PESETAS

 

Published 2000
Genre thriller
Pages 305

MONS KALLENTOFT’S AWARD-WINNING DEBUT NOVEL

Madrid in the nineties. The main characters are five people in their thirties who are all looking for their place in life. Caterina, a defecting medical student, is tired of her work as a nurse; Sofia is an alcoholic and rejected by her wealthy father; Carl is a Swedish defected architect who has run a bar into bankruptcy; Emilio and Paco support themselves by selling cocaine, which Paco steals from letters at his mail sorting job.

When the cocaine stops coming, the three young men decide to rob a bank. What has been and then ceased to be must now be replaced by something new – and it will not just be a bank robbery. 

PESETAS is a story about how life can take shape for younger people in an emerging new Europe. It has a high tempo, it is exciting, entertaining and has a cinematic approach.

Mons Kallentoft is one of Sweden's most best-selling authors and he was awarded the Swedish Catapult Prize for his debut novel PESETAS.

 
 

REVIEWS

"Action with a strong feeling for the urban and modern Europe where everything is within reach."
- ELLE magazine

"PESETAS is a worthy thriller."
- Sydsvenska Dagbladet

"Kallentoft is skilled at creating environments, and he gives a picturesque description of Madrid. One is also be impressed by his character portrayals."
- Svenska Dagbladet

"He lets us stand so close to those he portrays that one can feel their breath."
- GT / Expressen

"A dense and edgy depiction of contemporary society."
- Arbetet Nyheterna

 

MARBELLA CLUB

Published 2002
Genre thriller
Pages 316

The young couple Vladi and Kati are, by accident, being chased by the Russian mafia and flee from St. Petersburg to Madrid.

With no other means of earning a living, Kati is forced into prostitution at the clubs in Madrid's business district. When she’s considered spent in the eyes of club owners, she seeks out Marbella where she looks for customers in trendy bars and luxury hotels. 

Meanwhile, Vladi remains in Madrid where he is with his exile and great loss of Kati. They sometimes try to contact each other, but the distance and their current situation means that their short conversations do not become much of a comfort.

In Brussels, at the same time, Paul Pigeon, owner of a finance company, gives the young Swedish economist Mats the task of concluding a real estate deal in Marbella. On location in Spain, he encounters Kati who accompanies him to his hotel - Marbella Club.

Ten days later, Vladi begins to worry that something has happened to Kati. She is impossible to get ahold of and he does not hear from her. He decides to travel to Marbella to look for those who may be behind her disappearance. A hunt across Europe begins at the same time as the past from St. Petersburg begins to make itself known again.

In MARBELLA CLUB, Mons Kallentoft once again explores a Europe that is far from the well-plastered facades of tourist routes. He moves between the separate worlds of the rich and poor, displaying the cynicism and the distances that exist between different parts of society. MARBELLA CLUB thus becomes both an exciting thriller about ruthless profit as well as a gripping story about love.

REVIEWS

“MARBELLA CLUB crawls in under the skin. Kallentoft's beautiful, almost poetic language keeps me going with this unpleasant story. His picturesque and present words make it impossible to put it down."
-  Gefle Dagblad

“There is a drive to the novel that keeps you reading for hours until the end."
- Svenska Dagbladet

"Kallentoft penetrates deep into the dark heart of a hollowed-out society. The night-black depiction of vulnerability and exploitation hits the reader like a fist, powerful and merciless."
- Helsingborgs Dagblad

"With MARBELLA CLUB, Mons Kallentoft fulfills the hopes that were placed on him by winning the Catapult Prize."
- Göteborgs-Posten

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