THIS WAS SUPPOSED to be an easy book to write. If such books exist. All I had to do was follow up on and wrap up what I’d started in Motive X, I figured. But as the book was read by more and more people around the world and expectations mounted, for a while I felt there was no way I could live up to them. Despite the praise lavished on the first four books about Risk and their success, insecurity is always lurking around the corner.
That’s when you need a good team around you. A team that believes in you, builds you up and gives you strength. A team that slaps you about until you wake up and realize you have the best job in the world. A team that makes you push through and find the fun again.
Mi, you’re one of them. Thank you for being there for me and putting up with my brooding when I’m mulling over a plot problem. Thank you for reading, commenting and sulking when I don’t do exactly what you want. Thank you for possessing the ability to remember every single chapter I’ve written so you can point out when I’m being repetitive. I don’t think anyone knows Risk’s universe as well as you do.
Except maybe my editor, Andreas. We’ve made five books together, and I feel like you are as deep into Risk’s world as I am. A big thank you for that.
Tor at Salomonsson Agency is another rock. Together with Julia and Marie, you steer this ship with a firm hand, despite my whims and insistence on going my own way, which is not always the straightest. Big thanks for bearing with me.
I tip my hat to Adam and everyone else at Sveavägen. You have done and are doing a wonderful job getting the books published. Since day one, I’ve felt well cared for and now, five years in, Sveavägen is like a home away from home when I’m in Stockholm. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Reidar Jönsson, it’s been forever since we worked on various film scripts together. For that reason, I’m incredibly grateful that you, with your substantial experience as a sailor, agreed to read, fact-check and answer all my questions. A big thank you for that.
Nils, considering how many book covers you design every year, it’s nothing short of a miracle that you manage to outdo yourself every time with mine. A big thank you for never letting the smallest detail escape your loupe.
Filipa and Kasper, thank you for your support, questions and care.
Noomi and Sander, you are still too young to read my books, though you’ve figured out that Daddy writes about scary things. But thank you for existing and thank you for bursting into my office and hugging me every day when you get home from school.
Finally, I want to give all my publishers around the world a big thank you. Some of you I’ve met in my travels, others I will hopefully meet before long. In case I forget to say it then, I’m saying it now. You are amazing! A big thank you for all the work you put into getting my books to readers in countries I never dared to dream I’d reach.