Photo: Jarli & Jordan Photo: Jarli & Jordan

Thomas Enger

Thomas Enger (b.1973) wrote for Norway’s flagship newspapers for eight years before switching careers to that of writer. Besides penning the lauded and internationally bestselling crime series Henning Juul and, in a joint enterprise with fellow Norwegian Jørn Lier Horst, the runaway success Blix and Ramm series, he has also distinguished himself as one of the most exciting Scandinavian voices in Young Adult fiction. Alongside writing fiction, Enger works as a music composer. 

With his new page-turner standalone, the spine-chilling and darkly entertaining thriller The Book of the Gallows, Enger adds another feather in the cap of his cutting-edge authorship. 

 

Awards

Shortlisted for the Petrona Award (Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year) UK 2020
Shortlisted for Uprisen Norway – Enkebyen City At The End: Widowton 2020
Uprisen Norway 2018
Uprisen Norway 2014
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Bibliography

Stand-alone

City At The End

Related news

Stefan Ahnhem No. 2 in Sweden

Stefan Ahnhem’s Nothing But the Truth makes its debut on the official Swedish bestseller list, where it lands the No. 2 spot in the hardcover fiction category. Thomas Enger likewise makes his first appearance with the just published The Book of the Gallows, coming in at No. 6.

New Title: The Book of the Gallows

A strange attack: Eva survives a murder attempt in her own living room. On the floor beside her lies a dead man she doesn’t know. And in the hallway: a terrified, mute 8-year old girl.

A strange disappearance: Peter, a quiet, depressed man settles his house loans and withdraws large sums in cash. Then he goes missing without a trace. 1,5 years later he gives signs of life in the form of an e-mail that sparks a chain reaction of events that will have brutal consequences for those he love. Not the least for himself.

A strange life: Little Chris grows up in a dark and depressed home, marred by a drowning accident that took place right after he was born. He develops an abnormal relationship to life and death, and to people. But he learns to become just like everyone else, so that he can do what he likes the most: Kill.

In The Book of the Gallows, Thomas Enger presents a fascinating new crime-universe with a gripping mystery and an interchangeably spine-chilling and darkly humorous take on the making of a serial killer.

The 2020 Petrona Award shortlist

The Petrona Award’s jury has just presented its shortlist for the 2020 Petrona Award for ‘Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year.’ The list of six nominees include Antti Tuomainen’s Little Siberia, Stina Jackson’s The Silver Road, Jørn Lier Horst’s The Cabin, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s The Absolution and Thomas Enger’s Inborn.

A quote from the judges about the titles shortlisted for this year’s award:

“The Petrona Award judges selected the shortlist from a rich field. The six novels stand out for their writing, characterisation, plotting, and overall quality. They are original and inventive, often pushing the boundaries of genre conventions, and tackle highly complex subjects such as legacies of the past, mental health issues and the effects of grief.”

The winning title, usually announced at the international crime fiction convention CrimeFest, will now be announced on Thursday 3 December, 2020.

‘City at the End: The Resistance’ published in Norway

In City at the End: The Resistance we return to Enger’s thought-provoking and acclaimed dystopian universe.

Stella Staerk has made her fateful choice: she’ll stay with the Women’s Battalion, a clandestine resistance movement based out of an abandoned powerplant just outside of Widowton. She is plagued by the terrible realization that her long lost brother Sirius has all along been a central figure within the Janus group. In a world where everything is now running scarce, the Janus members have taken to culling the population by killing fertile young women – the future mothers of the next generation.

In City at the End: The Resistance, Stella becomes a key player in a guerrilla movement operating within Widowton, which ultimately forces her to confront the question of whether the end actually justifies the means. Meanwhile she struggles to adapt to the strict routines inside the Women’s Battalion and desperately longs for her family and friends.

City at the End: The Resistance is the much anticipated second installment in the YA-series about Stella Staerk and her struggle to survive in a Nordic war-ton, dystopian future where young women are being targeted.

The weekly Norwegian bestseller lists

The Norwegian bestseller lists for week 15 see Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger’s second installment in their co-written Blix & Ramm series Smoke Screen claim the No. 1 spot in the paperback category. The novel also features at No. 4 in e-book. Jørn makes another appearance, together with Hans Jørgen Sandnes and their latest part in the Detective Agency No. 2 series, Operation Trickster, which comes in at No. 5 in hardback. Katrine Engberg’s debut The Tenant meanwhile nabs the No. 2 spot on the e-book list, and is accompanied by Thomas Enger and his YA-novel City at the End: Widowton at No. 7.

The weekly Norwegian bestseller lists

Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger feature prominently on week 13’s bestseller lists, where their Smoke Screen comes in at No. 1 both on the paperback and the e-book bestseller lists. Katrine Engberg’s The Tenant also appears on the e-book list, this week at No. 7, closely followed by Thomas Enger’s City At The End: Widowton at No. 8.

On the hardcover list Jørn Lier Horst & Hans Jørgen Sandnes are No. 4 with Operation Trickster, and Anders de la Motte’s recently published Rites of Spring is No. 6.

The weekly Norwegian bestseller lists

The official lists for week 12 see Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger once again appear at No. 1 on the paperback list with Smoke Screen. Katrine Engberg claims another top spot, debuting at No. 1 on the e-book list with The Tenant. Thomas Enger’s YA novel City At The End: Widowton, also new on the list, comes in right behind at No. 2. Operation Trickster by Jørn Lier Horst & Hans Jørgen Sandnes stays put at No. 4 on the hardcover list, where Anders de la Motte’s Rites of Spring debuts at No. 6. Rites of Spring will be published in its home country Sweden on March 30.

‘City At The End: Widowton’ shortlisted for Uprisen

Thomas Enger’s YA dystopic City At The End: Widowton has been shortlisted for Uprisen, the Norwegian Youth Literature Award. The jury of Uprisen is comprised of young people of various ages, selecting the stand out children’s and young adult novels of the year. Enger is one of the five authors to be shortlisted and the winner will be announced during Litteraturfestivalen on the 28th of May. This is the third time Enger is shortlisted for the prestigious award.

New Author – Thomas Enger

Thomas Enger (b.1973) has rapidly distinguished himself as one of the most exciting new voices in Young Adult fiction. The Oslo-born author wrote for Norway’s flagship newspapers for eight years before switching careers to that of author. His critically acclaimed crime fiction went on to sell to over 30 countries, and for his YA novels Enger received the prestigious Norwegian Uprisen award twice, officially profiling him as one of the most promising writers in the genre.