Missing

Sibylla Forsenström doesn’t exist. For fifteen years, she has been excluded from society. As one of the homeless in Stockholm, she takes each day as it comes and has all her possessions in her rucksack. To find food for the day and somewhere to sleep for the night demands all her time and effort. But it does not help her in keeping the thoughts away from the past – from the questions about why her life has turned out the way it did. Then a catastrophe happens. One night, she is in the wrong place at the wrong time. A man is brutally murdered and too many circumstances lead to Sibylla as being the murderer. For fifteen years nobody has asked for her, but suddenly she is the most wanted person in Sweden. She knows how to survive, but now she has to flee…

Nominated for Allan Edgar Poe Award 2009.

Winner of Glasnyckeln 2000, Best Scandinavian Crime Novel and Silverpocket 2002.

Nominated for Best Swedish Crime Novel 2000 and the Poloni Award 2000.

The idea for Saknad I got one early morning in October on a platform in a tube station. A woman in my own age, barefooted, with a plastic bag in her hand came jostling her way through the crowd of stressed early morning commuters, begging for money. I saw her urge through the crowd, amongst lowered eyes and disturbed headshakes. Still, she carried her presence with dignity. I couldn't let go of my thoughts of that woman. I started to wonder about how a human being can grow into such extreme loneliness, that there was no one around to catch her when she started to loose her grip. And I became fulfilled by a deep respect for this woman, and for all these characters that just don't give up, instead choosing to keep on fighting their battle.

Reviews

"In Missing, Karin Alvtegen has come up with a plot that has most of what one may want from a thriller. Action, skilful language, plausible characters and a highly dramatic ending"
Hallands Nyheter

"Alvtegen has composed this crime story with exceptional skill. It is about relations, psychology, exclusion, braveness and empathy. The characters and the settings feel real. The more you read, the more you want to know. Why? How and who? I also promise that you will be surprised... As a conclusion, I would say that if anyone is to be called a queen of crime writing, it is Karin Alvtegen"
Folkbladet Norrköping

"Alvtegen's novel is a first class thriller and offers suspense and awareness to whet your appe-tite for more"
Tranås-Posten

"Karin Alvtegen has written one of the best Swedish crime novels this year"
Nordvästra Skånes Tidningar

"Missing is a gripping multi-faceted thriller. It is not only about brutal murder, but also about something more profound - an individual's road to awareness about her own life and value. Karin Alvtegen delivers this brilliantly while the police hunt becomes increasingly intensive and Sibylla's chances of escaping rapidly decrease... Missing demonstrates that Debt was not a mere lucky strike. Karin Alvtegen is already amongst the top Swedish crime and thriller authors"
Folkbladet Jönköping

"Skilfully constructed thriller!"
Länstidningen Södertälje

"Missing is a very powerful thriller. Even the most important ingredient of a detective story - an unexpected murderer - is present. It is a novel to be enjoyed"
Bergslagsposten

"Karin Alvtegen is a skilful author, captivating the interest of her readers when she uses brave realism to describe how Sibylla struggles to both maintain her existence and prove her innocence of the dreadful murders. She involves the reader in the gripping plot, and settings as well as characters are plausible. Meeting the true murderer becomes the exciting last turn"
Nerikes Allehanda

"As a critic of detective and thriller novels, I read literature of very varied quality. Much of it is moderate, some truly bad and sometimes I get my hands on a genuine hit. Karin Alvtegen's Missing definitely belongs in the latter category. It is a brilliant novel that immediately attracted my interest and made me read it almost without stopping"
Gefle Dagblad

"Missing is an excellent Swedish thriller with original starting points"
Kvällsposten

"In this way, Alvtegen immediately catches the reader's interest and through her excellent, flowing language, she maintains this interest all the way through to the end. This belongs in the "read without stopping" category of books and shows that Alvtegen is worthy. It is most definitely well worth reading"
Katrineholms-Kuriren

"Missing is a very powerful novel. Skilfully, very intimately and realistically, Karin Alvtegen describes an individual living outside the margins"
Helsingborgs Dagblad

"Missing is truly captivating and very easy to read. It is undoubtedly difficult to put down. The intrigue is well thought through and the descriptions of the settings are exceptionally well made and authentic"
Vetlanda-Posten

"That this novel is exceptionally well-written makes it even more worth reading. The characters illustrate living people with many dimensions"
Jönköpings-Posten