From the author of the international bestseller The Swede comes an electrifying thriller set in the terrorist- and pirate-infested world of the Horn of Africa–where the sea caresses the desert, alliances shift like sand, and a Swedish detective can count on nothing but his own shrewdness to survive.

A Swedish army lieutenant drops dead on a shooting range in the desert. Was it an unfortunate accident–or something more nefarious? Ernst Grip, an agent of the Swedish security police, is sent to the Horn of Africa to find out. Once he’s on the ground, however, he quickly discovers he’s on his own. No one wants him snooping around–especially not the U.S. Embassy’s CIA station. Which is no surprise, given that military transport planes are leaving from the base carrying untraceable pallets loaded with cash.

What’s more, Grip’s investigation is complicated by another dangerous situation. Somali pirates have kidnapped a wealthy Swedish family during the adventure of a lifetime: a sailing trip from Sweden to the Great Barrier Reef. Why, Grip wonders, is no one back home willing to pay the ransom in order to save these innocent lives?

Solving the mystery of the soldier’s death isn’t the end of Grip’s involvement–it’s a tipping point that leads him deep into a web of intrigue, greed, and dark dealings ensnaring both allies and enemies . . . and a world where no one can be trusted.

After the Monsoon explores the tough compromises made every day in pursuit of the greater good. How do you know which is the lesser of two evils? And what is the cost of betraying one interest to save another? In this provocative, pulse-pounding, and sophisticated thriller, Robert Karjel vividly creates a world in which the stains of innocent blood cannot be cleansed, and the sins of good men forced to make impossible choices cannot be washed away.

Ernst Grip of the Swedish security police has no idea why he’s been dispatched to a remote American military base in the Indian Ocean. Met by FBI agent Shauna Friedman, he learns that the U.S. wants him to determine whether a prisoner they’re holding is a Swedish citizen. The detainee is a suspect in an Islamist-inspired terror attack in the U.S. Yet all the evidence points to a cabal of survivors from the devastating 2004 tsunami that struck Thailand: a ruthless American arms dealer, a Czech hit man, a mysterious nurse from Kansas, a heartbreakingly naive Pakistani – and a Swede. But the prisoner is not the only one harboring dangerous secrets. In a world ruled by fear, mistrust, and deadly betrayal, these unlikely partners must learn to trust one another if they hope to stay alive.