In this brilliant Swedish thriller and sensitive coming-of-age story,
a traumatic event shatters the summer of two boys in love with their
young teacher.
"Nesser sensitively probes the agonies and ecstasies of adolescence,
making this an exquisite example of Nordic noir's ability to reveal the
darkest emotional depths beneath a cloudless summer sky." --Publishers
Weekly (Starred Review)
"Nesser's novel gains in power as it raises difficult questions about
memory and morality." --Kirkus Reviews
Sweden in the '60s. Erik and his friend Edmund spend their vacation by a
forest lake daydreaming about Ewa, a young substitute teacher with an
uncanny resemblance to the actress Kim Novak. The boys are having the
time of their lives until a shocking discovery disrupts their world.
Twenty-five years later, Erik comes across a newspaper article about
unsolved crimes and is overwhelmed by memories and questions from that
summer of his youth. What actually happened back then? The Summer of
Kim Novak has all the tension and mystery of Nesser's world-famous
thrillers, combined with a coming-of-age tale of remarkable
psychological precision.