The Bookish Life of Kicki Sehlstedt

Who are you, how do you know Claire and why does she think you’re cool?*

I met Claire at a book-event about female crime writing at The English Book Shop, a lovely book store in Stockholm where I live. When she is in Stockholm we meet to fika (note from Claire: to fika is to have a cosy break in your day to have coffee and cake with a friend, or with your favourite Fika Book 😎) which I hope will be soon again!

Maybe Claire thinks I am cool because she is fascinated by crimes and all I do every day is dig in to the darkest places of humanity. I crime novels (four books about a female duo, the italian-swede journalist Aida Svantesson and the outspoken professor in criminology Kajan Berglund) and I make documentaries about real crimes for swedish TV (“Svenska fall” for example). I am both a journalist and qualified criminologist.

You can read about me here: https://hedlundagency.se/authors/kicki-sehlstedt/

or follow me at Instagram @kickisehlstedt_

What was the first book you remember? (Either reading or being read to you)

I loved Enid Blyton's The Famous Five as a kid. In fourth grade I refused to go outside during the breaks - all I wanted to do was sit in the library writing the story of the cousins Nicky and Jej* and their adventures.

* the Swedish versions of George and Julian!

What are you reading right now?

I am reading The Reckoning, a brilliant crime-novel by the icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardóttir,

Plan a dinner party with six fictional guests

Oh, it is so hard to choose! I will go with a crime theme, of course. So I would invite six of my favourite heroines in crime.

Lisbeth Salander, the badass heroine of the Stieg Larsson books, Nancy Drew, a childhood favourite investigator, special agent Dana Scully in the X-files, Miss Jane Marple, of course, Cathrine Cawood, the Yorkshire police sergeant in Happy Valley and my very own Kajan Berglund, the professor in criminology who loves beautiful dresses and making fun of overrated men in powerful positions. These women can exchange experiences and we will have a blast - for sure!

If you had to live in the world of one book (or series), which would it be?

Harry Potter. I always wanted to try quidditch and have magical crafts. I don´t think I would ever be bored.

You can read/reread three books for the rest of your life. What’s going on the list?

I seldom reread books, so I have to pick three quite different novels I loved reading them, and that I every summer plan to reread. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Secret History by Donna Tartt and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Three magnificent female authors!

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