Liza Marklund is not afraid to shake things up. BORDERLINE, the ninth installment in her Annika Bengtzon series (after THE LONG SHADOW), is seeing publication in the U.S. for the first time since its initial Swedish release in 2011, thanks to the continuing translation efforts of Neil Smith. There is a bit of a transition here between these two books, which faithful readers will find just a bit jarring though not unrealistic. However, it is the tone and subject matter of BORDERLINE that is most surprising, though it is well and adroitly handled by Marklund with her usual aplomb.

Annika Bengtzon has been working for three years in Washington, D.C. as the foreign correspondent for the Evening Post. As the novel opens, she is back working for the paper’s Stockholm office and is at a crime scene. She also somewhat uneasily has reconciled with her husband, Thomas, who is attending an international conference in Nairobi. More on that in a moment; let’s begin with the murder. The victim is a young mother who is found dead, stabbed from behind in the rear property of a Stockholm nursery school. It is further noteworthy that she is the fourth in a series of victims found in similar circumstances. The Post wants to play it up as the work of a serial killer, but Annika is reluctant. While this plays out, the delegation that Thomas is a part of is kidnapped during a fact-finding trip along the Somali border.

"[I]t is the tone and subject matter of BORDERLINE that is most surprising, though it is well and adroitly handled by Marklund with her usual aplomb."

The narrative then proceeds along twin tracks, with Annika, as well as the newspaper, being dragged into an increasingly violent hostage scenario with repercussions for Europe, where the delegation is from, and East Africa, where Thomas is being held in a situation that becomes more precarious by the hour. The terrorists’ demands are unreasonable and exorbitant; when they’re refused, they begin a very dramatic and public execution of the hostages. Annika is in the midst of raising the money to meet the kidnappers’ demands, and a good part of the book involves her efforts, with her editor, to transport the money to Nairobi and from there hopefully rescue Thomas and the other captives.

Of course, there are problems. Thomas, shall we say, was not fully committed to his relationship with Annika, notwithstanding his return to her life and domicile. There may be a price to pay. And you have to hand it to Marklund: she has a way of making her characters suffer, for transgressions or otherwise.

This series arguably deserves more attention in the U.S. than it has been getting. Perhaps a television series based on the novels would do the trick, though it would be difficult to capture the panache that Marklund brings to each installment. If you have yet to experience the author and her protagonist, BORDERLINE would be a good place to start. If you’re already on board, stay there. The fun is just beginning.