Little Star

One autumn day in 1992, former pop singer Lennart Cederstrom finds something unexpected in the forest: a baby girl in a plastic bag, partially buried. He gives her the kiss of life, and her first cry astounds him; it is a clear, pure musical note. He takes her to his wife and persuades her that they should keep this remarkable child. But the baby becomes a strange girl, made more unusual by their decision to hide her in their basement to keep her from the prying eyes of government departments. When she reaches puberty, a terrifying scene sees her kill both her parents. When her scheming adopted brother returns to find her over their bodies, he seizes the opportunity and enters her into an X Factor-style talent competition. She quickly becomes famous. In spite of this, she remains very lonely, until she befriends another damaged girl on the internet. They form a powerful bond and soon create a growing gang of other disgruntled girls and, calling themselves the Wolves, they set out to take revenge for all they've ever suffered.

Review: 'It might be spooky and somewhat far-fetched in places, but this meditation on nature vs nurture, music, mental illness and TV talent shows is as keen as the edge of a broken glass. Capable of slicing right through your skin. Somehow Lindqvist ducks trite when delving into this tale of homicidal emo girls by twisting up his characters so far it's hard to tell whether they're sympathetic or to be feared ... This is best read with the lights on, far away from girls with black hair' The Wharf. 'A bestseller in the making' Time Out. 'Lindqvist is more thought-provoking than the majority of his peers and the stories are all the more frightening for it' Sci-fi Now. 'Excellent. And very bloody. And near unputdownable ... a superbly crafted, deliciously twisted constantly shocking tale that's almost entirely populated by loathsome characters who are fascinating to read about. Utterly compelling, it merges a series of audacious Grand Guignol setpieces with a satirical look at the music industry ... Brilliantly written' SFX. 'He's continued to write edgy, well-crafted horror ... There's an eerie, otherworldly feel that lends creeping menace throughout ... there's much to admire here, Lindqvist doing a great job of portraying the teenage mindset without resorting to cliche and his interlinking of the inherent bullying at school with bullying in the wider world is clever without being too obvious ... He builds a palpable sense of terror through the alienation of his main players, and he proves with the apocalyptic ending that he's up there with best literary horror writers' Independent on Sunday. 'What begins as a thriller quickly becomes a chiller as the Swedish author proves once again that he's Scandinavia's answer to Stephen King. Actually he's better right now' Daily Mirror. "There's a seam of black humour running through Lindqist's book, particularly when he's taking well-aimed potshots at the exploitative pop culture industry ... Little Star is layered and thoughtful' Metro.