Three years ago, Lydia and Alena were two hopeful girls from Lithuania. Now they are sex slaves, lured to Sweden with the promise of better jobs and then trapped in a Stockholm brothel. Suddenly they are given an unexpected chance at freedom and with it the opportunity to take revenge on their enslavers and reclaim the lives and dignity they once had. What will happen now that the tables are turned and the victims fight back? Box 21 is a mind-blowing psychological thriller of the highest order.
“Superb...Roslund and Hellström play out the tale in taut, short scenes, meting out revelations and shocks in sure, knowing fashion, ending with the shock that all but undoes the rest.... Box 21 is profound.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
“This dark, explicit novel is another impressive crime thriller from Scandinavia.... A good read.” —Arizona Republic
“Gripping...the story takes a number of surprising twists and turns.” —The Washington Post Book World
“This excellent crime thriller is bound to please fans of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander series.” —Library Journal
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"With 10 pages to go, I was disappointed with the way the ending was going. It all turned around on the last page, although it was something I had already considered. Don't read the last page early; it's a spoiler.A taut and nuanced tale of modern-day slavery, loss, addiction and revenge. "
— Michael (4 out of 5 stars)
" Meh. While I enjoyed the author's spare but descriptive writing style, similar to other Scandinavian fiction and one thing I like about the books I've read from there so far, overall this book was not that enjoyable to me. Perhaps after reading the first two "Girl" books I'm just done with the portrayal of Sweden as a country with a sex slave in every basement. I forced myself to finish the book. Even the twists near the end were sort of a yawner. Moving on. "
— Kristi, 2/7/2014" Similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, but I did like it! "
— Johnna, 2/6/2014" This is one of the best thrillers I have read in a really long time. I liked everything about it, the writing style, the characters, everything was perfect. This would be the perfect gift for the reader in your life. "
— Bridget, 1/25/2014" This was a pretty decent, quick read. I really liked the girl, Lydia, but came to detest all of the police officers for their self-serving and morally ambiguous characters. As far as thrillers go, though, it was well written, minus some of the preachy "woe is me my soul is in anguish" passages. I would definitely recommend this to someone who likes to sit in imperious judgement regarding the flaws of fictional characters. "
— Toggedout, 1/20/2014" I liked this book, though it got a bit slow as it went on. And the big "aha!" at the end wasn't much of a revelation, as I had figured it out. Overall, good, but pacing was off near the end. "
— Lynn, 1/20/2014" Weird! This book is actually called Box 21 in English. Excellent story tellers - weaving multiple stories together. Good characters. Disturbing story lines. "
— Allison, 11/11/2013" very good read i have read a few of his books now and really look forward to catching up with the rest of his stuff. "
— Michelle, 10/29/2013" Bleak, joyless with contrived plot twists. Not a sympathetic character between the covers. I certainly don't expect crime novels to be laugh-fests; but I do hope for some redemption for someone at some point. If you share that hope look elsewhere. "
— Greg, 9/21/2013" this book was good:)) very different "
— Lisa, 8/14/2013" it was dull with a rather bad plotline. "
— Emily, 7/3/2013" Second half was a come down with no consequence after the caffeinated beginning. "
— Peter, 4/23/2013" Wow not what I expected.....whew "
— Susan, 1/15/2013" Just OK. Still better than any of the "Girl Who..." books. Possibly underrecognized because instead of Michale and Lisbeth, there are characters named Ewert and Bengt. "
— Eric, 10/30/2012" I wanted to like this book, but it was just too heavy-handed and predictable. The social issue though is shocking, disturbing, and very sad. "
— Hans, 10/21/2012" Fast-moving plot with some good twists and turns. Set in Sweden with sub plots involving Eastern European sex slaves and corrupt policemen, iWould like to see more by these authors. "
— Janet, 8/17/2012" Absolutely spooky and a terrific surprise last page--really well constructed. "
— Sheri, 8/11/2012" Some good ideas, but the plot is weak. "
— NOLAgirl, 7/23/2012" So so bleak, I couldn't put it down because I wanted to see something good happen. And it didn't and I think this is fair. "
— Tamar, 7/8/2012" meh. the translation was weird. "
— Sonja, 7/7/2012" Intense, gripping, and horrifying all rolled into one incredible book! "
— Samantha, 5/29/2012" Dark and violent but did remind me of Dragon Tattoo; so I must admit I couldn't put it down. Not for everyone. "
— Carolyn, 4/4/2012" You can't EVER miss the last page of Roslund's novels! "
— Pat, 4/3/2012" I liked the writing but some of the plot elements were a little too contrived. The twist at end the end was good, although not a huge surprise. I was disapointed that the detectives never found the "truth". "
— Slb, 11/2/2011" it was dull with a rather bad plotline. "
— Emily, 10/13/2011" Just OK. Still better than any of the "Girl Who..." books. Possibly underrecognized because instead of Michale and Lisbeth, there are characters named Ewert and Bengt. "
— Eric, 9/12/2011" Not the greatest example of the Scandinavian crime genre, but still an engaging read. If you're going to read something by this team, though, choose 3 Seconds over this one. "
— Kathleen, 8/22/2011" Enjoyed this book but hated the decisions that were made at the end. I felt that the truth should have come out. Now things will continue as usual. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series: Three Seconds. "
— Beverly, 7/30/2011" It was pretty interesting. I guessed what the big secret was, so that was disappointing. I'm not sure I'll read the rest of the series. "
— Rheba, 7/19/2011" Fast-moving plot with some good twists and turns. Set in Sweden with sub plots involving Eastern European sex slaves and corrupt policemen, iWould like to see more by these authors. "
— Janet, 7/11/2011" Though I love pretty much all Swedish mystery/thriller books, this one just wasn't as good as others I've read. That being said, it was a quick read and the characters were interesting and adequately flawed. "
— Abbi, 7/3/2011" This is a well written disturbing yet very exciting tale/thriller about human trafficking. Finished it in one day. "
— Mgganeles, 7/3/2011" Wow. I thought the book was OK but the last couple of sentences made the whole story turn around to a great book. What a surprise! "
— Antonettes, 6/19/2011" Okay, a little bit of thought goes into book. <br/> "
— Karin, 6/18/2011Anders Roslund, author of the Ewert Grens series, is the founder and former head of Kulturnyheterna (Culture News) on Swedish Television.
Christopher Lane is an award-winning actor, director, and narrator. He has been awarded the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration several times and has won numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Christopher Lane is an award-winning actor, director, and narrator. He has been awarded the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration several times and has won numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards.