Caroline Eriksson - The Watcher

THANK YOU.

Among authors, you sometimes hear talk of the “difficult second book.” Well, I’d like to introduce a new concept: the difficult fourth book.

Compared with my first three books, the process of writing this one felt longer and bumpier. On the other hand, memory can play tricks on you, so maybe (as my husband claims) I’m tossed back and forth like this between hope and despair every time. Maybe that’s part of being an author. At any rate, that certainly makes the support and encouragement I receive from the people around me all the more precious.

Thanks to Bokförlaget Forum, with publisher Adam Dahlin and editor Kerstin Ödeen at the helm, for believing in me and always pushing me to write the best book I can write. Thanks as well to the rest of the gang at Bonnier in sales, marketing, PR, etc., and who have been working hard to get my books out to readers around the country.

I also want to avail myself of this opportunity to thank all the booksellers from north to south. Some of you are very near to my heart. I hope and trust that you know who you are—no one mentioned, no one forgotten.

Since the previous book, The Missing , my stories are also reaching readers beyond Sweden. This is thanks to Elisabet Brännström and Amanda Bértolo Alderin at Bonnier Rights—who, as I write this, have sold the rights to a dizzying twenty-six countries. You’ve also been stable sounding boards during the writing process itself. My warmest thanks for that.

In connection with this, I also want to be sure to thank my foreign publishers for their confidence and for their single-minded efforts in building my authorship in their respective markets.

With gratitude to my translator, Tara F. Chace, and to the entire team at AmazonCrossing, for being supportive and professional through every step of the process.

I am both humbled and amazed to see not one but two of my books now having been translated into English, thus making it possible for me to reach readers across the world.

A very special thank you to my editor, Elizabeth DeNoma, without whose trust, passion, and insistent work this would still be but a dream.

Thank you to my test readers, Maria, Sofia, Alexandra, and Louise, for taking your work seriously, giving your time, and providing constructive feedback.

A special thank-you to all the wonderful readers and listeners (especially podcast listeners!) for the energy and encouragement you provide.

Thank you also to my family, relatives, and wonderful friends inside and outside the world of writing.

Mom and Dad, thank you for your general verve and devotion, and for your wise opinions and warm hugs that one afternoon in March in particular.

Johanna, for our conversation, which means so much to me.

Ninni, for being there to celebrate with me when things are going well and (when necessary) to help me pick up the pieces when they’re not. For being my own little treasure—friend, colleague, and mentor all in one.

Niklas, for making me believe I could finish writing this book, even when I doubted it. Especially then. To you, Max and Molly: In the end, everything is about you. Thank you for being in my life. I love you.

Caroline Eriksson holds a master’s degree in social psychology and worked for more than ten years in human-resource management before deciding to pursue writing, her childhood dream. Her first two novels are based on historical Swedish murder cases, and her debut, The Devil Helped Me , was nominated for Stora Ljudbokspriset (the Big Audiobook Prize) in 2014.

Caroline has lived all over the world. She attended high school in Quantico, Virginia; studied at the University of Adelaide in Australia; and now lives in Stockholm. She denies being a daredevil but admits that she once threw herself off a mountain in New Zealand in a hang-gliding experiment.

Her greatest adventure today is raising her two children, and she satisfies any residual wanderlust by exploring the most terrifying parts of life—its dark psychological elements—in her writing. The Watcher is Caroline’s second psychological suspense thriller and her second book translated into English.

Tara F. Chace has translated more than twenty-five novels from Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. She earned her PhD in Scandinavian languages and literature from the University of Washington and lives in Seattle with her family.

The Missing

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Text copyright © 2017 Caroline Eriksson

Translation copyright © 2018 Tara F. Chace

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Previously published as Hon som vakar by Forum in 2017 in Sweden. Translated from Swedish by Tara F. Chace. First published in English by AmazonCrossing in 2018.

Published by AmazonCrossing, Seattle

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ISBN-13: 9781503905405

ISBN-10: 1503905403

Cover design by David Drummond