At 600 pages, this is a long book, but you wouldn’t want it any shorter. This is the first Scandinavian thriller that I have read and I must admit I felt a little confused at the beginning of the book with character and place names. I also felt that in setting the scene, the authors jumped backwards and forwards in time and place with the same / different characters. I thought that I might have to re-read the beginning to come to grips with who was who, but I didn’t need to as once I got into it, it was compelling and fast-paced. The main characters in this book are basically young hoodlums. They do not seem to have any positive side to them, but you're hooked. You want them to be stopped, but then again you don't. You want to know how things pan out. It’s only towards the end of the book you find out what is being planned. You are kept thinking and wondering throughout. This book is violent and depressing at times, but it’s also a very good story, well put together. I didn’t think that I would enjoy it, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

Two Soldiers centres on a gang called the Raby Warriors from the depressed and forgotten Swedish suburb of Raby who are trying to increase their profile by staging a daring prison escape that escalates to kidnapping and murder. The gang’s principal members; Leon and Gabriel are blood brothers who start a chain of events that leads to a showdown with the authorities led by DCI Ewert Grens and Jose Pereira, men hard-bitten in the years of tackling the drug gangs legitimately, but now resort to tougher measures. The strength in this novel is the gradual vice-like grip the prose takes as the characters move in ever decreasing circles to the end. The opening, though choppy, does set the pace of Leon and Gabriel’s lives and settles once the prison break begins. The cycle of violence is clearly depicted as the young men in the estates see their only way out is to join a gang. From the ages of nine these boys rise through the ranks through drug dealing, violence with the only aim of notoriety through the mainstream media. The women in this world are hanging on for survival; seen by their men as nothing more than receptacles for delivering drugs and weapons while dealing with the daily juvenile misogyny of their lovers and husbands. At times taut, Two Soldiers serves up shocks and moments for pause as Leon and Gabriel inspired by the movie ‘A Clockwork Orange’ attempt to emulate Alex and the Droogs journey through the ghetto. A dystopian read, but excellent throughout. Recommended. Robert Craven, author of Get Lenin

It's quite a handful with its 600 pages. Chilling portrayal of young people who's life make grow up to fast. Amazing characteristics. Well written. When you start reading, you have trouble stopping. Highly recommended although not an easy read.

There is a lot to read but when you start you won’t be able to stop. Great plot line and there are some very powerful characters it’s about young people having to grow up to fast. Very well written and put together book but not an easy book to read. I would recommend this as a great read.

It's a lot to read but when you start it's very hard to stop. Great plot line and there are some very powerful characters it’s about young people having to grow up to fast. Very well written and put together book but not an easy book to read. I would recommend this as a great read.