The Writing in the Water
A Thriller
Published on 11. November 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
477 pages
978-1-6625-2504-9 (ISBN)
Description
In this sweeping and suspenseful start to the Bloodstorm series, an ex-cop turned crime writer teams up with a mysterious hacker to solve a murder-and uncovers corruption along the way.
Julia Malmros is thriving. A former police officer making her way in the world of crime fiction, she's turning popularity into fame by writing the next book in a world-renowned suspense series.
To help her research, Julia connects with Kim Ribbing. More hacker than man, Kim bears a dark past that's the very antithesis of the promising future she has planned for herself. They share an undeniable spark-yet it's likely to implode.
That's the least of Julia's worries.
Hounded by publicity, Julia retreats to her cottage in the Stockholm archipelago. It's there that she begins to reevaluate her life, reunite with Kim...and return to her investigative roots after tragedy unfolds on a nearby pier. The victim: a billionaire, her childhood friend.
Julia's ex, Jonny, leads the official investigation, but Julia knows there's no such thing as coincidence. And as she and Kim follow the trail of cash, corruption follows dangerously close behind.
Julia Malmros is thriving. A former police officer making her way in the world of crime fiction, she's turning popularity into fame by writing the next book in a world-renowned suspense series.
To help her research, Julia connects with Kim Ribbing. More hacker than man, Kim bears a dark past that's the very antithesis of the promising future she has planned for herself. They share an undeniable spark-yet it's likely to implode.
That's the least of Julia's worries.
Hounded by publicity, Julia retreats to her cottage in the Stockholm archipelago. It's there that she begins to reevaluate her life, reunite with Kim...and return to her investigative roots after tragedy unfolds on a nearby pier. The victim: a billionaire, her childhood friend.
Julia's ex, Jonny, leads the official investigation, but Julia knows there's no such thing as coincidence. And as she and Kim follow the trail of cash, corruption follows dangerously close behind.
Reviews / Votes
"Lindqvist plays the book's metafictional notes softly enough that they never become distracting, and the chemistry between his leads is electric. Readers will be eager for the sequel." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)"John Ajvide Lindqvist has an unfailing ability to breathe life into his characters." -Dagens Nyheter
"Entanglements around the globe, ruthlessness, and greed-the abysses that Julia and Kim experience are frighteningly real. A thriller with an incredibly dense atmosphere and complex characters, a successful start to the already very successful Bloodstorm Trilogy in Sweden." -Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)
"Ajvide really has an ability to captivate the reader from start to finish in both a clever and refined way. I read this book in one sitting and I'm already longing for part two." -Tidningen Laes
"When John Ajvide Lindqvist ventures into the suspense genre, he brings with him all of his knowledge from horror writing and the great, wonderful desire for storytelling that is significant for his entire authorship." -Lars Kepler
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Seattle
United States
Publishing group
Amazon Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
508 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6625-2504-9 (9781662525049)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
John Ajvide Lindqvist-dubbed Sweden's answer to Stephen King by the Daily Mirror-is a Nordic horror master who leaves readers terrified yet craving more. With limitless imagination and a keen sense of language, he creates new worlds, tempting you to laugh in the middle of darkness even as he leads you into the unknown.
Born in 1968, John grew up in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm. A fan of magic, he started out as a conjurer, then did stand-up comedy for twelve years before finding his true calling: writing. In 2004, he debuted his now internationally acclaimed novel Let the Right One In.
Since then, John has written more novels, as well as works for stage and screen. Published in thirty-one countries, his writing has earned awards like the Selma Lagerloef Prize and Best Novel in Translation (Norway). His work has also been short-listed for the August Prize, Book of the Year, and Swedish Radio Literature Prize.
To learn more, visit www.johnajvidelindqvist.com/english.php.
After a thirty-year career as a US diplomat that included lengthy assignments in Europe, Africa, and Latin America, Michael Meigs settled in Austin, Texas. His literary translations have been awarded the American-Scandinavian Foundation's annual translation prize and the American Translators Association's Lewis Galantiere Award. His translation of Dolores Redondo's The North Face of the Heart was short-listed for the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Translation Prize. He has reviewed live narrative theatre in Austin and elsewhere in Central Texas since 2008, when he established his website www.CTXLiveTheatre.com. Michael is production coordinator for an Austin opera company, finance director for the Austin Area Interpreters and Translators Association (AATIA), and a member of the Austin Theatre Critics Table.
Born in 1968, John grew up in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm. A fan of magic, he started out as a conjurer, then did stand-up comedy for twelve years before finding his true calling: writing. In 2004, he debuted his now internationally acclaimed novel Let the Right One In.
Since then, John has written more novels, as well as works for stage and screen. Published in thirty-one countries, his writing has earned awards like the Selma Lagerloef Prize and Best Novel in Translation (Norway). His work has also been short-listed for the August Prize, Book of the Year, and Swedish Radio Literature Prize.
To learn more, visit www.johnajvidelindqvist.com/english.php.
After a thirty-year career as a US diplomat that included lengthy assignments in Europe, Africa, and Latin America, Michael Meigs settled in Austin, Texas. His literary translations have been awarded the American-Scandinavian Foundation's annual translation prize and the American Translators Association's Lewis Galantiere Award. His translation of Dolores Redondo's The North Face of the Heart was short-listed for the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Translation Prize. He has reviewed live narrative theatre in Austin and elsewhere in Central Texas since 2008, when he established his website www.CTXLiveTheatre.com. Michael is production coordinator for an Austin opera company, finance director for the Austin Area Interpreters and Translators Association (AATIA), and a member of the Austin Theatre Critics Table.