A naked, bloody seven-year-old girl walks into a bank, clutching a grubby teddy bear, and plays a recording demanding money. No one dares intervene, in case the girl gets hurt. The girl leaves the bank, and disappears without a trace.
It's a daring robbery, and one trusted to Leona Lindberg, a unique investigator in Stockholm's Violent Crimes Division. But why is Leona ignoring witness statements, and calling in suspects on the barest thread of suspicion? When a second robbery takes place, how does she manage to be the first one at the scene?
Outside of the daily grind of her police work, Leona is dangerously attracted to risk, and is continually drawn to the poker table, despite the fact her child badly needs an operation. Leona's rash actions are motivated by a combination of childhood trauma, dissatisfaction with her middle class existence, and a genuine antisocial personality disorder.
Written by criminologist Jenny Rogneby, Leona: The Die Is Cast is a gripping crime thriller featuring an unusual heroine who holds onto reality only by the skin of her teeth. In life, as in poker, Leona is unwilling to fold, despite so much being at stake.
Jenny Rogneby began studying subjects such as criminology, sociology, law and psychology at Stockholm University where she later became a criminologist. For 7 years she has been working professionally as a criminal investigator at Stockholm City Police Department, investigating everything from thefts to robberies and murders. Her work inspired her to start writing and she formed the character LEONA, a criminal investigator with a dark past whose actions challenge social norms.
Leona: The Die Is Cast
Echo Publishing
Author: Jenny Rogneby
ISBN: 9781760067557
RRP: $32.95
Question: What inspired the story of Leona: The Die Is Cast?
Jenny Rogneby: I was working as a criminal investigator at the Swedish Police Force when I started thinking about this story. Because of my work, I get a lot of ideas and this one was about a very special character, Leona, who is also a criminal investigator in Stockholm. I wanted to write about a bank robbery, but they are often depicted in films or in literature where there's a group of armed men with masks on, running into a bank, screaming and shooting all around them. I wanted the bank robber to be a vulnerable person. I then saw this little seven year old girl in my mind. She was carrying a teddy bear and a tape recorder, and walked slowly into the bank, and manage to leave the bank with millions. I had a strong vision in my mind about that scene, which also is the first scene in the book.
Question: Can you tell us about the careers you've had prior to becoming an author?
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