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Carina Dymek is on a fast track for promotion at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when she is approached by a stranger and given a USB stick containing a report to circulate in her department. Unwittingly, she delivers a time bomb of classified information that sends her career up in flames and puts her on the radar of the security service, Säpo.
Tasked with investigating how Dymek gained access to the confidential report, the formidable Bente Jensen of Säpo is quietly approached by the British MI6, who have an undisclosed interest in the leak. She finds out that Dymek’s boyfriend is an Egyptian Swedish national. But it’s MI6 who link his family to an extreme faction within the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo.
The case explodes into an international manhunt. Liaising with the ruthless MI6, Bente uncovers the secretive plans contained in that leaked report: plans for an omnipotent Europe-wide Intelligence Service. Forces hone in on Dymek, while Bente begins to suspect she is a red herring caught in a far wider net: one in which social media is abused for intelligence and civil rights are sacrificed to national security.
Andreas Norman, a former Swedish Ministry official, has written an explosive expose of Anglo-American spying and surveillance on European civilians in the name of counter-terrorism. This dizzying thriller anticipated the Edward Snowden revelations and rocked Sweden on publication.
Tasked with investigating how Dymek gained access to the confidential report, the formidable Bente Jensen of Säpo is quietly approached by the British MI6, who have an undisclosed interest in the leak. She finds out that Dymek’s boyfriend is an Egyptian Swedish national. But it’s MI6 who link his family to an extreme faction within the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo.
The case explodes into an international manhunt. Liaising with the ruthless MI6, Bente uncovers the secretive plans contained in that leaked report: plans for an omnipotent Europe-wide Intelligence Service. Forces hone in on Dymek, while Bente begins to suspect she is a red herring caught in a far wider net: one in which social media is abused for intelligence and civil rights are sacrificed to national security.
Andreas Norman, a former Swedish Ministry official, has written an explosive expose of Anglo-American spying and surveillance on European civilians in the name of counter-terrorism. This dizzying thriller anticipated the Edward Snowden revelations and rocked Sweden on publication.
400 pages, ebook
First published March 1, 2013
13 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
October 22, 2014
This book was slow and dry. The first ten percent of the book was spent explaining the whole set up of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With more editing out, the pace could have been picked up an awful lot quicker and interest held. By forty percent in you are still only just finding out that there may be more to this than meets the eye as the UK let the Swedes into what they know and we see Carina Dymek as a scapegoat. I think there is a great concept in this book, the author obviously knows his stuff and this is one of the selling points, but the pacing needed a lot more consideration. Too slow moving for what could be a great book.
With thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my copy.
With thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my copy.
January 13, 2018
Oväntat bra tyckte jag. Hade förväntat mig någon töntig svensk wannabe spionthriller, men eftersom författaren arbetar på UD, så var det hela förankrat i något verkligt, om inte komiskt stelt. På många sätt förutsägbart på det hela, men språket och beskrivningarna är så bra att det är svårt att inte tas me. Perfekt sträckläsning för stranden.
November 22, 2017
You can read my review at http://world-of-sleuths.blogspot.com/....
July 6, 2021
En spännande, välskriven och snabbläst spionthriller.
October 4, 2023
Wauw! Wat een boek en wat een een einde! De moeite waard om te lezen. Lekker spannend!
Halverwege wel even een stuk gehad wat langdradig werd, daarom 4 sterren, maar toen het einde naderde, scheurde ik mij door het boek heen.
Niet verwacht dat zo'n verhaallijn wat voor mij zou zijn.
Halverwege wel even een stuk gehad wat langdradig werd, daarom 4 sterren, maar toen het einde naderde, scheurde ik mij door het boek heen.
Niet verwacht dat zo'n verhaallijn wat voor mij zou zijn.
February 1, 2015
This is a hard book to review. In some ways it's a three star read, while in others it's five star.
Firstly the negatives. The translation just isn't great and in places leads to the prose being stilted and halting. While I was given a review copy and some grammatical mistakes are to be expected, I think that this was a more fundamental issue and was not just something a little more editing would fix. The story itself is also just too long. The author could have told his tale in two thirds the length and if he had done so it would have been a sharper and edgier tale.
