---
product_id: 39430820
title: "The Swimmer: A Novel Hardcover – February 10, 2015"
brand: "joakim zander"
price: "€ 24.76"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 6
category: "Books"
url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/39430820-the-swimmer-a-novel-hardcover-february-10-2015
store_origin: HR
region: Croatia
---

# The Swimmer: A Novel Hardcover – February 10, 2015

**Brand:** joakim zander
**Price:** € 24.76
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Swimmer: A Novel Hardcover – February 10, 2015 by joakim zander
- **How much does it cost?** € 24.76 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/39430820-the-swimmer-a-novel-hardcover-february-10-2015)

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- joakim zander enthusiasts

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## Description

Review
        	
        	
        		
        		
	        		
						
			        		&#x201C;A terrific globe-trotting page-turner, rich with complex conflicts and a big, meaty, chillingly credible conspiracy.&#x201D; (Chris Pavone, author of The Expats and The Accident)&#x201C;An interesting gambit.... [Zander is] a smart, fluid observer.&#x201D; (New York Times Book Review )&#x201C;Effortlessly structured and perfectly paced, The Swimmer is a globetrotting page-turner whose vibrant cast of characters vividly brings to life the harrowing complexities of our modern political landscape.&#x201D; (Kimberly McCreight, author of Reconstructing Amelia)&#x201C;An international thriller with the pace and intensity of a Jason Bourne adventure&#x2026;. Skillfully moving between the past and the present, from Sweden to Syria to Washington and back again, Zander weaves an increasingly tight web of intrigue and suspense&#x2026;. A compulsively readable page-turner with unexpected heart.&#x201D; (Kirkus)&#x201C;How can The Swimmer be a first novel? It is dazzling not only in its plotting and character portraits, but in the sophistication of its structure, which keeps us breathless and guessing. An impressive and memorable work, comparable to the best of John le Carr&#xE9;.&#x201D; (Joseph Finder, author of Suspicion)&#x201C;Truly polished and compelling&#x2026;. Tension and action abound. But it is the depth of Zander&#x2019;s characters and the quality of the writing, which at times touches elegance, that make The Swimmer a winner&#x2026;. Zander looks to be a very talented new branch on the flourishing tree of Scandinavian crime fiction.&#x201D; (Booklist, starred review)&#x201C;Page-turning&#x2026;.This Swedish former lawyer&#x2019;s hypnotic first book is already drawing comparisons to the work of famed spy novelist John le Carr&#xE9;.&#x201D; (Entertainment Weekly)&#x201C;The Swimmer is hypnotic and intoxicating, pulling us relentlessly across the globe from page to page, intrigue to intrigue.&#x201D; (Olen Steinhauer, author of The Cairo Affair)&#x201C;Swedish author Zander&#x2019;s entertaining first novel owes more to Forsythe and Ludlum than to Larsson and Mankell&#x2026;. Given Zander&#x2019;s literate, descriptive style, it&#x2019;s easy to see why this thriller has been a bestseller in Europe.&#x201D; (Publishers Weekly)Praise from Sweden: &#x201C;Impressive . . . a fast-paced thriller written in an international style. Joakim Zander has a good story to tell, a story that touches on both moral questions as well as guilt and atonement, culpability and revenge.&#x201D; (Bor&#xE5;s Tidning)
						    	
					    	
						
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        		From the Back Cover
        	
        	
        		
        		
	        		
						
			        		On a remote Swedish island, a little girl, Klara, grows up without a father. Now, thirty years later, she discovers a secret&#x2014;one for which powerful men will kill to keep undisclosed.On the other side of the world, an old spy hides from his past. He used to be the best agent in the field. These days the only thing he lives for is swimming in the local pool.When Klara is thrown into a terrifying chase across Europe, only the Swimmer can save her. But time is running out. . . .Utterly mesmerizing and harrowing, The Swimmer is a riveting read right up to its stunning conclusion.A deep-cover CIA agent races across Europe to save the daughter he never knew in this electrifying, &#x201C;hypnotic&#x201D; debut thriller&#xA0; (Entertainment Weekly).
						    	
					    	
						
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## Images

![The Swimmer: A Novel Hardcover – February 10, 2015 - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51IXVIjgicL.jpg)
![The Swimmer: A Novel Hardcover – February 10, 2015 - Image 2](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51JwqDC4GML.jpg)
![The Swimmer: A Novel Hardcover – February 10, 2015 - Image 3](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31C2-RGpw4L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Keep reading; it gets better
  

*by M***H on March 1, 2015*









  
  
    This is a book review, not a summary, so I won't simply regurgitate a quick sketch of the entire book. It took me awhile to get into this novel; the characters seemed so disconnected and the book kept bouncing back and forth between the early 80s and the present day. Also, switching between the first-person voice in some chapters, and the third-person voice in others was a little off-putting. Following the Mamoush character was like driving along a winding mountain road, thinking it might lead somewhere exciting, only to find out you'd taken a wrong turn and the road just peters out into a dead end. However, once I got about 60% through the novel, things started to pick up and all the loose threads began to form a cohesive whole (again, except for the Mamoush character). I wish more time had been devoted to the George Loow character. In fact, it would've been better if the Mamoush character hadn't existed at all, and the Loow character had been given all of Mamoush's history (as well as his own); that would have really tightened up the story arc. Another throwaway character was Cyril; he could've been better developed or left out entirely. Still, all in all, it was a story that kept me reading until the end. I'd like to read more from this author.
  


### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Another European writing about what a bully the CIA is
  

*by K***U on April 10, 2015*









  
  
    As I approach my sunset years, I find I am getting more and more annoyed with authors who portray the U.S. as an evil bully.  LeCarre, long past his George Smiley glory days and formerly one of my favorite authors (read the stuff he wrote in the 60s and 70s), has been (pun) a prime example.  And now we have Joakim Zander with his debut novel, "The Swimmer".  Only he takes his monster CIA one step further; it has evolved into a creature prepared to destroy its own.Time Out !  That's an automatic one star deduct.  Maximum possible score 4.0That aside, the book is quite good. The story takes a bit too long to develop, but once all the background is in place, all the characters are introduced and well positioned, things become very interesting.  The McGuffin here is information, although that doesn't become quite clear until the second half of the story.  The bulk of the timeline occurs over six days preceding Christmas, and the plot unfolds with growing tension in shorter and shorter chapters, told sometimes in third person, other times in first.  Most of the story is set in Belgium and Sweden, and how many books have you read with the focus in those two places.  This is not an action thriller ala Mission Impossible, but there is enough here to make a big movie.  Women play key roles but I don't think you'll see Angelina Jolie  running through a snowy forest in a Gore Tex suit when it comes to your Cineplex.  The climax is very well done, not protracted, no dynamite, but just the right dash of pragmatism.  This will not be a series, but I am looking forward to the next book.  Hopefully, by that time Zander will be smart enough to pick a different bad guy.
  


### ⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Stylistic tic that gets in the way
  

*by A***K on October 10, 2017*









  
  
    This writer has a tic that prevented my enjoying the book. It's OK that he rotates among the parallel narratives of his several characters, but he seems to feel that every chapter has to end in a cliff-hanger, no matter how ridiculous. For example, she is going to open her lover's bedside table drawer; will she find a picture of his family? Tune in next time around. One or two cliff-hangers per novel is plenty. They are not necessary to carry the plot along or to help the reader remember what was happening, and having too many just gets in the way.
  


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*Product available on Desertcart Croatia*
*Store origin: HR*
*Last updated: 2026-03-04*