Vanished?
By
Christer Tholin
Genre:
Mystery Crime Thriller
“He
could only hope he’d get out of here in one piece.”
To
come to terms with his recent divorce, Martin, an attorney in Berlin,
plans a peaceful vacation – two weeks in a Swedish summer house
seem to be the solution. It won’t be peaceful, however, and those
two weeks will change his life forever. He takes a liking to Liv, a
Swedish woman whom he meets in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, they
don’t get to have their first date – Liv disappears under
mysterious circumstances. Martin begins his search but soon realizes
he can’t find Liv in a foreign country by himself. He hires two
private investigators, and their discoveries make everything seem
even stranger.
The
complexities in this suspenseful criminal case lead to a hunt across
Sweden. Martin comes close to finding answers, but his search lands
him in very real danger, eventually leading to the first deaths. Soon
he‘s wondering if he can get Liv and himself out of this situation
alive.
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EXCERPT:
They
left the house and ran to the driveway. There they heard the sound of an engine
rapidly approaching.
“Damn, somebody’s coming.
Quick, into the woods!”
They rushed behind the house
and into the trees, where before them was a narrow path. Martin tried to keep
his voice muted: “We’ll cut through the woods to my car. Follow me!”
He followed the wooded
pathway for a short stretch, then veered to the right through the trees. It was
muddy and difficult to negotiate; that meant they weren’t going to make headway
very quickly. “We have to try not to make any noise.”
Liv nodded.
They moved slowly around
the house. The vehicle had now arrived; it was the black pickup.
“Shit.” Martin cursed.
Liv held on firmly to his shirtsleeve. “Shouldn’t we try to escape through the
woods instead?”
“Do you know your way
around here?”
“No.” Liv looked around.
“How far is it to my summerhouse?”
“Liv, we’re in Dalarna,
really close to your husband’s summerhouse.”
“What?” Liv opened her
eyes wider and pressed her hands to her mouth.
Martin looked at her: “To
my car?”
She nodded.
They kept moving
cautiously through the woods, able to hear the driver getting out and going up
to the house. It couldn’t be much longer until he noticed that Liv’s things
were missing; then he would go into the cellar and…
Gradually they put more
distance behind them and approached the driveway. Martin looked back and
believed they could now leave their cover without risk. It went faster on the
driveway; Martin’s shoulder ached with every step, but now was the time to keep
his teeth clenched. Just as he unlocked the car, he heard a sound from the
house. The man had come out the door and roared something that Martin didn’t understand.
Liv looked at him with horror. As fast as they could, they climbed into the
car. Martin started it; unfortunately, he still had to turn it around, and
there was very little space to do so. Twice he backed up until he could finally
drive off. At that very moment, the engine of the pickup revved behind them. He
looked in the rear-view mirror; the truck was already approaching them. He hit
the gas. The car reacted and lurched forward with a jerk. Martin drove as fast
as he could; Liv was frightened; she held on to the armrest and looked around
from back to front.
“Faster! Please!”
“I’m trying to.”
Martin pushed the pedal
harder. The main road lay in front of them – he knew he wouldn’t make the curve
at that speed. Even so he kept driving at the same velocity; a brief glance
revealed the pickup directly behind them. The engine was loud, and the black
steel fenders in front of the hood were coming dangerously close.
At the intersection to
the main road, Martin braked slightly, hoping to make it onto the dirt road
without landing in the ditch. Gripping the steering wheel with all his
strength, the Audi swung around, and it looked like they would make it. But the
pickup had other plans. It didn’t intend to make the curve. The driver swerved
slightly to the right and rammed the Audi from the side just as they reached
the bend. The Audi’s rear end slung around towards the woods. Liv screamed,
both airbags deployed and Martin braked with everything in his power. The car
came to a stop diagonally across the road.
The
author grew up in the North of Germany, Schleswig-Holstein. Today, he
lives together with his family in Stockholm, Sweden, where he works
as management consultant.
Already
for ages he has been a great fan of crime stories and therefore, had
the desire to write his own crime story with the characters acting in
Sweden. This crime-fiction is now available under the title
"Vanished?".
The
crime novel starts at a slower pace - like Martin's holidays, but the
tension goes up more and more. It comes to a number of surprising
turns giving new impulses to the story. Apart from that, the lovely
country Sweden is described with the view of a foreigner.
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