Then there's an element I was simultaneously happy and unhappy with. The plot takes place within the byzantine world of the EU. Obviously some context is needed here and the author provides it in spades. As somebody generally interested in politics I was fine with this, in fact I feel I learnt something of the inner workings of the European Union, but I imagine many readers would find it a turn off.
Which finally leads me to the positives. Without giving away too many spoilers, the plot itself is strong and mirrors much of what later came out through the Edward Snowden saga about the NSA. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the British intelligence services and felt that the general cynicism and amorality of the intelligence world was pitch perfect. As the author used to work in this field himself it was all too convincing.
I would definitely read more of this author's work but think that next time his publishers need to guide him a little more.
Firstly the negatives. The translation just isn't great and in places leads to the prose being stilted and halting. While I was given a review copy and some grammatical mistakes are to be expected, I think that this was a more fundamental issue and was not just something a little more editing would fix. The story itself is also just too long. The author could have told his tale in two thirds the length and if he had done so it would have been a sharper and edgier tale.
Then there's an element I was simultaneously happy and unhappy with. The plot takes place within the byzantine world of the EU. Obviously some context is needed here and the author provides it in spades. As somebody generally interested in politics I was fine with this, in fact I feel I learnt something of the inner workings of the European Union, but I imagine many readers would find it a turn off.
Which finally leads me to the positives. Without giving away too many spoilers, the plot itself is strong and mirrors much of what later came out through the Edward Snowden saga about the NSA. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the British intelligence services and felt that the general cynicism and amorality of the intelligence world was pitch perfect. As the author used to work in this field himself it was all too convincing.
I would definitely read more of this author's work but think that next time his publishers need to guide him a little more.
August 9, 2015
Into a raging Blaze: a debut novel by Andreas Norman. If you like John Le Carre’ Spy thrillers you will love this book. As I was browsing at one of our favorite independent bookstores Vroman’s in Pasadena. I picked up this book. As I was reading the dust cover I immediately knew I had to read it. Since the real estate market has picked up this was generally a book that I would have to read piece meal at a time late nights.
Under normal circumstances this book would have been read by me in a couple days. It is a page turner. Rarely have I read a novel that has such character development that you basically get to know the person, understand their feelings, emotions and even their thought process.
Having been in the military and in Ranger School on night patrols I understood the surveillance technology that existed thirty years ago was quite incredible. Hence it was a pleasure reading about 2013 surveillance technology utilized by the British and American Covert agencies, i.e.: MI5 & the CIA.
This book is so well written, that when there are chases in the book my heart beat was going mile a minute and I felt like I was in the middle of the action being chased. There is a bit of negative slant against the US & British Secret Service, keep in mind it is written by someone who was in the Swedish Foreign Service for over ten year.
If you liked the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo you will love this book too. Try to read it in a short sitting and you will really enjoy it.( I wish I could have done it that way)
Under normal circumstances this book would have been read by me in a couple days. It is a page turner. Rarely have I read a novel that has such character development that you basically get to know the person, understand their feelings, emotions and even their thought process.
Having been in the military and in Ranger School on night patrols I understood the surveillance technology that existed thirty years ago was quite incredible. Hence it was a pleasure reading about 2013 surveillance technology utilized by the British and American Covert agencies, i.e.: MI5 & the CIA.
This book is so well written, that when there are chases in the book my heart beat was going mile a minute and I felt like I was in the middle of the action being chased. There is a bit of negative slant against the US & British Secret Service, keep in mind it is written by someone who was in the Swedish Foreign Service for over ten year.
