Liza Marklund

Born in 1962, Liza Marklund is one of Sweden's most popular authors of crime novels, a former journalist. She is married to Swedish producer Mikael Aspeborg. She has three children, the oldest from a former relationship.

Liza Marklund has been very successful as an author, and is also one of the major owners of the Swedish publishing house Piratförlaget.

Liza Marklund

Liza Marklund's books in English, titles and years:

The Bomber Sprängaren 1998
Studio Sex (aka Exposed) Studio sex 1999
Paradise (aka Vanished) Paradiset 2000
Prime Time Prime time 2002
Red Wolf Den röda vargen 2003
Asylum Granted* Asyl 2004
Nobel's Last Will* Nobels testamente 2006
Lifetime* Livstid 2007
A Place in the Sun* En plats i solen 2008
Postcard Killers Postcard Killers 2010
Du gamla du fria (2011) *

* Not yet translated into English

Reviews of the Annika Bengtzon movies.

Links to materials about Liza Marklund:

Paradise, by Liza Marklund

A hurricane sweeps across Sweden, leaving chaos in its wake. Two men lie dead in Stockholm, shot in the head at point-blank range. A cargo of cigarettes, worth 50 million Swedish has disappeared. And a young woman runs for her life from a relentless, invisible killer. She finds refuge in Paradise, a private foundation dedicated to those whose lives are in danger. Paradise is funded by Swedish social welfare agencies, and helps people to disappear completely.

This is the start of Paradise, which has recently been republished in new translation as Vanished in UK. Paradise is the third thriller featuring Swedish newspaper reporter Annika Bengtzon, and the follow-up on Studio Sex, taking place about two years later.

Newspaper sub-editor Annika Bengtzon is trying to piece her life back together following the violent death of her fiance, and covering the story of Paradise is just the break she needs.

Then Annika receives a call from Aida, who is afraid and needs help. Annika recommends her to seek refuge in Paradise. Shortly after, Aida is found murdered. Thus Annika feels compelled to investigate more closely about Paradise - what it is, and what it does. She quickly notices things that do not fit the image that it presents to the world. She begins to get hints of trouble: 'Don't trust Rebecka,' a Paradise client whispers, referring to its director.

The plot in Paradise is exciting and tense. The side story about Annika Bengzon's private life is woven nicely into the main story.

Liza Marklund writes with lots of energy and force, and the story is fast paced. Annika Bengtzon is a very likable heroine. Paradise is a great crime novel, strongly recommended!

Order Paradise by Liza Marklund from amazon UK: Paradise. See review of the movie.

Studio Sex, by Liza Marklund

Studio Sex (published in the UK as Studio 69, reprinted as Exposed) is the second book in Liza Marklund's series about Annika Bengtzon, but the action in the book takes place eight years before The Bomber.

In Studio Sex, Annika Bengtzon is working as a summer intern at the newspaper Kvällspressen. Assigned to screening crank phone calls on the tip line in hopes of getting an occasional valid news break, Annika receives an anonymous tip about the nude corpse of a young girl in a public park. The girl has been raped and killed. Annika provides a strong story that earns her accolades from her boss.

As the plot develops, the focus of the investigation shifts from the victim's lover, the owner of the upscale sex club where she worked, to an important government minister who keeps a secret apartment near the park. Delving into the bureaucrat's alibi, Annika discovers that he is somehow involved in the cover up of the reappearance of a missing archive that could shake the foundation of the ruling Social Democrats, concerning an illegal espionage operation long since disbanded.

She desparately wants to move away from her home city and go to Stockholm. The coverage of this murder may be her big chance for a permanent posistion with the newspaper.

Working with this case, Anniken has to face up to the porn business as well as politicians. The vulnerable sides of her personality are challenged. And, in the end, she meet the largest challenge of them all, one she is totally unprepared for.

Studio Sex is an engaging investigative tale. The novel provides an intriguing conspiracy type plot with the required sexual scenes, and a thorough look at Sweden. Studio Sex a great book by Marklund, and one that will make you love Annika Bengtzon even more!

The Bomber, by Liza Marklund

With more than half a million copies sold, The Bomber for a long time was the most successful book ever published in Sweden. Liza Marklund's extraordinary book has a bone-chilling plot and introduces an irresistible heroine, the journalist Annika Bengtzon.

The Bomber gives a terrific behind-the-scenes view of the Swedish tabloid business as told by author-journalist Liza Marklund. It tells the tale of Annika Bengtzon and her courageous attempt to catch a killer while struggling with the stress and demands of a deteriorating family life.

Journalist Annika Bengtzon is asleep next to her husband when the call comes in at 3:22 A.M. It is the weekend. Within minutes she is standing in a frozen December night looking at a nightmare scene of police tape and rubble, and trying to get the best possible picture of it for tomorrow's edition of her newspaper.

A bomb has destroyed Stockholm's new Olympic arena just months before the Summer Games and blown someone to pieces. Putting a city on edge with fears of a terrorist on the loose, the Bomber will become Annika Bengtzon's biggest story — or the final nail in her coffin.

As the only female editor at a Swedish tabloid, Annika is gutsy, she gets stories that others don't, and she takes risks. Fighting for the respect of her colleagues, she finds herself increasingly consumed by her job, and maybe losing her family in the process. Now, she has a hunch — and a secret source inside the police department — telling her that the Olympic stadium blast isn't terrorism. It's much more personal than that. And Annika knows that the odds are, if she closes in on the truth, she will end up on the Bomber's list of victims. (See also review of the movie!)

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