Asa Larsson was born in 1966 and lives in Sweden. Her second novel, The Blood Spilt, is available from Penguin now and she is the winner of Sweden's best first crime novel award.

On the windswept shore of a frozen lake lurks a faceless killer determined to keep the past buried forever beneath half a century's silent ice and snow. The body of a young woman surfaces in the River Torne, in the far north of Sweden. Meanwhile, Rebecka Martinsson is working as a prosecutor in nearby Kiruna. Her sleep has been disturbed by haunting visions of a shadowy, accusing figure. Could the body be connected to the ghostly young woman in her dreams? Joining forces once again with Police Inspector Anna-Maria Mella, Rebecka is drawn into a murder and missing-person investigation that becomes entangled with old rumors of a German supply plane that mysteriously disappeared in 1943. Shame and secrecy shroud the locals' memories of the war, with Sweden's early collaboration with the Nazis still a raw wound. With psychologically complex twists and turns, this harrowing thriller captivates from the very first page.

It’s midsummer in Sweden—when the light lingers through dawn and a long, isolating winter finally comes to an end. In this magical time, a brutal killer has chosen to strike. A female priest—who made enemies and acolytes in equal number—has been found hanging in her church. And a big-city lawyer quite acquainted with death enters the scene as police and parishioners try to pick up the pieces.... Not long ago, attorney Rebecka Martinsson had to kill three men in order to stop an eerily similar murder spree—one that also involved a priest. Now she is back in Kiruna, the region of her birth, while a determined policewoman gnaws on the case and people who loved or loathed the victim mourn or revel in her demise. The further Rebecka is drawn into the mystery—a mystery that will soon take another victim—the more the dead woman’s world clutches her: a world of hurt and healing, sin and sexuality, and, above all, of sacrifice. In prose that is both lyrical and visceral, Åsa Larsson has crafted a novel of pure entertainment, a taut, atmospheric mystery that will hold you in thrall until the last, unforgettable page is turned

"Rebecka Martinsson: the new Scandi-noir heroine to rival Saga Noren and Sarah Lund" iNews "In a television world now awash in female coppers, there aren't many as interesting and human as Rebecka" Wall Street Journal At the end of a deadly bear hunt across the wilderness of Northern Sweden, the successful hunters are shaken by a grisly discovery. Across in Kurravaara, a woman is murdered with frenzied brutality: crude abuse scrawled above her bloodied bed, her young grandson nowhere to be found. Only Rebecka Martinsson sees a connection. Dropped from the case thanks to a jealous rival, she now stands alone against a killer who brings death to young and old, spawned by a horrifying crime that festers after one hundred years on ice. The novels that inspired Rebecka Martinsson: Arctic Murders - the major TV series Translated from Swedish by Laurie Thompson

Drooling fanatic, n. 1. One who drools in the presence of beloved rock stars. 2. Any of a genus of rock-and-roll wannabes/geeks who walk around with songs constantly ringing in their ears, own more than 3,000 albums, and fall in love with at least one record per week. With a life that’s spanned the phonographic era and the digital age, Steve Almond lives to Rawk. Like you, he’s secretly longed to live the life of a rock star, complete with insane talent, famous friends, and hotel rooms to be trashed. Also like you, he’s content (sort of) to live the life of a rabid fan, one who has converted his unrequited desires into a (sort of) noble obsession. Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life traces Almond’s passion from his earliest (and most wretched) rock criticism to his eventual discovery of a music-crazed soul mate and their subsequent production of two little superfans. Along the way, Almond reflects on the delusional power of songs, the awkward mating habits of drooling fanatics, and why Depression Songs actually make us feel so much better. The book also includes: • sometimes drunken interviews with America’s finest songwriters • a recap of the author’s terrifying visit to Graceland while stoned • a vigorous and credibility-shattering endorsement of Styx’s Paradise Theater • recommendations you will often choose to ignore • a reluctant exegesis of the Toto song “Africa” • obnoxious lists sure to piss off rock critics But wait, there’s more. Readers will also be able to listen to a special free mix designed by the author, available online at www.stevenalmond.com, for the express purpose of eliciting your drool. For those about to rock—we salute you!

Misuse of the Bible has made hatred holy. In this provocative book,Adrian Thatcher argues that debates on sexuality currently ragingthrough the churches are the latest outbreak in a long line ofsavage interpretations of the Bible. Fascinating reading for anyoneconcerned about the future of Christianity. A provocative book claiming that debates on sexuality currentlyraging through the churches are the latest outbreak in a long lineof savage interpretations of the Bible Argues that the Bible has been abused to convert the“good news” which it brings to the world, into onewhich has been used to discriminate against many groups, includingchildren, women, Jews, people of color, slaves, heretics, andhomosexuals Asks how Christians have been able to conduct, in public and ona global scale, an argument that has exposed so much prejudice,fear and hatred Offers an alternative, faithful and peaceable reading of theBible, drawing on numerous examples throughout Breaks new ground in debates about sexual ethics and biblicalinterpretation

“An over-the-top romp through 1870s America . . . compulsively readable.” —Oprah.com Jean Zimmerman’s spectacular follow-up to The Orphanmaster has it all: Gilded Age romance, robber baron excess, detective story suspense, and a compelling female protagonist whom readers will fall in love with. In 1875, the Delegates, an outlandishly wealthy Manhattan couple on a tour of the American West, seek out a sideshow attraction called “Savage Girl.” Her handlers avow that the wild, seemingly mute Bronwyn has been raised by wolves. Presented with the perfect blank slate to explore the power of civilized nurture, the Delegates take her back east to be introduced into high society. Cleaned up, Bronwyn is blazingly smart and darkly beautiful; as she takes steps toward her grand debut, a series of suitors find her irresistible—and begin to turn up murdered.

'To write about suicide . to transform the subject into something beautiful - this is the foreboding task that Alvarez set for himself . he has succeeded.' The New York Times