Wolf Winter

“In the early 18th century, Maija, her husband Paavo, and their two daughters emigrate from Finland to Swedish Lapland, leaving behind a troubled past. The country is rich and beautiful, but dominated by the ominous mountain Blackasen, said to be a dwelling for evil spirits and dark creatures. Out herding goats, the girls find the body of one of the other settlers. Maija is outspoken in her belief that their neighbor was murdered, despite the reluctance of the other settlers to admit. Winter arrives early and fiercely... As the “wolf winter” continues unabated, they learn that there is nothing so dangerous as fear.”
—Lyn Roberts, Square Books (Oxford, MS)

“Cecilia Ekback's tale of Swedish Lapland in 1717 gives insight into the land and people of the far north and is also hard to let go.”
—Barbara Theroux, Fact & Fiction (Missoula, MT)

“Wolf Winter is richly atmospheric and vivid. The cold is beyond imagining, as is the enveloping dark and the terrible hunger as stores diminish. Inevitably, Wolf Winter will be compared with Hannah Kent's remarkable Burial Rites. Ekback, however, has achieved something different. Wolf Winter is an historical crime mystery in the Nordic noir tradition, which chills as it impresses.”
—Anna Creer, Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)

“Swedish Lapland of 1717 is evoked so vividly that it seeps into your bones… A highly intelligent piece of historical Scandi-noir.”
– The Times (UK)

“A compelling, suspenseful story.”
– Sunday Times (UK)

“Swedish-born Cecilia Ekbäck's debut novel is a real page-turner. Similar to Stephen King's writing style and imagination, the novel, which is set in 1717 Lapland, takes us on an exhilarating journey (4 stars).”
— Ok! Magazine (UK)

“Fans of The Minaturist will love flashing back to the dark bleakness of 1717 Lapland in Cecilia Ekbäck's debut.”
— Grazia Magazine (UK)

“Ekbäck keeps the historical setting vivid and laced with pertinent details, but her characters are multifaceted… There is nothing quaint about Ekbäck's 18th century Sweden, which is full of political gaming at all levels, and a landscape that seems bent on killing anyone who commits to living on it. Ekbäck could certainly follow up with a sequel, but with her balance of fine prose and clever plotting, I hope she ventures into different times and characters, as I'm excited to see her range.”
– The National Post (Canada)

“The time and place seem so remote as to be unearthly, and the style has a stealthy quality, like a silent fall of snow; suddenly, the reader is enveloped. The story creeps up and possesses the imagination; there's something eerie in the way half-understood and only half-seen events leave their mark. It's a powerful feat of suggestion, visually acute, skillfully written; it won't easily erase its tracks in the reader's mind.”
— Hilary Mantel, author of the Man Booker Prize-Winning Bestsellers Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies

“Exquisitely suspenseful, beautifully written, and highly recommended.”
—Lee Child, #1 internationally bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thrillers

“The most brilliantly, dark, eerie, intriguing, out-of-this-world tale I've ever read... Think The Killing and then square it.”
—Ruby Wax, author of Sane New World

“Wolf Winter is a beautiful novel, full of wisdom and poetry. Cecilia Ekbäck writes dark, compelling prose steeped in a powerful sense of place. Spellbinding.”
—Saskia Sarginson, author of Without You

"It's rare to come across such an original, compelling and beautifully written novel. Set in a haunted landscape during a dark Scandinavian winter in the 1700s, Wolf Winter has a mystery at its core, supported by richly drawn characters, magical language and so many twists and turns that you'll be reading and shivering into the wee hours."
—Pam Lewis, author of Speak Softly, She Can Hear and A Young Wife

“As dark as a winter night in the Arctic, as magical as the northern lights, Wolf Winter kept me turning pages long past my bedtime. A marvelous mixture of terror and delight.”
—Lauren B. Davis, author of The Empty Room and Against a Darkening Sky

“Rich in history and authentic detail, Wolf Winter is a deeply satisfying read. I highly recommend it.”
—Rene Denfeld, author of The Enchanted

“Swedish-born debut author Ekbäck writes with deliberate pacing and immerses the reader in the endless snowfall of winter with her hypnotic prose.”
—Emily Byers, Library Journal, Editor's Fall Pick

“This snapshot of life in a place where winter can be unspeakably cruel, where simply staying alive is a victory, proves irresistible.”
—The Kirkus Review

“Ekbäck is at her best when describing the harsh, unforgiving land and the family's unending battle with nature.”
—Jordan Foster, The Strand Magazine

“Wolf Winter eminently repays reading for the beauty of its prose, its strange, compelling atmosphere and its tremendous evocation of the stark, dangerous, threatening place, which exists in the far north and in the hearts of all of us.”
– Melanie McGrath, The Guardian (UK)

“In Wolf Winter, Swede Cecilia Ekbäck (writing in English) provides something fresh: for a start, a period setting (Swedish Lapland in 1717) and a haunting poetic strain not found elsewhere in the genre, except perhaps in the novels of Johan Theorin…. Highly individual fare.”
– Barry Forshaw, Financial Times (UK)

“Wolf Winter is an absorbing and impressive debut from an author who I look forward to reading again.”
– The Globe and Mail (Canada)