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The Writing in the Water

A Thriller (Bloodstorm, Book 1)

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The Writing in the Water

By: John Ajvide Lindqvist, Michael Meigs - translator
Narrated by: Laura Jennings
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About this listen

In this sweeping and suspenseful start to the Bloodstorm series, an ex-cop turned crime writer teams up with a mysterious hacker to solve a murder—and uncovers corruption along the way.

Julia Malmros is thriving. A former police officer making her way in the world of crime fiction, she’s turning popularity into fame by writing the next book in a world-renowned suspense series.

To help her research, Julia connects with Kim Ribbing. More hacker than man, Kim bears a dark past that’s the very antithesis of the promising future she has planned for herself. They share an undeniable spark—yet it’s likely to implode.

That’s the least of Julia’s worries.

Hounded by publicity, Julia retreats to her cottage in the Stockholm archipelago. It’s there that she begins to reevaluate her life, reunite with Kim…and return to her investigative roots after tragedy unfolds on a nearby pier. The victim: a billionaire, her childhood friend.

Julia’s ex, Jonny, leads the official investigation, but Julia knows there’s no such thing as coincidence. And as she and Kim follow the trail of cash, corruption follows dangerously close behind.

©2022, 2025 by John Ajvide Lindqvist. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2025 by Michael Meigs. Crime Crime Thrillers Espionage Mystery Police Procedurals Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting

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Critic reviews

“Lindqvist plays the book’s metafictional notes softly enough that they never become distracting, and the chemistry between his leads is electric. Readers will be eager for the sequel.”—Publishers Weekly

“A stylish Scandi-noir mystery and a sly sendup of Swedish publishing.”—The New York Times

“John Ajvide Lindqvist has an unfailing ability to breathe life into his characters.”—Dagens Nyheter
All stars
Most relevant
Fantastic plot. Lindqvist does thriller superbly well. I can’t wait for the follow up with these great characters!

The Boy with the Dragon Tat… Skin

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I had this on whispersync and the narration is extremely irritating. Breathless, indistinct characterisation and detracted from the story. The story itself is ok but rather formulaic and predictable. Nothing special.

Slightly formulaic and predictable

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This isn’t the usual type of Lindkvist book. It’s a knock off version of the Millennium books, and not very good at that.

The main character is an author who was asked to write the next Millennium books, was rejected, and a friend suggests she rewrite the main characters and publish it as her own.

It was an unfortunate realisation that the real book was most likely a rejected Millennium book

Shocking disappointment

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