If you liked the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo you will love this book too. Try to read it in a short sitting and you will really enjoy it.( I wish I could have done it that way)
October 14, 2015
It did start slowly but once the tension developed I could not put it down. I loved picturing the places in Stockholm, having been there it meant so much to be transported via the book. I also enjoyed seeing a side to the European Union and international relations that is not exposed in current affairs. There were times when the translation was cumbersome but this did not diminish the excitement of the chase. The author cleverly allowed the reader to be at the same pace as the two female protagonists, and that was no mean feat given one was heavily into espionage and the other somewhat a novice and victim. A good enjoyable read and I am looking for more.
July 25, 2014
I received this book from Goodreads and when I began reading it I did think that maybe it wouldn't hold my interest but as the story evolved I found myself more and more engrossed in it. The book is chillingly, frighteningly close to what I imagine the truth may be. The only downside was the dialogue and indeed the relationship between the lovers Carina and Jamal which had no authenticity but that may be because this is a translated book and that may account for other errors or, of course, it may be a proof copy, I don't know.
February 5, 2015
there may have been a thriller hidden in here but it was buried under the minutiae of ministries, departments, offices, personnel, duties and on and on. the two female mc (and my interest) got lost in the details.
May 7, 2015
A very interesting read in the world of espionage, it's quite disturbing to think that something like this could happen in real life, could it??
May 27, 2018
At first, I didn't think I would be able to finish reading this book as it was so encrusted with political and diplomatic acronyms and jargon as to be nearly incomprehensible, but I didn't have anything else to read that I liked better so I plowed on. It wasn't until I was halfway done that I started to care about the characters and what was happening to them. It began to be terrifying, to realize that governments are full of people only interested in playing an elaborate game to create fear and come to fake solutions in order to increase their own influence and power with a clueless public. The phrases are so familiar to anyone listening to the news--"terrorist cells," "sources within the security services say," "leaks of sensitive information," etc. To a counterterrorism organization, everything looks like terrorism, and when no actual terrorist threats exist, the organization has no reason to exist, so terrorist threats are created. This story revolved around a sensitive document received quite innocently and consequently revealed by a civil servant who was only interested in doing a good job. There were serious charges and a manufactured threat that evolved from that innocent act.
As in "real life," individuals framed or smeared by these hyped up counterterrorism campaigns are considered expendable for the "greater good" and for "national security." Anyone accused, even falsely, of being associated with terrorism is never again trusted by their own families or colleagues, because surely the government has some basis for these accusations, right? These secret government agencies do sometimes misjudge their targets and actual truth is sometimes revealed. I like to think that the book's ending points to such a misjudgment and the possibility of a further fight for truth.
As in "real life," individuals framed or smeared by these hyped up counterterrorism campaigns are considered expendable for the "greater good" and for "national security." Anyone accused, even falsely, of being associated with terrorism is never again trusted by their own families or colleagues, because surely the government has some basis for these accusations, right? These secret government agencies do sometimes misjudge their targets and actual truth is sometimes revealed. I like to think that the book's ending points to such a misjudgment and the possibility of a further fight for truth.
June 3, 2018
Bente Jensen werkt bij een geheime Zweedse dienst, ze is een spion, werkt in Brussel, woont samen met haar man Fredrik en twee zonen Daniel en Rasmus. Rasmus is een zorgenkind want hij kan uit het niets woede uitbarstingen krijgen. Alles moet op dezelfde manier gaan en volgens een vast schema. Het wordt niet benoemd maar hij zit ergens in het autisme spectrum lijkt me. Het lijkt een goed huwelijk.
Jonathan en Kate zijn Britse, geen kinderen. Ze wonen ook ergens in Brussel. Hij werkt voor de geheime dienst MI6. Het werk van Jonathan en Bente kruist elkaar. Bente is in het bezit gekomen van een USB-stick met daarop belastende informatie voor Groot-Brittannië. Ondertussen voert Jonathan een opdracht uit om informatie te vergaren van een man die in Syrië door de geheime dienst ontvoert is.
Het boek is heel actueel, bevat verwijzingen naar Trump als president, Al-Qaida, Islamitische staat, Syrië. Alhoewel het allemaal fictie is, zou het ook zomaar waar kunnen zijn.
