When children commit unspeakable crimes, who bears responsibility? And who pays the price?
Snow falls softly over a desolate playground. A fourteen-year-old boy lies face down in front of a swing-set as his life drains out of the gaping wound in his head. Behind him stands his best friend, a warm gun in his trembling hand.
Dogge and Billy are unlikely best friends. Dogge is from affluent Rönnviken, Billy from the concrete towers of Våringe – only a few hundred yards across a highway, but worlds apart. From the outside, Dogge has everything, but beneath the glossy surface of his life he is lonely and neglected. Meanwhile, Billy’s family are poor first-generation immigrants, but their cramped one-bedroom apartment is filled with love.
When ruthless gangs tighten their grip on Våringe, the prospect of fast cash, easy access to drugs and the respect that comes with power draws both boys in. But when Billy wants to leave the gang, the friends are forced to face up to the brutal rules of the adult game they have tried to play. And as the web of escalating violence closes in, one fateful decision will see two communities torn apart.
At once a poignant portrayal of the power of childhood friendship and a shattering depiction of what happens when a society fails its young, Deliver Me confronts the cost to us all when we fail to catch lost children before they fall between the cracks.
PRAISE FOR MALIN PERSSON
'Sensitive, moving and absorbing' Marcel Berlins, The Times 'This is the evolution of Scandinavian crime, in more ways than one' Fredrik Backman 'Compelling and brutally candid . . .superbly told' Daily Mail 'Suspenseful and addictive' Real Crime 'Splendid' Kirkus Reviews 'Haunting and immersive' Publishers Weekly