Three Minutes

by Anders Roslund, Börge Hellström Narrated by Saul Reichlin

Overview

Presumed dead by the Stockholm police, master criminal and undercover informant Piet Hoffmann is now on the run from the Swedish authorities, living with his wife and two young sons under an assumed name in Cali, Colombia. Only Hoffmann's former police handler, Erik Wilson, knows where he is--and that he has accepted two dangerous new jobs: one as a high-level enforcer for a Colombian cocaine cartel and one as an infiltrator for the DEA, working to bring the cartel down. The FBI even lends credence to his cover story by adding Hoffmann's alias to the Most Wanted list.

But when the Speaker of the House is kidnapped by the cartel during an official visit to Colombia, everything changes--fast. Hoffmann is party to the highest-profile political kidnapping in years and therefore directly in the firing line in what is quickly dubbed the "Final War on Drugs." Suddenly, the Most Wanted list becomes a kill list and the DEA cuts off all contact on orders from the top, leaving Hoffmann and his family stranded.

Hoffmann must walk a delicate line as he tries to protect his young family and keep up his dual role as a cartel enforcer and a deniable intelligence asset for the US government. It soon becomes clear that his only chance at getting out alive is to rescue the Speaker of the House and bring him back to the States--but to do it he'll need the help of Ewert Grens, the stubborn, dogged Stockholm detective who hasn't forgotten Hoffmann since the explosive showdown in Aspsas prison years ago.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

07/03/2017
The action takes a long time to get going in Roslund and Hellström’s sluggish follow-up to the bestselling Three Seconds (2013), and even sniper shootings, kidnappings, and daring jungle rescues can’t overcome the novel’s strained prose or stock characters. Three years have passed since ex-con Piet Hoffmann, a Stockholm police informant, fled to Colombia with his wife and children. Now, on behalf of the DEA, he’s infiltrated a drug cartel where he serves as the guardian to El Mestizo, the cartel’s leader. When the cartel kidnaps the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in a daring raid, Hoffmann finds himself on the U.S. government’s most wanted list. The story jumps from Colombia to Stockholm—where Hoffmann’s handler, Erik Wilson, and a gruff Stockholm detective, Ewert Grens, try to protect Hoffmann and his family—but whatever drives Hoffmann, beyond a basic will to survive and protect his own, remains murky, and he makes enough horrible choices to leave readers wondering whether he’s worth sticking with. (July)

From the Publisher

Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger Award, 2018

"If Three Minutes is your first exposure to this writing duo, you are in for a ride you will never forget. If you have been following them from the beginning of their collaborations, you have yet another terrific reading experience to look forward to."
—The Bookreporter

"A graphic portrayal of a dirty, ugly slice of life . . . Recommended for anyone seeking to know more about the drug cartels that threaten society."
—New York Journal of Books

"Roslund and Hellstrom accomplish what many thrillers do not do—create an intriguing main character who, despite his actions, is entirely human, and his flaws bleed onto the page."
—Cemetery Dance Magazine

"The descriptions of the drug culture and the amoral character of its various people are gripping, as are the insights into the thinking and actions of police officials and US politicians . . . The sixth and newest in the DCI Ewert Grens series, it is written with power when necessary and delicacy when appropriate; this is a novel to be savored."— Spinetingler Magazine

Praise for Three Seconds


"A nail biter of a book."
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"Twisty plot makes for propulsive reading."
—Entertainment Weekly

"A sprawling and often gripping thriller . . . The gritty details of drug dealing, of prison life, and of the relations between cops and informants are all rendered with convincing authority in Three Seconds."

—Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

"A thrill-a-minute cat-and-mouse game . . . A grimly amoral tale."
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"Tension? This one's so taut you might snap."—Sunday Sport

"Cleverly crafted and intricately plotted, it's a heart-thumping action thriller that grips the reader from start to finish."—Choice Magazine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173526403
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	07/25/2017
Series:	Ewert Grens , #6
Edition description:	Unabridged

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