Thomas Engström (born 1975), is a Swedish novelist and journalist. His third novel, ''West of Liberty'', was published in October 2013 by

Albert Bonniers Förlag Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street ma ...

. The book was the first in a series of political thrillers featuring former

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

agent and CIA freelancer Ludwig Licht. The series explores the harsh realities of today's international political landscape. The Ludwig Licht series has been sold to a number of countries, including Germany, Poland, The Netherlands, Russia, The Czech Republic and Greece. During early 2018, the books started to be filmed as an international TV series by, among others, German

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

Network Movie and Swedish Anagram. International distribution is handled by British ITV. The role of Ludwig Licht is played by Wotan Wilke Möhring. ''West of Liberty'' earned Engström the

Swedish Crime Writers' Academy The Swedish Crime Fiction Academy (Swedish: ''Svenska Deckarakademin''), is a Sweden, Swedish organization set up in 1971 to promote quality in Swedish detective fiction and crime fiction.

's award for best crime writing debut of 2013. ''South of Hell'' was published in August 2014. It takes place in rural Pennsylvania, as well as Washington, DC. It was nominated for the Best Swedish Suspense Novel of the Year Award. The third installment, ''North of Paradise'', was published in October 2015. The setting, this time, is southern Florida and Cuba. In 2017, the series concluded with ''East of the Abyss'', taking place in Ukraine, Armenia and the republic of Georgia. The book was nominated for the Best Swedish Suspense Novel of the Year Award.

Journalism

An award-winning columnist, Thomas Engström has written about international politics and culture in the news daily Svenska Dagbladet and the monthly magazine Axess. He currently is a columnist for the magazine Fokus. He has a law degree from Lund University, including studies at the

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...

Institute of Human Rights.

Translations

Engström has translated some twenty titles from English, including the works of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Mark Bowden Mark Bowden (; born 1951) is an American journalist and writer. He is a former national correspondent and longtime contributor to ''The Atlantic''. Bowden is best known for his book ''Black Hawk Down (book), Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern W ...

Ian Kershaw Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's foremost experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is ...

, and

Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American journalist who has written biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna and Elon Musk. As of 2024, Isaacson is a profes ...

Other

In late 2009, Engström co-authored a pan-European Anthology on the state of European democracy, twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall – an assignment commissioned by the Danish Foreign Office. Engström is married to New Zealander Anne Engström (nee Sullivan) who works in the charity sector and politics in London. Anne Engström is of mixed heritage with a Maori father and British mother and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics from Canterbury University, New Zealand . They married in Kalmar, Sweden on 3 March 2023. They live in

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

, England and spend a few months of the year in Småland, Sweden.

Bibliography

*''Öster om Avgrunden'' (''East of the Abyss'') (2017)

*''Norr om paradiset'' (''North of Paradise'') (2015)

*''Söder om helvetet'' (''South of Hell'') (2014)

*''Väster om friheten'' (''West of Liberty'') (2013)

*''Dirty Dancer'' (''Dirty Dancer'') (2006)

*''Mörker som gör gott'' (''Otto'') (2003)

References

External links

Publisher's information, Albert Bonniers Förlag

Nordin Agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engstrom, Thomas 1975 births Living people 21st-century Swedish novelists Swedish male novelists