Sandhamn Books in Order
Part ofViveca Sten Books in OrderThis page lists the Sandhamn series by Viveca Sten in order, with each crime novel's synopsis, background on Nora and Thomas, and tips on reading order and where to start.
Last updated: December 23, 2025
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Publication Order
10 books
Buried in Secret
by Viveca Sten
2022
Construction workers uncover human bones on a small island near Sandhamn, reopening two cold cases involving missing women. While Thomas leads the official inquiry, a fragile, guilt-ridden Nora starts her own search, stirring up long-buried betrayals and dangerous grudges.
In Bad Company
by Viveca Sten
2018
Nora Linde builds a case against Andreis Kovac, a violent player in Stockholm's drug trade, relying on the testimony of his abused wife, Mina. When Mina and her baby go into hiding in the archipelago, Nora and Thomas must shield them from Andreis's revenge.
In the Name of Truth
by Viveca Sten
2015
At a children's sailing camp near Sandhamn, an eleven-year-old boy disappears after relentless bullying. His father is a key witness in a major fraud trial, drawing Nora and Thomas into a case where anonymous threats, family tensions, and abduction collide.
In the Shadow of Power
by Viveca Sten
2014
A wealthy venture capitalist builds a flashy summer house on Sandhamn, enraging the locals. When his guest lodge burns to the ground with a body in the ruins, Thomas and Nora must untangle the Jonsson family's lies to learn who was meant to die.
In Harm's Way
by Viveca Sten
2013
War reporter Jeanette Thiels is found frozen to death in a garden near her hotel the day after Christmas. Thomas Andreasson and Nora Linde suspect murder and discover that the journalist's dangerous investigations and messy private life have left many enemies.
In the Heat of the Moment
by Viveca Sten
2012
Midsummer on Sandhamn means hard partying, until a teenager is murdered and another girl is found drugged on the beach. With Jonas's daughter missing, Nora and Thomas race through a haze of alcohol, drugs, and half-truths to uncover the truth.
Tonight You’re Dead
by Viveca Sten
2011
University student Marcus Nielsen is found dead in what looks like suicide, but his research into a brutal military training unit suggests otherwise. As Thomas and Nora follow the trail, an old crime from a 1970s coastal ranger camp explodes into fresh violence.
Guiltless
by Viveca Sten
2010
A teenage girl vanishes during a stormy autumn night on Sandhamn. Months later Nora Linde's young sons find a severed arm in the snow, pulling Nora and Thomas into a case that links the missing girl to century-old island resentments.
Closed Circles
by Viveca Sten
2009
In the middle of a glamorous yacht-club regatta, a prominent lawyer dies aboard his sailing boat. Thomas Andreasson and Nora Linde probe the closed world of Sweden's sailing elite, where rivalries, debts, and secrets give almost everyone a motive.
Still Waters
by Viveca Sten
2008
On the holiday island of Sandhamn, a dog walker discovers a body tangled in a fishing net. Detective Thomas Andreasson and lawyer Nora Linde uncover buried family secrets that turn a presumed accident into a chilling double murder.
Series background & context
The Sandhamn novels follow two childhood friends, police detective Thomas Andreasson and lawyer Nora Linde, as they investigate murders in and around Sandhamn, a small island in the Stockholm archipelago. Sandhamn is a sleepy community for most of the year and a packed holiday resort in summer, and that tension between locals and visitors runs through every case.
Each book centers on a self contained mystery. In Still Waters a body tangled in fishing nets shatters the start of the summer season, while Closed Circles moves into the world of yacht clubs and high powered lawyers, and Guiltless digs into a missing teenager and the long memory of the island itself. Later stories bring in midsummer parties gone wrong, domestic abuse, financial crime, and old scandals that resurface when people least expect it.
At the core is the relationship between Thomas and Nora. He is methodical and quietly stubborn, carrying the weight of past losses and a complicated family life. She starts as a bank lawyer with a summer cottage but grows into a determined prosecutor, balancing work, children, and an often messy personal life. Their friendship, occasional disagreements, and loyalty to each other provide an emotional throughline that connects the individual investigations.
Sten treats Sandhamn almost like another main character. Over the series readers see the island in bright midsummer light, in grey autumn storms, and under deep winter snow. The sailing club, harbor, rocky beaches, and narrow lanes all play a part in how crimes are committed and solved, and the closed nature of island life means that secrets are hard to keep but even harder to fully uncover.
Tonally the books sit somewhere between a traditional whodunnit and modern Nordic noir. Violence happens, but the focus is on motives, relationships, and the slow reveal of who knew what and when. Sten uses her legal background to make the police and courtroom work feel grounded, while showing how crime ripples through families, friendships, and a community that depends on tourism to survive.
You can pick up most of the Sandhamn books on their own, but reading in order lets you watch Thomas, Nora, and their families change as the years pass. The series has also been adapted into a long running Swedish television drama, yet the novels offer a richer, more detailed view of the island, making them a satisfying place to spend time if you like atmospheric, character driven mysteries.
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