Deliver Me
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PETRONA AWARD 2025, CELEBRATING THE BEST SCANDINAVIAN CRIME NOVELS OF THE YEAR
From the internationally bestselling author of Quicksand, a brilliant, gut-wrenching story of childhood friends torn apart by gang violence and class differences.
Dogge is from affluent Rönnviken in Stockholm. Billy lives in the concrete towers of Våringe, a few hundred yards across a highway but a world apart. They met as six-year-olds at Rönnviken’s playground and have been unlikely best friends ever since. From the outside, Dogge looks privileged: he lives in a large home and there is plenty of money – at first. But his parents are addicts whose negligence becomes a form of abuse. Meanwhile, Billy’s family are poor first-generation immigrants unable to escape the no-go zone where they live. But their cramped apartment is nonetheless a bastion of love.
When gangs tighten their grip on Våringe, a ruthless small-time boss seeks recruits and both Dogge and Billy become runners by the time they’re twelve. Fast cash, easy access to drugs and the dream of gaining status draw them in. But when Billy wants to leave the gang and finds himself trapped, the boys must face the violent rules of the adult game they tried to play.
When children commit horrible crimes, who bears the responsibility? With piercing prose and a breathless sense of urgency, Deliver Me is at once a poignant portrayal of the power of friendship and a shattering depiction of what happens when society fails to protect those who need it most. What does justice mean for these lost children, and is the law capable of delivering it?
PRAISE FOR MALIN PERSSON GIOLITO:
'Sensitive, moving and absorbing' MARCEL BERLINS, THE TIMES
'This is the evolution of Scandinavian crime, in more ways than one' FREDRIK BACKMAN
'Compelling and brutally candid…superbly told' DAILY MAIL
'Suspenseful and addictive' REAL CRIME
'Splendid' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'Haunting and immersive' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY