The Things We Leave Behind: a dual timeline, literary thriller set in Sweden

On a wind-stilled bay in Roslagen, Sweden, the Ömheten care home rests where sea meets pine-scented air. After a resident’s death, Tore Lindahl, a former policeman, suspects foul play, but his concerns are dismissed as the ramblings of an old man.

Lindhahl turns to Veronika Wiklund, a young journalist stuck tracing small-town stories for the local paper. Together, the unlikely duo begins asking questions that unsettle their entire community.

As Veronika searches for answers, the care home reveals itself as the battleground for power, and the hunting ground for a killer tangled in dark legacies of World War II.

Gripping and moving, Cecilia Sjögren’s 'The Things We Leave Behind' is a story of memory, grief, and guilt that echoes across decades. As the past collides with the present, it asks: what do we owe the dead, and at what cost do we unearth what they left behind?

Fans of 'The God of the Woods' by Liz Moore will love this atmospheric Swedish crime novel.

"A lively addition to the Swedish crime fiction scene." Johan Zillén

Cecilia Sjögren is a Swedish economist and author. Her debut novel, Svallvåg, won the Saga Egmont crime fiction award in 2022.