The Believer
A Novel
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
An intricately plotted and brilliantly conceived stand-alone sequel to the international bestseller The Swimmer that turns the hottest political topics of our times into show-stopping fiction
Yasmine Ajam has fled her past in the rough Stockholm borough Bergort, reinventing herself as a trend spotter in New York City. One day she receives a startling message: there are riots stirring on the streets of Stockholm and they appear to be connected with the disappearance of her brother, Faadi.
Following rumours that Faadi was radicalized and died fighting for ISIS in Syria, Yasmine returns to Stockholm to discover what really happened to her brother. There she becomes entangled in a dangerous web of allegiances and violence that stretches far beyond the gangs on her childhood streets.
Meanwhile, in London, Klara Walldéen has landed a job at a human rights research institute working on a report to predict the effects of privatization of police forces. When Klara travels to Stockhom to present her findings to European Union policy makers, her laptop is stolen and one of her colleagues is pushed in front of a subway train. As her path collides with Yasmine’s, Klara begins to realize that she may unwittingly be contributing to the sinister agendas of powerful interests, who will stop at nothing to attain their goals.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Three people struggle to find their place in the world in this page-turner from Zander (The Swimmer). Yasmine Ajam and her younger brother, Fadi, grew up in the economically depressed Stockholm suburb of Bergort. Yasmine manages to escape her dismal existence by relocating to New York City, but Fadi is left behind and eventually becomes radicalized by a group of jihadists who prey on his hopelessness. Klara Walld en, a functioning alcoholic, works for a human rights institute in London researching the effects of privatizing police forces. But when she travels to Stockholm in preparation for an important E.U. conference, she becomes entangled in a deadly grand-scale conspiracy. Though some of the plot twists strain credibility, this thriller's real power is in the poignant portrayal of Bergort and its residents. Impressively complex characters and stark atmospherics make this a thematically profound read.
