LOU BERG

 
 

LOU BERG is the nom de plume of authors Tiina Nevala and Henrik Karlsson. Their first novel People Like Us, came out in 2018, and in 2021, the first installment in their new suspense trilogy was published. DAWN. FALSE. is a new take on Scandinavian Noir, with art forgery and extortion at the center.

The sequel, AND THE SHADOW FALLS., was published in September, 2022.

The third and final instalment in the trilogy, CIRCLES OF DARKNESS, will be published by Piratförlaget in April 2024.

Tiina and Henrik live in Gustavsberg, just outside Stockholm, and have both worked in the publishing industry for many years.

Photo: Anna Lena Ahlström

 
 

WORKS

DAWN. FALSE.

 
 

Published piratförlaget, SEPTEMBER 2021
Genre SUSPENSE
Pages 328

SALES
gERMANY - DUMONT

When a criminal hangout in a Stockholm suburb is raided by the police, a valuable painting is found. Dawn. False. by the Russian artist Ivan Botkin is thought to be valued at 30 million dollars–unless it’s a forgery, of course. Nea Hallgren, professor at the Stockholm University of Arts, is asked to consult on the matter by the dubious detective Roger Forsén who already believes the painting to be a fake. His question is rather who could be the forger?

Art student Nadezhda Volkova, who came to Sweden from the Ukraine at the age of twelve, wants to use her talent to create her own art, but her skill in reproducing the works of other artists have landed her in deep waters. With her grandparents still living back in the homeland, and dependent on her sending them money to make ends meet, Nadezhda has no choice but to get in bed with some shady characters.

Nea and Nadezhda’s fates are joined when Nea has to save her family from her husband’s gambling depth, and Nadezhda is left out in the cold by her art world contact after setting demands for the first time. The two plot together to create yet another forged Botkin to sell as an original.

But the dark waters of the black market in the artworld are deep indeed, and soon Nea and Nadezhda find themselves in life threatening situations.

DAWN. FALSE. is a suspense novel set in the Stockholm artworld, centered around two female characters, whose love for their family sees their moral boundaries shift.

 
 

REVIEWS

“Finally - a new page turner about art fraud! Scarcely any shady businesses are as fancy. I’m talking gentleman crime to the brim, with a long and fascinating history, nonetheless. For example, did you know that Michelangelo was a con-artist before he got famous? And that Vienna has a museum dedicated to fake paintings? I’d love to visit the museum, preferably guided by skilled pseudonym Lou Berg (Tiina Nevala and Henrik Karlsson) who mixes wallowing in art with blackmailing in the extremely thrilling Dawn. False. […] it is fast-paced and gets complicated, and it is very, very compelling.”
- M Magasin

“At the centre, we find art professor Nea Hallgren and skillful art student Nadezhda Volkova. It's a thrilling insight to the art of forging, and interesting characters in a cunning affair. I even believed that the Russian artist was real for a while.”
- Uppsala Nya Tidning

“Dawn. False. is a thriller with a difference and, for a fan of Swedish ‘noir’, an exciting and welcome departure from the usual crime novel format: there are almost no bodies or detectives! Instead, we enter a thrilling world where fine art and art forgery meet organised crime. Intermingled with this is a sad love story now facing new challenges. […] Like all excellent thrillers, Dawn. False. contains an interesting twist in the tale. An alternative title could have been Suspense. Absolutely.”
- Swedish Book Review

 
 

AND THE SHADOW FALLS

 

PUBLISHED piratförlaget, september 2022
Genre suspense
Pages 330

RIGHTS SOLD
german - dumont

Nea Hallgren, mother of two, is struggling with the guilt of having killed a person and is dragged even deeper into the dangerous world of art forgery that have suddenly become her everyday life. The only question is how long she can persuade her former student Nadezhda Volkova to continue producing counterfeits for her to sell. The forgeries may be Nea's rescue from an impossible situation, but Nadezhda feels torn between the money and staying true to her own art.

When the police start asking questions about Nadezhda's missing stepfather, they keep their cool. But when a Russian friend turns up on the same case, the net is tightened, and the truth risks being revealed. At the same time, they have decided to deceive one of the world's most reputable auction houses, their biggest and most risky coup to date...

AND THE SHADOW FALLS is the sequel to DAWN. FALSE. and will be published in September this year.

 
 

REVIEWS

“Exciting, easy to read, funny, intelligent suspense novel that almost gives feel good vibes even though criminal activities are depicted. […] Eagerly one waits for the next part.”
- BTJ

 

CIRCLES OF DARKNESS

to be published piratförlaget, april 2024
Genre suspense
Pages 450

RIGHTS SOLD
all rights available

OPTIONS
GERMANY – DUMONT

After the successful auction in London, Nea Hallgren and Nadezhda Volkova agree to stop with the risky art forgeries. Nadezhda will finally get to show her own paintings in a gallery. But can Nea settle for going back to her old life?

The warning signs are increasing: nocturnal visits to the studio, a policeman who is getting closer to the truth, a Russian intelligence agent who is after a painting in Nadezhda's possession. As Nea and Nadezhda realize the extent of the threat they face, a desperate struggle to find a way out begins.

CIRCLES OF DARKNESS is the final installment in Lou Berg's trilogy about Nea Hallgren and Nadezhda Volkova, which began with DAWN. FALSE. and was followed by AND THE SHADOW FALLS. The books are a fast-paced and dark depiction of how extreme circumstances draw ordinary people into a murky world that challenges their moral boundaries and everything they thought they knew about themselves.