Het lijkt me naïef om te denken dat gevangen genomen terroristen of handlangers uit zichzelf informatie geven. Uiteraard praten die niet zonder enige druk. Hoe ver ga je om de druk te verhogen. Is marteling toegestaan voor het grotere goed? Heiligt het doel de middelen?
Wil je dit als president of premier van een land weten. Is het niet veel handiger om anderen dit vuile werk te laten opknappen, met een soort van carte blanche, doe maar zolang ik het maar niet weet. Dan hoef je er nadien ook niet over te liegen en kan je oprecht zeggen dat je het niet wist.
Het boek komt traag op gang omdat het gelukkige gezinnetje van Bente lang en uitvoering neergezet wordt. Daarna wordt het meer een spionage thriller.
Dit boek is het tweede boek met Bente Jensen, maar het eerste dat in het Nederlands vertaald is.
Jonathan en Kate zijn Britse, geen kinderen. Ze wonen ook ergens in Brussel. Hij werkt voor de geheime dienst MI6. Het werk van Jonathan en Bente kruist elkaar. Bente is in het bezit gekomen van een USB-stick met daarop belastende informatie voor Groot-Brittannië. Ondertussen voert Jonathan een opdracht uit om informatie te vergaren van een man die in Syrië door de geheime dienst ontvoert is.
Het boek is heel actueel, bevat verwijzingen naar Trump als president, Al-Qaida, Islamitische staat, Syrië. Alhoewel het allemaal fictie is, zou het ook zomaar waar kunnen zijn.
Het lijkt me naïef om te denken dat gevangen genomen terroristen of handlangers uit zichzelf informatie geven. Uiteraard praten die niet zonder enige druk. Hoe ver ga je om de druk te verhogen. Is marteling toegestaan voor het grotere goed? Heiligt het doel de middelen?
Wil je dit als president of premier van een land weten. Is het niet veel handiger om anderen dit vuile werk te laten opknappen, met een soort van carte blanche, doe maar zolang ik het maar niet weet. Dan hoef je er nadien ook niet over te liegen en kan je oprecht zeggen dat je het niet wist.
Het boek komt traag op gang omdat het gelukkige gezinnetje van Bente lang en uitvoering neergezet wordt. Daarna wordt het meer een spionage thriller.
Dit boek is het tweede boek met Bente Jensen, maar het eerste dat in het Nederlands vertaald is.
September 17, 2018
Carina is a conscientious diplomat in the Swedish ministry of foreign affairs . Her job mainly involves providing research and papers for senior dignitaries to support their speeches and she regularly travels to Brussels to speak at European agency meetings. On one such occasion she is very volatile in defending immigrants and in a café afterwards a mysterious man called Jean , impressed by her apparent conscience hands her a secret report about a planned European Intelligence Agency which includes the ability of American agencies to summarily arrest and snatch European citizens. She sends it to her bosses but copies in her boyfriend Jamal who works in the ministry of Justice. All hell breaks loose and invokes the wrath of the sinister British secret service who are definitely the baddies in this book as they use all manner of spy craft including breaking into property, drones following individuals, hacking into phone calls and computers and torture to achieve theirs and ultimately the CIA's aims.
Carina , a likeable character is an innocent drawn into a Kafkaesque nightmare where she does not know what she has done wrong but is suddenly drawn into a web of intrigue. It seems very easy for innocence to be quickly appear suspicious e.g Jamal being confronted with his own book of ancient Egyptian poetry which is interpreted as a call to jihad.
A very enjoyable read in the context of the Snowden affair (referenced on the cover) which certainly had me watching out for CCTV cameras and worrying whether anyone is monitoring my GR posts. A little overlong but enjoyable if not a little scary
Carina , a likeable character is an innocent drawn into a Kafkaesque nightmare where she does not know what she has done wrong but is suddenly drawn into a web of intrigue. It seems very easy for innocence to be quickly appear suspicious e.g Jamal being confronted with his own book of ancient Egyptian poetry which is interpreted as a call to jihad.
