Lina Areklew will be debuting on the 25th of May with Beneath the Surface, as the first crime author published by Strawberry Publishing in Sweden.

Beneath the Surface is the first book in the thrilling crime series about Estonia-survivor Fredrik Fröding and police officer Sofia Hjortén. A page turning and poignant suspense novel about grief and and overcoming traumas, with murder and deceit, set on a quaint Swedish island.

Fredrik Fröding is a drop-out police trainee who lost his entire family in the Estonia disaster. Sofia Hjortén is the investigator who joined the police force in Örnsköldsvik after a successful career in Stockholm, to heal from a trauma that still haunts her. Fifteen years ago they had a brief romance that ended badly. Now they meet again during the midsummer weekend on the idyllic island Ulvön. She as an investigator of a brutal murder. He as a suspect. When the murder is followed by several more the terror spreads and Sofia and her colleagues are faced with their toughest case so far. At the same time Fredrik is continuing the mission that started it all: to find the brother he is convinced survived the ferry catastrophe and is out there somewhere.

Lina Areklew’s debut crime novel is set in the archipelago of Höga Kusten and Stockholm city center, which are also the places that are closest to Lina’s heart since she was born in Stockholm and moved to Örnsköldsvik as a child and that’s where she grew up. Today Lina lives with her children in the northwest of Stockholm.

“I was lucky to have four publishing houses to choose between, but chose the newly started Strawberry Publishing. To make my debut as their first crime novelist is a privilege and a dream come true after many years”, says Lina Areklew.

“To let a police be a survivor from Estonia is a smart move”, says Karin Linge Nordh, publisher at Strawberry Publishing. “The Estonia disaster is a Swedish trauma that hasn’t taken up a lot of room in Swedish fiction and the depiction of the police Fredrik Fröding’s PTSD is just as strong as the crime-plot”.

We are excited to share more about this exciting new authorship with all of you soon!