Nearly there: eleven and counting for Swedish thriller

A Swedish thriller with "relentless twists and turns" portraying "every parent’s nightmare" has been sold into 11 territories since it went on submission a week ago, with offers "streaming in" from other markets.

The Ahlander Agency made a global submission for Mattias Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family on 4th April. By the end of the day, Celadon Books in the US had pre-empted in a "major deal". The book has since sold in 10 other markets, including Spain (Salamandra), Germany (Blanvalet), France (Sonatine) and Poland (Znak).

There were five other auctions ongoing as The Bookseller Daily went to press, including six publishers vying for the title in the UK.

The story revolves around 19-year-old Stella, an "ordinary teenager from an upstanding family" who is accused of murdering a shady older businessman. The story is told from the point of view of three characters: Stella; her doting father Adam, a pastor who is prepared to do anything to ensure his daughter’s freedom; and Stella’s "rational and overwrought" mother, who is a well-regarded defence lawyer.

Ahlander Agency m.d. Astri von Arbin Ahlander said: “An important ingredient in this novel’s success is that it’s fundamentally international: it is not a ‘Scandi thriller’, but a brilliant thriller, period. Editors from around the world have raved about the writing, the voice, the relentless twists and turns in plot, and the absolutely brilliant depiction of what is every parent’s nightmare.”

Swede Edvardsson has written four previous books: two fiction titles for adults and two YA novels.