Whatever Happened to That Sweet Little Girl (Vart tog den söta lilla flickan vägen)

Åsa Lantz

Whatever Happened to That Sweet Little Girl is a touching, exciting and deeply shocking story about human trafficking, slavery, and love. Meet power-hungry parents, cynical industrialists, brave fellow humans and coward authorities.

 

The young and mysterious Yi Yong wants to create a debate, she wants to chock and she wants revenge. She has waited a long time to tell the truth. Now she is about to reveal what she has been through since she as a fifteen year old girl was sent from her poor family in China to Sweden with promises about a good education. No one will be spared and Yi wants to deliver the truth to the Swedish audience, on television prime time, merciless and straight into the Swedish family rooms. She will tell the story why she is genitally mutilated. She will tell about Chinese relations with a world known Swedish fashion company and about the role the Swedish Government has played. But the same night as the first episode is aired on Swedish television, she gets a brutal warning and has to disappear.

 

Viggo Sjöström, a dramatist and director at the Gothenburg Theatre, reluctantly becomes her ally. The charismatic Viggo is forced to leave his cozy middle class life. But despite the fact that he is thrown into a cruel reality, he has the courage to keep on dreaming about the future, about a child’s room with funny wall papers, and about grand parties and maybe even his own theatrical success.

 

Many are responsible for what happened to Yi and her Chinese friends. And they will not let the truth be exposed. Many will do anything in their power to quiet her down…

 

Whatever Happened to That Sweet Little Girl is the first part in the Genesis Trilogy, a psychological thriller series with the ambition both to entertain and to make the world a better place.

 

638 pages

 

English reading material available. Translation by Tara F Chase.

 

Rights sold

Denmark: Modtryk

Estonia: Ajakirjade Kirjastus

Finland: Tammi

Italy: Ediciones Piemme

Norway: Vega förlag

Poland: Swiat Ksiazki

Russia: Corpus

Sweden: Albert Bonniers Förlag, Månpocket, Earbooks, Pampas Produktion AB (filmoption)

 

Reviews

"Is this the new Stieg Larsson? Well this well written and captivating story is definitely made of the material that makes best sellers."

Litteratursiden.dk

 

"The voluminous format of this book creates expectations for a content that matches the ambitious packaging. Luckily the reader will not be disappointed. Kall me Rosa Parks is a great reading experience and I’m really looking forward to the next part of the trilogy."

JyllandsPosten

 

"So impressive. Åsa Lantz writes in the after word that all parts of her story could be the truth, somewhere in the world. That piece of fact makes this book important. Heartbreaking and brutal. The story is a kick in the stomach at all of those who try to close their eyes, and I like that."
Tidningen kulturen

"This is quality literature straight through. And extraordinary exciting. It is a nasty story about abuse, trafficking and slavery. But also a novel about the conditions of love, the difficulties in living in a relation and a flaming itch for revenge. When one writes like Åsa Lantz does, the volume is only an advantage. I am very, very impressed."
Gefle Dagblad

 

"She has a throbbing, burning energy in her language."
Aftonbladet

 

"After 60-70 pages I am stuck and the final opinion for Åsa Lantz is “damn good!” It is a very well written book, harsh, brutal, and important but also with a touch of humor. Everything seems more or less perfect and it is definitely one of the best Swedish thrillers I have ever read."
Finnveden.nu

 

"Filmer threatened to life in an immersive TV-style thriller."
Länstidningen Södertälje

"A very well written crime novel which wants something more. It is definitely among this year's most readable Swedish crime novels."
Allt om Fritidshus

 

"A cruel story about abuse on women and ruthless exploitation of poor people is unveiled."
Nerikes Allehanda

 

"Both initiated and exciting."
Kupé

 

"It touches topics like refugee highjacking, genital mutilation, oppression of women, and homosexuals’ right to have children. At the same time vivid portraits are drawn, and the relations between the characters is portrayed in a credible way. With her easy going language this crime novel should interest a broad audience."
BTJ

 

"Intelligently written with unexpected excitement. /…/ Åsa Lantz is both a dramatist and journalist. It shows. The story is excellently structured. It goes from uncertainty to clarity, and as a reader one gets to be part of it and try to figure out if and when the pieces of the puzzle fit in. The resolution is despite the insidious pace surprising and brilliant."

Sundsvalls tidning

                                                                                                                                  

"In the scenario Lantz builds there are connections to both political rulers as well as the financial world’s scrupulous exploiters, in good old crime novel spirit with a social criticism. Even that feels new in today’s flood of introvert, individualistic psychological crime mysteries."

Helsingborgs dagblad

 

"Lantz moves safely in the environment of our city and points out the dirt that doesn’t show but still is there. And since it is there, it is important for us to make an effort to see.  She is political and with a social criticism without lecturing, and one can tell that she is touched by women’s exposed situation in this world. “More or less all parts of my story, each one separately, are true somewhere in the world” is her own comment in the after word."

Göteborgs-Posten

 

"There is no doubt the topic engage Åsa Lantz, but the novel still manages to get passed the fake pathos so common when crime novelists want to affect."

GT Expressen

 

Short promo video from Albert Bonniers Förlag

 

Åsa Lantz - background story (in Swedish, by Albert Bonniers Förlag)