BONES OF THE DEAD (TRE VARV MOTSOLS)

Book 1 in the Edda Chronicles

Meet Edda Erlenstam who will, much like a female Indiana Jones, traverse the remotest regions of 1920-40s Sweden on her mission to unearth ancient artifacts and uncover archaic folk legends across the series. 

Northern Sweden, the summer of 1929. Edda Erlenstam arrives in Jämtland equipped with a revolver, a camping stove, and her trusty bicycle. Her official mission, as an assistant archivist at the National Folklore Archive, is to collect folk tales and document local myths. The true objective, however, is finding a fabled 17th-century book of black magic. This grimoire, once owned by the enigmatic Mister Ola, is shrouded in rumours of dark sorcery and communion with the sinister underground people the  vittra. The question is, what happened to the book after Ola’s death? 

Obtaining the book would secure Edda’s position at the archive, which is precarious to say the least considering she lacks the academic degrees held by all her male colleagues. But Edda has skills they don’t; she was brought up in a working-class home in the north, and knows how to get the locals talking, even about the most sensitive topics. 

Edda’s relentless pursuit of the grimoire soon arouses hostility in the isolated Jämtland villages, escalating into terrifying acts of violence. As Edda and her beau, Dr Jonas Tomner, realise that they are not the only ones searching for the book they end up in a life-or-death pursuit across the moors and through the deep forests. 

At the same time, Edda begins to experience strange phenomena – dizziness, hallucinations, and waking nightmares – and she starts to wonder if those are the side effects of the new sleeping draughts Dr Tomner has given her against her insomnia, or if there is perhaps some truth to the ancient legends of black magic and mysterious creatures after all? 

BONES OF THE DEAD is a spellbinding and eerie historical suspense debut steeped in Nordic folklore and the dark arts, with a plucky heroine one will not soon forget. 

The fact that Edda is based on a real-life person, Ella Odstedt, a female 20thcentury collector of folk tales, only heightens the allure to get to know Edda, and the series, better. 

Rights

Sweden: Albert Bonniers Förlag

REVIEWS

“Per Faxneld’s eerie historical adventure Bones of the Dead is a one-of-a-kind debut: enigmatic, accomplished and deeply rooted in Faxneld’s unique knowledge of history and folklore. It is a novel that will play with your mind and have you question the reality around you, while at the same time keeping you deliciously entertained throughout. A page-turner from Northern Sweden, with bicycle chases on bumpy forest trails and a truly unforgettable heroine!”
–Johanna Haegerström, editor, Albert Bonniers Förlag, SWE