Ernst Grip

A Swedish security agent is summoned to interrogate a terror suspect held by the FBI in this sophisticated, fast-paced thriller-but the prisoner isn't the only one with something to hide. At a remote military base in the Indian Ocean, the FBI is trying to get a prisoner to confess. But the detainee, a suspect in an Islamist-inspired terror attack in the United States, refuses to talk. Ernst Grip, a Swedish security officer, has no idea why he's been dispatched to New York City. The FBI agent he meets on arrival, Shauna Friedman, seems to know a little too much about him. And when he arrives at his real destination, the American authorities have just one question: Is their terror suspect a Swedish citizen? In the process of uncovering the prisoner's true identity, Grip discovers the man's ties to a group of other suspects-a ruthless American arms dealer, a Czech hit man, a mysterious nurse from Kansas, and a heartbreakingly naive Pakistani. The closer Grip gets to the truth, the more complicated the deception becomes. Who is real and who is leading a double life? The Swede is a riveting, intense novel about the compromises that people-and nations-make in the name of security and survival. Within this world built on secrets, Grip and Friedman have to learn to trust each other if they hope to stay alive.

From the author of the international bestseller The Swede comes an electrifying thriller set in the terrorist- and pirate-infested world of the Horn of Africa-where the sea caresses the desert, alliances shift like sand, and a Swedish detective can count on nothing but his own shrewdness to survive. A Swedish army lieutenant drops dead on a shooting range in the desert. Was it an unfortunate accident-or something more nefarious? Ernst Grip, an agent of the Swedish security police, is sent to the Horn of Africa to find out. Once he's on the ground, however, he quickly discovers he's on his own. No one wants him snooping around-especially not the U.S. Embassy's CIA station. Which is no surprise, given that military transport planes are leaving from the base carrying untraceable pallets loaded with cash. What's more, Grip's investigation is complicated by another dangerous situation. Somali pirates have kidnapped a wealthy Swedish family during the adventure of a lifetime: a sailing trip from Sweden to the Great Barrier Reef. Why, Grip wonders, is no one back home willing to pay the ransom in order to save these innocent lives? Solving the mystery of the soldier's death isn't the end of Grip's involvement-it's a tipping point that leads him deep into a web of intrigue, greed, and dark dealings ensnaring both allies and enemies . . . and a world where no one can be trusted. After the Monsoon explores the tough compromises made every day in pursuit of the greater good. How do you know which is the lesser of two evils? And what is the cost of betraying one interest to save another? In this provocative, pulse-pounding, and sophisticated thriller, Robert Karjel vividly creates a world in which the stains of innocent blood cannot be cleansed, and the sins of good men forced to make impossible choices cannot be washed away.