A very enjoyable read in the context of the Snowden affair (referenced on the cover) which certainly had me watching out for CCTV cameras and worrying whether anyone is monitoring my GR posts. A little overlong but enjoyable if not a little scary
January 20, 2018
This is a terrific first outing for Andreas Norman. He introduces us to Carina Dymek who is on the fast-track for promotion.at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the conclusion of a European Commission meeting in Brussels, Carina is approached by a stranger who gives her a USB drive. This contains a sensitive, top-secret commission report. When she hands it over to the foreign ministry she unwittingly sets off a fire-storm of bureaucrats running for cover, looking for someone to blame, the nearest person in range being Carina, who is suspended from her post.
The USB drive contained plans for a pan-European security agency that is being considered without informing or obtaining the permission of the governments concerned. One particular government is prepared to stage fake terrorist attacks, in order to make such a body more of a necessity. There are wheels within wheels, conspiracies aplenty, danger and mistrust in this dizzying, brilliant thriller.
The USB drive contained plans for a pan-European security agency that is being considered without informing or obtaining the permission of the governments concerned. One particular government is prepared to stage fake terrorist attacks, in order to make such a body more of a necessity. There are wheels within wheels, conspiracies aplenty, danger and mistrust in this dizzying, brilliant thriller.
January 19, 2018
I read this book last week, and it is veritable page-turner. The book is an update on the traditional espionage thriller, which features a whistleblower in the Swedish Foreign Ministry (an accidental Snowden, in effect) who runs into the full weight of the 21c secret intelligence community, with their almost unlimited surveillance powers. The book is written by a former practitioner and the book's best parts are the very authentic-seeming machinations of the internal and external security services, of both Sweden and the UK (who are the bad guys here, with their hit-squads and conspiracies), as they pursue the unfortunate heroine. Although a genre-based thriller, with all the usual limitations, it is quite a credible tale overall and all the more disquieting for that, thanks to the level of detail and insider knowledge. (It actually published around the time Snowden dropped his bombshell, by chance.)
March 25, 2018
Välskriven thriller som gav god information om hur UD jobbar. Den biten var det mest intressanta för mig, till skillnad från många andra recensenter som verkar gilla den andra halvan, som är mer av "vanlig thriller". Där tyckte jag den kändes för vanlig, helt enkelt, och den tappade lite av sin unique selling point.
Det är lätt att sätta sig in i huvudpersonens panik i boken och porträttet av henne känns genomarbetat. Själva intrigen, där man ska tvivla på vilken sanning som gäller, är inte så svår att se igenom, men det gör faktiskt inte så mycket.
Det är skrämmande att författaren skriver att den är mycket realistisk - då är det tydligen så att diverse länders säkerhetstjänster tar sig friheter att fängsla, tortera, till och med mörda oskyldiga för att "rädda världen" - samma värld som dessa länder förstör genom att invadera andra länder.
Jag ser fram emot fler böcker av Norman med tydligt politiskt fokus, som är det han kan.
Det är lätt att sätta sig in i huvudpersonens panik i boken och porträttet av henne känns genomarbetat. Själva intrigen, där man ska tvivla på vilken sanning som gäller, är inte så svår att se igenom, men det gör faktiskt inte så mycket.
Det är skrämmande att författaren skriver att den är mycket realistisk - då är det tydligen så att diverse länders säkerhetstjänster tar sig friheter att fängsla, tortera, till och med mörda oskyldiga för att "rädda världen" - samma värld som dessa länder förstör genom att invadera andra länder.
Jag ser fram emot fler böcker av Norman med tydligt politiskt fokus, som är det han kan.
May 4, 2021
The start was slow, very slow as the author established the main character. The pace gradually built up, in a way that felt appropriate for the nature of the story, eventually reaching quite a tense moment that rather made me wish my office were still a few more tram stops away. At that point, I was rather enjoying this book and felt glad I picked it up. Alas, after the chapters of big drama, the ending seemed to fizzle out for me.
Not an awesome read, not a bad way to chill out on the commute.
Not an awesome read, not a bad way to chill out on the commute.
