SLEEP LITTLE WILLOW (Sov du lilla videung)

Promo video (in Swedish)

Autumn 2015 and Sweden is facing a refugee crisis. At Stockholm Central station the situation is chaotic. Volunteers are trying doing their best to help, including Olivia Rönning.

When she is not busy in Mette Olsäter’s investigation team, she devotes her time as a volunteer distributing food at the Central station. In the steady stream of refugees, an unaccompanied girl arrives. She has been warned to liaise with the authorities, and begins to live her life in the streets of Stockholm until she receives help from a homeless, off and on drug abusing, woman, Muriel. Together they seek shelter in a small cottage in the Lissmar woods, but is the forest really safer than the streets of Stockholm?

The former detective – and formerly homeless – Tom Stilton has gone through a crisis after his friend Mette Olsäter questioned his sense of right and wrong. Now he wants to prove her wrong and offers his time and skills to her team. Something Mette cannot decline. Her group investigates a murder of a teenage boy and the trails lead to Romania. She sends Tom Stilton and Olivia Rönning to Bucharest to see if they can determine the boy’s identity. A decision which proofs to be more dangerous than any of them could anticipate.

465 pages

RIGHTS

Belgium: AW Bruna
Croatia: Znanje
Czech Republic: Euromedia
Denmark: Gyldendal
Estonia: Kirjastus Sinisukk
Finland: Schildts & Söderström
Germany: btb
Iceland: Forlagid
Latvia: Zvaigzne ABC Publishers
Lithuania: Obuolys
The Netherlands: AW Bruna
Norway: Gyldendal
Poland: Sonia Draga
Slovakia: Ikar a.s.
Slovenia: Hisa knjig Kms
Sweden: Norstedts

REVIEWS

“Crime readers love novels that are exciting – and that is exactly what Sleep Little Willow is, the fourth book in the series about the police duo Tom Stilton and Olivia Rönning. There is no doubt that Swedish Cilla and Rolf Börjlind are great craftsmen in crime writing. This time with a story of how some of the many unaccompanied young children in Sweden are abused by the ugliest. Threads are drawn from Romania to Africa to Stockholm. Terrible – and cruelly creepy.”
Århus Stiftstidende / DK

“Maybe you already know Tom Stilton – the former homeless police officer – and Police Commissioner Olivia Rönning. In Sleep Little Willow the investigators are wrapped up in a case of xenophobia, refugee crisis and criminals from Europe’s shadow side. Scary nowadays in the light of the many refugees who have arrived at Stockholm’s railway station. Here too, there are unscrupulous adults who take advantage of unaccompanied children. But the Börjlinds succeeds in describing a great contemporary problem together with some hope: everywhere there are people who exploit others for their own sake. But, there are also good people who unselfishly help where it is mostly needed.”
Nordjyske Stiftstidende / DK

“When fear leads to violence.”
Allt for damerne / DK

“Cruel reading, but fortunately also with uplifting bright spots.”
FamiljeJournalen / DK

“With Börjlinds, we see the type of crimes committed across the borders of Europe. This fourth time in Sleep Little Willow it is about unaccompanied children in the ever-standing refugee crisis, which reaches Stockholm as well. And it is clear that Börjlinds have significant storytelling experience.”
Jyllands-Posten / DK

“In Sleep Little Willow we are confronted with the refugee crisis, which has dominated the headlines lately. An interesting crime novel about all that we do not dare to face, but that is happening around us every day. Well written and brave.”
Femina / DK

“Sleep Little Willow is a gruesome story about greedy volunteers and unscrupulous criminals operating in the refugees streams from south to north.”
Kristeligt Dagblad / DK

“Cilla and Rolf Börjlind, have with their fourth novel about Olivia Rönning and Tom Stilton, in my opinion delivered their best crime novel to this date.”
Københavneravisen / DK

“This is the fourth book about Olivia Rönning and Tom Stilton, but it really does not matter if you have not read the previous books. You get to know the characters just as well anyways. But the very best – and most frightening – about this story is how realistic it is. This could just as well have been something I read about in the newspaper and seen on the news. There are a lot of evil, but nothing is black or white. This isn’t just any suspense novel, this is on a different level. And I am totally in love with how nicely everything is tied together. I won’t say more, but it’s utterly brilliant.”
Barometern / SWE

“The new book in the Rönning /Stilton series is the sharpest of them all. And the tempo has increased.The Börjlinds stand in the middle of our major contemporary problems, and manage to pull out the essence: Reality is horrible and evil in some places, populated by people who want to do each other evil. But there are also a number of petty thieves and villains that only supports the evil for their own benefit. It is scary, believable and incredibly exciting, but never reduced to being only action.”
Dagens Nyheter / SWE

“The Börjlinds couple is extremely good on macabre murders and on people.”
Politiken / DK

“Börjlind’s have created their so far strongest crime novel.”
Trelleborgs Allehanda / SWE

“An alarmingly scary as well as “nail biting exciting” story.”
Norra Skåne / SWE

“Just like Spring Tide, Sleep Little Willow will make a perfect film or television series.”
Östgöra Correspondenten / SWE

“Börjlinds previous novels have all held a very high quality. And yet, this is even better.”
Västerbottens Folkblad / SWE

“Once again I am impressed over the authors’ ability to build up a thrilling as well as very timely accurate story, portraying society today. What happens in this book could very well happen in real life, which makes it more exciting and frightening than it would be otherwise. I was very touched. This is the first time my eyes tear up from reading a crime novel.”
Just här – Just nu, blog / SWE

“Like before in the series about Rönning and Stilton, suspense and crime novel is mixed in contemporary problems and settings, this time the migration in Europe. This is very suspenseful, uncomfortable and a horrifying crime story. I think it is really smartly connected this time, and the characters which I have followed in the previous books (and the SPRING TIDE TV-series), is easy to feel a lot for. This is actually the best so far in the series, and it gives a taste for more. I hope I don’t have to wait too long for the next book.”
Böcker i örat, blog / SWE