On a rainy night in a Stockholm suburb, a nine-year-old girl disappears while out playing outside the house of her foster parents. It’s as if the earth has swallowed her up. One week later, the girl’s six-year-old brother disappears from his pre-school. Suspicions are directed towards the violent and abusive mother and her neo-Nazi boyfriend, who are adamant in their conviction that the authorities have conspired to take the children away from them.
As Siri Bergman struggles to repair her relationship with both boyfriend Markus and former best friend Aina, she joins the investigation into the case of the missing children. The case affects Siri in an unexpected way as the issue of child abuse hits a little too close to home.
When the body of a woman is found in the murky waters outside Stockholm, the investigation takes a surprising turn. What at first seems to be a case of a mother taking revenge on society now appears to be something else entirely. As seemingly recent photos of the dead woman together with the missing children surfaces on an online forum, the investigators are left wondering what the case is really about. Who took the children? Who murdered the woman? And who keeps posting photos of the victims online? In a race against time to save the missing children, Siri and her colleagues rush to find the missing link between them and the dead woman.
Through Fire and Water is the fifth book in the riveting Siri Bergman series. In this engaging thriller, experienced author duo Grebe and Träff cleverly revisit the past to shed light upon the issue of violence towards the most innocent members of our society.
Author
Reviews
“Grebe & Träff navigate superbly between reality and fiction. They give words to that which is never said. […] Frightful, yet at the same time a thrilling read from the first to the last page. […] In other words, an urgent story.”
Ölandsbladet (SE)
“The sisters have established themselves as the more skilled suspense writers among all the new crime writers who have graced the stage since the turn of the millennium.”
Dast Magazine (SE)
“The book holds an upsetting and heart-rending psychological drama. You can’t help but being moved by the tragedy that seems to be the result of the longing of a child betrayed. […] The novel is complex, and yet so scaled back that all parts feel meaningful and bring the narrative forward. Camilla Grebe and Åsa Träff don’t revel in the melancholy, but offer both a thrilling hunt for the perpetrator as well as a chance to understand the circumstances of a human tragedy.”
Norran (SE)
“They’re great storytellers.”
Dagens Nyheter (SE)
“They tell the story in a way that grabs hold of you – this is not for sensitive readers. […] It’s thrilling all the way, and unclear who the culprit is until the very end.”
Dalarna Tidning (SE)
“A moving crime novel.”
BTJ (SE)
“Through Fire and Water is a both poignant and thrilling crime novel.”
Skånska Dagbladet (SE)
“Grebe and Träff have yet again succeeded in writing a thrilling psychological crime novel, well worth reading.”
Crimegarden (SE)
“A thrilling and moving tale.”
Allers (SE)
“In Through Fire and Water, the authors have succeeded in writing a credible story, a story that seizes hold of you and moves you. It’s good, really good. Sweden is teeming with crime queens. Grebe & Träff are without a doubt among the very best of them.”
Boktok73, Blog (SE)
“Well-written, accessible, thrilling and with good characters. […] Poignant, moving and a little harrowing. But very, very good.”
Bims Blogg (SE)