June 4, 2018
Opbouw is wat aan de trage kant en explodeert op een gegeven moment, wat jammer is. Spanningsopbouw had wat geleidelijker gemogen. De schrijfstijl is afstandelijk en enerzijds past het goed bij het type boek, anderzijds stoorde het me, omdat ik nergens connectie met de personages kreeg. Al met al een twijfelgevalletje. 2.5-3*.
August 11, 2024
After a slow-moving start, this spy novel builds into a fairly convincing story of a (pre-Brexit) British scheme to develop a counter-terrorism operation within the European Union, and how one woman tries to thwart it. The sad thing is that, having read many real accounts of the behaviour of Western security agencies like the CIA and MI6, the violence of their response when their scheme appears to be at risk, is not surprising.
October 25, 2020
Exciting book in which, in my opinion, the espionage element is subordinate to the personal, psychological storylines.
How much your work becomes connected to your personality and the relationships with your loved ones and their functioning.
I'm curious about more from this writer!
How much your work becomes connected to your personality and the relationships with your loved ones and their functioning.
I'm curious about more from this writer!
September 8, 2023
En bok som inte var så lik de böcker jag brukar läsa, roligt med lite insyn i UD och alla olika säkerhetsavdelningar som finns. Boken i sig var lite för seg för mig ganska länge, men på slutet blev den ändå riktigt spännande så man bara ville fortsätta! Men jag hade önskar mer tidigare i boken!
November 26, 2025
The sense of vulnerability, and the fear that comes from being hunted, is brilliantly conveyed — completely believable and relatable throughout, even though I’ve never been anywhere near Sweden’s ministries. I also really appreciated the language.
January 15, 2018
De första 50 sidorna tröglästa, borde ha redigerats ner ordentligt, sen tar det fart och blir trots allt ganska spännande
December 26, 2019
First rate thriller. Interesting that perfidious albion is the villain. I expect we will see more such examples in European literature following Brexit
September 2, 2021
Denna var både spännande och tankeväckande. Glatt överraskad.
September 24, 2023
Lite svår att komma in i men efter några kapitel fastnar man!
February 7, 2023
Carina Dymek, a young staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm who deals with security-related issues with Brussels, is one day handed a document in a USB stick containing leaked information about a European spy organization that was in the works. Carina reports it to her seniors but she gets implicated herself. The fact that her boyfriend Jamal, a person of Egyptian origin, has been recently in touch with his uncle, who was a part of the Muslim Brotherhood that overthrew Mubarak, does not help. Carina escapes and goes in search of Jean who handed her the USB stick.
A spy thriller set in Sweden seemed an interesting premise, but the plot was wafer thin and quite uninteresting. What helped though was that most of the sections of the book, except for the conversations, can be skipped and you would still not end up missing anything. Mightily disappointed.
A spy thriller set in Sweden seemed an interesting premise, but the plot was wafer thin and quite uninteresting. What helped though was that most of the sections of the book, except for the conversations, can be skipped and you would still not end up missing anything. Mightily disappointed.
September 23, 2016
Alltså wow måste jag bara säga, är det verkligen en svensk författare som har skrivit det här, så jäkla spännande alltså, och jag älskar att det utspelar sig på UD och den akademiska världen, den som jag seriöst hoppas att jag ska tillhöra en dag. Huvudpersonen Carina var en riktigt cool tjej, och som verkar vara så sann mot sig själv, Jamal lät helt underbar, och så himla coolt jobb hon har. Sen blev det bara ännu mer spännande med Jean som överlämnar USBstickan som handlar om ett förslag om en slags europeisk underrättelsetjänst, som hon måste stoppa, men så förlorar hon jobbet och både engelsmän och amerikanare börjar jaga henne. Alltså så jäkla spännande från första sidan, så bra skriven, verkligen i samma klass med Dan Brown och Baldacci, så coolt att en svensk har skrivit den, och spännande att han som man väljer att skriva om en kvinnlig huvudkaraktär. Riktigt bra gjort
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews