Author - Johanna Ginstmark

The author

Johanna

(b. 1979) grew up as the 12th generation in a small rural village in Österlen, known as Sweden’s Provence. Johanna lives in Stockholm and has worked as a screenwriter and script consultant since 2009. She has also run a popular podcast, Framgångar och Motgångar, where she interviewed colleagues in the film and TV industry about their worst setbacks and their paths to success.

Johanna is representerad by Siri Lindgren at Nordin Agency.

If interested in booking Johanna for an author’s talk, contact Johanna.

For rights or literary collaborations, contact Siri.

Österlen files

In this suspense series we follow Maria Larsdotter, a commissioner returning to the region where she grew up. Haunted by a childhood trauma, she delves into the secrets of the area. Her investigation stirs up old conflicts and steps on many toes, reigniting long-dormant tensions. This gripping and timeless rural crime series is reminiscent of the works of Åsa Larsson and Tove Alsterdal, promising to captivate and thrill readers.

ÖSterlen files 1

Dense haze

Österlen files 2

Blizzard

Österlen files 3

Cloudburst

Dense Haze

POLICE OFFICER MARIA Larsdotter returns to the village where she grew up to begin a new job as a commissioner with the Ystad police in the south of Sweden. Maria is haunted by memories of a terrible accident that struck her family when she was a child, but she is also happy to see her childhood village and her grandparents again. Maria has barely settled into her new role when a strange case lands on her desk. A newly moved-in couple has found a skeleton buried in the stable yard of the beautiful farm they recently took over after it had stood uninhabited for a long time. Questions pile up around the discovery, and Maria soon realises that the search for answers leads back in time and that the seemingly idyllic village harbours dark secrets that are connected to her own past.

DENSE HAZE is the first part of The Österlen Files by Johanna Ginstmark, a series that that explores the effects of trauma and secrets.

Blizzard

THE SNOWSTORM SWEEPS across Österlen when Jens, a father and widower, disappears without a trace. Left on the farm are ten-year-old Tova and her little sister. Did Jens disappear voluntarily, or has he been the victim of a crime? The investigation into Jens’ disappearance is complex, and police officer Maria Larsdotter becomes personally involved as it reminds her of her own childhood trauma.

MEANWHILE, THE SERIOUS Crimes Unit in Ystad is divided into two camps, with the majority critical of the newly appointed commissioner Maria for reporting their former chief for misconduct.

IN BLIZZARD THE stakes rise, both in the investigation and in personal relationships. And the closer Maria gets to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes. The Österlen Files is a suspense series that explores the effects of trauma and secrets

Cloudburst

STEEL-GREY CLOUDS hang heavy over Österlen when Göran Danielsson is arrested for murder. The realisation that, during his thirty years as a police inspector, he made a conscious decision every day to protect the Dalsgård family hits him hard. The question is whether he is prepared for the consequences that arise when he does what he should have done from the very beginning.

INSPECTOR MARIA LARSDOTTER’S decision to arrest her former colleague is not taken lightly, but it becomes the irrevocable starting point for a series of events that together escalate and take her deeper into the trenches, where resistance erupts and threats against her increase.

IN CLOUDBURST, FAMILY conflicts intensify and the past haunts them. Revenge blinds them, guilt grows and shame burns. In the third part of The Österlen Files, the thriller continues to explore the effects that trauma and secrets have on people.