Photo: Ewa-Marie Rundquist
Lars Kepler ‘Crime Author of the Year’
Lars Kepler has been named the 2025 Crime Author of the Year, an award presented by BookBeat in collaboration with the Crimetime Festival. The prize is based on listening data from the three most recent audiobooks by Swedish crime authors over the past 12 months. The winner was announced this weekend during an award ceremony at the Gothenburg Book Fair.
This marks the third time the author duo Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril, known by their pen name Lars Kepler, have received the award. Their gripping crime series featuring Detective Joona Linna continues to captivate audiences. The most recent installment, The Sleepwalker, was released in September 2024 and quickly became a favorite among listeners.
“Few authors captivate their listeners like Lars Kepler, and our data clearly shows that their books have been a runaway success with our Swedish users over the past year. The Joona Linna series is one of the most popular crime series of all time in Sweden. That’s why it feels incredibly exciting to award Kepler this prestigious prize, which truly reflects what the listeners think”, says Emelie Hollbox , Senior Content Performance Specialist at BookBeat.
Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril say:
“We are happy and moved – and we think the BookBeat award is especially meaningful because it reflects what our listeners and readers have experienced through our books. A thousand thanks!”