To Catch an Angel (Jag ska fånga en ängel)

”It was as if his touch filled her with beautiful poison which made her forget children, husband, career and tomorrow.”

To Catch an Angel is a relationship novel about passion and loyalty, a destiny drama about a young man stabbed to death, a highly topical portrait of the segregated Stockholm – Håkan Östlundh’s latest novel doesn’t leave anyone unmoved.

Paul Bäckström, a recently divorced police in the Stockholm suburb Sollentuna, is drawn into a passionate relationship with the married publisher Ylva Ström. On the surface the two seem to have nothing in common. And maybe they don’t. Still, Ylva throws herself into a taxi to get to Sollentuna as often as she can make up a decent lie to her husband. The forbidden love keeps both Ylva and Paul alive.

But reality moves in closer. Paul is investigating a teenage murder which gets a lot of attention in the media and is caught between old friendships and new loyalties when he is involved in a too personal way. At the same time Ylva needs to make a number of hard decisions. Life is not only a passion. It is also career, family and everyday life. And everything has a price. Is she ready to live with herself if she lets her children down? And how does one know what is love and what is just passion?

To Catch an Angel is about the consequences which occur when strong feelings and different worlds crash in full speed.

401 pages

Rights sold

Italy: Fazi Editore
Norway: Cappelen DAMM
Sweden: Forum

REVIEWS

”Östlundh continues to develop hist writing and delivers yet another must read book.”
Nerikes Allehanda / SWE

”The crime is secondary in this novel – a story about segregation and about Swedish suburban life of today – but most of all it’s a book about passion, betrayal and relations. /…/ Östlundh catches the conflict between lust and anguish in Ylva. He describes her growing desperation and uncertainty in an almost painful way. The sole of this book lays in the relationship between the police man and the book publisher. Östlundh’s straightforwardness and simplicity in the language touches the reader and makes you very engaged.”
Kristianstadsbladet / SWE

”Östlundh is a good story teller which doesn’t take shortcuts trough sentimentality or psychological amateurism. The power of his language is very rare among contemporary writers. /…/ I was very touched and couldn’t put down the book until I reached the last page. /… / Also, he is just as skilful in describing the youngsters living their life at the bottom of society and he has an eye for their way of looking at other teenagers happily living their lives in the upper class areas. And the best of all, Östlundh doesn’t judge his characters. He’s just a megaphone for the voices of Sweden of today. /…/ This is the new type of crime novel and I really embrace it.”
DAST Magazine / SWE

”With a low key but with lots of realism Östlundh manages to describe how the growing differences has changed our childhood society.” (Four hearts of five).
Femina / SWE

”… a well told story of teenage violence in a community ready to fall apart and about grown up anxiety in a nicer part of suburbian Stockholm – a story that bears both the color of grey every day realism and throbbing, forbidden passion.”
Veckans Affärer / SWE

”The novel To Catch An Angel is about Sollentuna but it could really take place anywhere in Sweden where there is a city and two separate worlds. /…/ Class stands against class in this book.”
Norrköpings Tidningar / SWE

“A crime novel where the intrigue is the message /…/at the same time a relation drama about passion and loyalty. It is a tight and well written novel.”
Gotlands Tidningar / SWE

“From the suburbs with heat.”
Arbetarbladet / SWE