The Birthday

A Missing Child

A Broken Family

A 24-hour Chase for the Truth

It’s a beautiful morning when Samuel’s mother, his father and his new stepmother gather to celebrate his seventh birthday. Together they arrange the cake, light the candles and head to Samuel’s room singing. But as the door opens, silence falls. Samuel’s bed is empty, the window wide open.

Police are quickly called and a heavily publicized search operation begins. But as the hours go by, questions and suspicions arise – the atmosphere between ex-wife, father and stepmother thickens. When the corpse of a family member is discovered, the situation escalates. All three would have an interest to get Samuel out of the way, but their stories just don’t add up. What really happened the night before?

The Birthday is the first part in a new suspense series by Sofie Sarenbrant and Carina Bergfeldt. 

A Missing Child

A Broken Family

A 24-hour Chase for the Truth

It’s a beautiful morning when Samuel’s mother, his father and his new stepmother gather to celebrate his seventh birthday. Together they arrange the cake, light the candles and head to Samuel’s room singing. But as the door opens, silence falls. Samuel’s bed is empty, the window wide open.

Police are quickly called and a heavily publicized search operation begins. But as the hours go by, questions and suspicions arise – the atmosphere between ex-wife, father and stepmother thickens. When the corpse of a family member is discovered, the situation escalates. All three would have an interest to get Samuel out of the way, but their stories just don’t add up. What really happened the night before?

The Birthday is the first part in a new suspense series by Sofie Sarenbrant and Carina Bergfeldt. 

info

  • Year of publication

    2023

  • Original title

    Födelsedagen

  • Page count

    405

  • Original publisher

    Bokförlaget Forum

  • Original language of publication

    Swedish

  • Rights sold

    FinlandDenmark

  • Info

    Film and TV Rights optioned by Nordisk Film.

Reviews

  • Leena Balme, WSOY

    "The Birthday is a book you literally can’t stop reading once you start. In a scary way it feels as if you could be reading about people you know, friends and relatives, and their struggles in their new (and old) relationships. It’s intense and fast-paced and a brilliant start to a new series!"

  • Jennie Sjögren, Forum

    "The Birthday had me caught from the very first sentence. It’s an accomplished fast-paced story, a true page turner! The intriguing plot with the broken family is both cunning and contemporary. And I love the way the story is told from different perspectives, and in a 24-hour whodunnit-style with the clock continuously ticking. It’s been a great pleasure being part of developing The Birthday and launching this star author-duo's debut to an eagerly awaiting audience."

  • Christel Brinkløv, People's Press

    "The Birthday by Sofie Sarenbrant and Carina Bergfeldt is a page-turner that keeps the reader on the torture bench until the dramatic finale. It's a great start to a new series, and at People's we look forward to presenting it and the new female super duo to the Danish readers. It's going to be big!"

  • BLT

    "The scary birthday turns into a thrilling masterpiece."

Authors