Viveca Sten Books in Order
See all of Viveca Sten's books in order, with Sandhamn and Åre series lists, brief summaries, series background, and guidance on the best place for new readers to begin.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
16 books
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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.
Swedish Summer
by Viveca Sten
2020
Part cookbook and part travelogue, Swedish Summer follows Viveca Sten through the Stockholm archipelago, sharing recipes, islanders' stories, and glimpses of long light evenings on the rocks, crayfish feasts, and the everyday life that inspired her Sandhamn novels.
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.
Hidden in Snow
by Viveca Sten
2022
After losing both her job and relationship on the same day, Stockholm cop Hanna Ahlander retreats to Åre, a busy ski resort. When a teenage girl disappears during a blizzard, Hanna joins local detective Daniel Lindskog to hunt a predator hiding in the snow.
Hidden in Shadows
by Viveca Sten
2023
In the winter town of Åre, former Olympic skier Johan Andersson is found bound and beaten to death in the forest. Hanna Ahlander and Daniel Lindskog trace links between the victim, a closed religious sect, and a pastor's abused wife who knows too much.
Hidden in Memories
by Viveca Sten
2025
During Easter at a luxury ski lodge in Åre, powerful property developer Charlotte Wretlind is stabbed to death in her suite. As Hanna and Daniel investigate, a witness is murdered and Charlotte's son vanishes, forcing them to confront buried childhood traumas and ruthless business deals.
Hidden in Lies
by Viveca Sten
2026
Six university friends arrive in Åre for a week of skiing and parties, but by Sunday one of them is dead, found barefoot and frozen in the snow. Hanna Ahlander trusts her instinct that it is murder and must sort the group's shifting stories before another tragedy.
The Secrets Below
by Viveca Sten
2026
On a remote island in the Stockholm archipelago, twelve-year-old Tuva and new classmate Rasmus search for a missing girl. As more people disappear on the water, Tuva begins to suspect that something ancient and dangerous is stirring beneath the sea.
Where should I start?
If you want to start with island mysteries: Still Waters → Closed Circles → Guiltless
If you enjoy long-running character arcs: Still Waters → In the Shadow of Power → In the Name of Truth → In Bad Company → Buried in Secret
If you prefer snowy Nordic noir: Hidden in Snow → Hidden in Shadows → Hidden in Memories → Hidden in Lies
If you like food and sense of place: Swedish Summer → Still Waters
If you are choosing for younger readers (~10-14): The Secrets Below
Author bio
Viveca Sten was born in Stockholm in 1959 and grew up in a family of lawyers, surrounded by talk of cases and contracts as much as books. From an early age she split her time between the city and the islands of the Stockholm archipelago.
Her family has owned a small house on Sandhamn for generations, and she spent long childhood summers there swimming, sailing, and watching ferries come and go.
That quiet mix of sea air, close neighbors, and the occasional storm would later become the heart of her crime novels.
Before she ever wrote about murder, Sten built a substantial career in business law. She studied law at Stockholm University, added an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics, and worked as a lawyer and in house counsel for companies in travel, technology, and postal services. Eventually she became general counsel of the joint Swedish Danish postal service, juggling board meetings, contracts, and a busy family life.
Alongside that work she wrote practical legal books on outsourcing, commercial negotiations, and international contracts. But in the mid 2000s she felt the pull of fiction and began drafting a mystery that would put Sandhamn, not Stockholm, at center stage. She wrote in the margins of her days until the story felt strong enough to send to a publisher.
Her debut crime novel, Still Waters, appeared in 2008 in Sweden and launched what became the Sandhamn Murders series. Through the friendship of police detective Thomas Andreasson and lawyer Nora Linde, the books explore what happens when violent crime intrudes on a holiday community of wooden houses, yacht club parties, and year round island residents. Later installments such as In the Heat of the Moment, In the Name of Truth, and Buried in Secret weave together family drama, financial crime, and social issues without losing sight of the sea and the weather.
The series quietly grew into an international hit. Sten's Sandhamn novels have sold millions of copies, been translated into many languages, and inspired a long running Swedish television drama filmed on location in the archipelago.
In 2020 she opened a new chapter with Hidden in Snow, the first book in the Åre Murders series set in a mountain ski resort in northern Sweden. Here the main characters, Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander and local detective Daniel Lindskog, investigate disappearances and killings against a backdrop of chairlifts, winter storms, and the sharp divide between tourists and the people who live in Åre year round. The books lean into Nordic noir while keeping the strong sense of place and everyday detail that marks her earlier work.
Beyond crime fiction Sten has co written sea themed adventures for younger readers with her daughter Camilla Sten and penned a cookbook and story collection, Swedish Summer, that celebrates life and food in the archipelago. Recurring threads in her books include close knit communities, class and power, domestic violence, and the question of how far people will go to protect the families they have or the ones they wish they had. After the success of her early novels she left corporate law to write full time, while also volunteering with organizations supporting refugees and speaking up for the fragile island environment she loves. Today she divides her time between a home just north of Stockholm, summers on Sandhamn, and winters in Åre, often writing at a kitchen table that looks out on water, snow, or both.
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