Feature
Martin Österdahl’s Max Anger series sold to US and adapted by Pinewood Studios
Author Martin Österdahl has more than one string on his bow. The sequel to last years praised debut, Tio svenskar måste dö (Ten Swedes Must Die), will be available in Swedish bookstores the 28th of August.
In Tio svenskar måste dö a dead man is found in a hope-chest during a farm auction in Roslagen. His body is cut in half and he has strange symbols engraved in the forehead.
The dead man turns out to be the head of the Swedish Migration Board and is the first in a row of high-ranking Swedes who fall victim to a brutal assassin. Nobody knows who is next to die. Nobody knows how to protect themselves from an invisible enemy.
At the same time, the Russian Navy holds its biggest navy exercise since the fall of the wall and the unsuspecting Kursk nuclear submarine goes due below water. While the Russian sailors are fighting for their lives, President Putin coldly restrain to aid them and a new-old East-West conflict restarts.
The only one to see how the happenings hang together is the Russian expert Max Anger. Only he can stop the killer. But in the fight against the clock he is opposed from all directions. And the evil has its origins far back in time, in the darkest chapter of Swedish history. Events no one wants to resurface again…
The novel has already been acquired by Finland, Norway, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Czech Republic and most recently the United States.
Ask No Mercy, Martin Österdahl’s debut, have recently been bought by Pinewood Studios for adaptation. Upon acquiring the rights, Pinewood Studios immediately started development of the novel into a six episode series. No airdate is set yet, director and screenwriter to be announced later.
When reading an early draft of the novel, Christian Wikander, co-production director Pinewood Television, immediately saw the international potential:
”The storyline is exceptionally good, and mixed with Österdahl’s deep knowledge of Russia and the connection to scandi noir makes is very suitable for a television series. Together with Nice Drama we have already started development.”
