A deep-cover CIA agent races across Europe to save the daughter he never knew in this electrifying debut thriller--an international sensation billed as "Homeland meets Stieg Larsson" that heralds the arrival of a new master sure to follow in the footsteps of Stieg Larsson, John Le Carré, and Graham Greene.
In the end, you cannot hide who you are.
Klara Walldéen was raised by her grandparents on a remote archipelago in the Baltic Sea, learning to fish and hunt and sail a boat through a storm. Now, as an EU Parliament aide in Brussels, she is learning how to navigate the treacherous currents of international politics: the lines between friend and enemy, truth and lies.
But Klara has accidentally seen something she shouldn't have: a laptop containing information so sensitive that someone will kill to keep hidden. Suddenly, she is thrown into a terrifying chase across Europe, with no idea who is hunting her or why.
Meanwhile, in Virginia, an old spy hides from his past. Once, he was a man of action, an operative so dedicated that he abandoned his infant daughter to keep his cover. Now, he is the only man who can save Klara . . . and she is the only woman who can allow him to lay old ghosts to rest.
About the Author :
Joakim Zander was born in Stockholm, has lived in Syria and Israel, and graduated from high school in the United States. He earned a PhD in law from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and has worked as a lawyer for the European Union in Brussels and Helsinki. Rights to his debut novel The Swimmer were sold in twenty-eight countries. Zander lives and works in southern Sweden with his family. Elizabeth Clark Wessel is an editor at Argos Books & Circumference: Poetry in Translation and author of the chapbook Whither Weather. Her poems and translations have appeared in DIAGRAM, A Public Space, Guernica, Sixth Finch, Lana Turner Journal, The Laurel Review, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn, NY and works as a translator.
Peter Ganim, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, is an American actor who has appeared on stage, on television, and in film. He has performed voice-over work since 1994.
Elisabeth Rodgers is an actress and AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator. After graduating from Princeton University, she completed a two-year program at William Esper Studio, where she studied with Maggie Flanigan. Her audiobook narration training came from Robin Miles, who has also directed her in several productions. She has recorded dozens of books for a multitude of publishers.
Review :
"The Swimmer is hypnotic and intoxicating, pulling us relentlessly across the globe from page to page, intrigue to intrigue."
-- "Olen Steinhauer, New York Times bestselling author of The Cairo Affair"
"A terrific globe-trotting page-turner, rich with complex conflicts and a big, meaty, chillingly credible conspiracy."
-- "Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats and The Accident"
"An international thriller with the pace and intensity of a Jason Bourne adventure...Skillfully moving between the past and the present, from Sweden to Syria to Washington and back again, Zander weaves an increasingly tight web of intrigue and suspense...A compulsively readable page-turner with unexpected heart."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"First-novelist Zander has written a truly polished and compelling thriller...Tension and action abound. But it is the depth of Zander's characters and the quality of the writing, which at times touches elegance, that make The Swimmer a winner...Zander looks to be a very talented new branch on the flourishing tree of Scandinavian crime fiction."
-- "Booklist (starred review)"
"How can The Swimmer be a first novel? It is dazzling not only in its plotting and character portraits, but in the sophistication of its structure, which keeps us breathless and guessing. An impressive and memorable work, comparable to the best of John le Carré."
-- "Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Suspicion"
"Swedish author Zander's entertaining first novel owes more to Forsythe and Ludlum than to Larsson and Mankell...Given Zander's literate, descriptive style, it's easy to see why this thriller has been a bestseller in Europe."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
