Swedish author Zoakim Zander hits the mark with his debut novel, THE SWIMMER. I found it riveting and thrilling. To some of the established craftsmen in this genre, there is a "new kid on the block" and he is really good. I read this book from cover to cover, the story introduced in many layered scenarios while being told by the five major characters.
Klara Waldeen was left on the doorstep of the Swedish Embassy in Damascus when her mother was killed by a car bomb. She was raised by her grandparents on her mother's side on a wild, remote Swedish archipelago called Aspoja. Upon graduating from college she accepted a position at the EU Capitol in Brussels as an aide to an ambitious Swedish diplomat.
Mahmoud Shammosh, an ex-boyfriend of Klara's from college, is in Brussels attending a conference. His former colleague contacts him offering very confidential information that he has collected. It includes photos of abuse by contractors used by the US in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. When they meet , his collegue is shot and Mahmoud runs for his life. He needs help and contacts Klara.
George Loow, a rising star as a lobbyist and lawyer in the firm of Merchant & Taylor likes to live the good life. But when he is given a new client, George gets involved over his head with some unscruplous men who use some very personal information that could ruin George's career if he does not follow their orders.
THE SWIMMER is a CIA Field Operative that has been "put out to pasture" in a desk job in Washington, D.C. but convinces his boss to give him one last assignment. To save Karen Waldeen's life and finish some unresolved business.
Gabriella, the youngest attorney at Lindblad and Winman, is BFF to Klara jumps in to help her friend when she discovers Klara is being hunted by assassins, putting herself in serious danger but that's what best friends do.
The descriptive locales in Brussels, Paris, Stockholm, and especially the remote archipelagos were vivid and the action fast paced and thrilling. I look forward to the next thriller from Mr. Zander as he has a new and loyal fan. THE SWIMMER is a great read!
A deep-cover CIA agent races across Europe to save the daughter he never knew in this electrifying debut thrillerβan international sensation billed as β
Homeland meets Stieg Larssonβ that heralds the arrival of a new master sure to follow in the footsteps of Stieg Larsson, John Le CarrΓ©, and Graham Greene.
In the end, you cannot hide who you are.
Klara WalldΓ©en was raised by her grandparents on a remote archipelago in the Baltic Sea, learning to fish and hunt and sail a boat through a storm. Now, as an EU Parliament aide in Brussels, she is learning how to navigate the treacherous currents of international politics: the lines between friend and enemy, truth and lies.
But Klara has accidentally seen something she shouldnβt have: a laptop containing information so sensitive that someone will kill to keep hidden. Suddenly, she is thrown into a terrifying chase across Europe, with no idea who is hunting her or why.
Meanwhile, in Virginia, an old spy hides from his past. Once, he was a man of action, an operative so dedicated that he abandoned his infant daughter to keep his cover. Now, he is the only man who can save Klara . . . and she is the only woman who can allow him to lay old ghosts to rest.
No excerpt available.
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