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Back The Flood Save as PDF
Chapters (101)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. THREE LOST MEN
  4. The First Man:
  5. The Second Man:
  6. The Third Man:
  7. SATURDAY
  8. Chapter 1
  9. Chapter 2
  10. MONDAY
  11. Chapter 1
  12. Chapter 2
  13. Chapter 3
  14. Chapter 4
  15. Chapter 5
  16. Chapter 6
  17. Chapter 7
  18. Chapter 8
  19. Chapter 9
  20. Chapter 10
  21. Chapter 11
  22. TUESDAY
  23. Chapter 1
  24. Chapter 2
  25. Chapter 3
  26. Chapter 4
  27. Chapter 5
  28. Chapter 6
  29. Chapter 7
  30. Chapter 8
  31. Chapter 9
  32. Chapter 10
  33. Chapter 11
  34. Chapter 12
  35. Chapter 13
  36. Chapter 14
  37. Chapter 15
  38. Chapter 16
  39. WEDNESDAY
  40. Chapter 1
  41. Chapter 2
  42. Chapter 3
  43. Chapter 4
  44. Chapter 5
  45. Chapter 6
  46. Chapter 7
  47. Chapter 8
  48. Chapter 9
  49. Chapter 10
  50. Chapter 11
  51. Chapter 12
  52. Chapter 13
  53. Chapter 14
  54. Chapter 15
  55. Chapter 16
  56. THURSDAY
  57. Chapter 1
  58. Chapter 2
  59. Chapter 3
  60. Chapter 4
  61. Chapter 5
  62. Chapter 6
  63. Chapter 7
  64. Chapter 8
  65. Chapter 9
  66. Chapter 10
  67. Chapter 11
  68. Chapter 12
  69. Chapter 13
  70. Chapter 14
  71. Chapter 15
  72. Chapter 16
  73. Chapter 17
  74. Chapter 18
  75. Chapter 19
  76. Chapter 20
  77. Chapter 21
  78. FRIDAY
  79. Chapter 1
  80. Chapter 2
  81. Chapter 3
  82. Chapter 4
  83. Chapter 5
  84. Chapter 6
  85. Chapter 7
  86. Chapter 8
  87. Chapter 9
  88. Chapter 10
  89. Chapter 11
  90. Chapter 12
  91. Chapter 13
  92. Chapter 14
  93. Chapter 15
  94. Chapter 16
  95. Chapter 17
  96. AUTUMN 2016
  97. Chapter 1
  98. Chapter 2
  99. Afterword and Acknowledgements
  100. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  101. Copyright
I1: It sounds as if the dead were piling up. At some speed.
Recht: That’s exactly what was happening.
I2: It also sounds as if you weren’t exactly on top of things.
Recht: Sorry?
I2: Well, with one person after another dying, you’d expect the police to pull out all the stops. That doesn’t seem to have been the case in the summer.
Recht:

You’re wrong. Completely wrong. But it took time for us to work out whether the deaths were connected, and if so, how.

(silence)
I1: We need to come back to Spencer Lagergren.
Recht: He’s not part of this investigation.
I2:

No, but he was one of very few people who’d heard of Sander’s book.

(silence)
I2: You must answer our questions.
Recht: I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you’d asked a question.
I1: Okay, let me put it like this: did it bother you that Spencer was familiar with both the title and the author?
Recht: There was a perfectly logical explanation, which Fredrika passed on to me.
I1: So you weren’t in the least concerned?
(silence)
Recht: Not at the time.
I2: But later?
Recht: Later I became very concerned indeed.

THURSDAY

Chapter 1

The silence was endless. Dan was still refusing to speak to Malin. He simply observed her as she searched and searched. The knives remained missing. And Malin’s panic continued to grow.

When the early morning sun lit up the bedroom, she was lying there wide awake. What time did the sun rise at this point in the summer? Four o’clock? The only thing she knew for sure was that she had to be on her guard, because otherwise she and the children could die.

She was watching Dan. He was on his side with his back to her. She didn’t believe he was asleep, and that frightened her. If he was awake too, what thoughts were going around and around in his head? Not the same as the ones stuck in her head, she hoped.

She was so thirsty, her throat felt constricted, she could hardly breathe. The glass on the bedside table was empty. If she wanted water, she was going to have to get up.

And give away the fact that I’m awake.

Malin felt the weariness come creeping in. How long could she manage to stay awake? How many days, how many nights? Sooner or later she would have to sleep. Maybe it wouldn’t make any difference. If Dan came rushing in with a knife, no one would be able to stop him.

But God knows I’d try.