Books On Board
series Reading Order

Ewert Grens Books in Order

12 Books
2004 – 2022 Published
Jump to reading order
Affiliate links: We may earn a commission on purchases made at no extra cost to you.
Reading order

The Recommended Reading Order

The Ewert Grens series follows a strict chronological timeline, meaning the publication order is the best way to read the books. Reading them in order allows you to fully experience the character development of Detective Superintendent Ewert Grens, his changing relationships with colleagues like Sven Sundkvist and Mariana Hermansson, and the tragic background story of his late partner, Anni.

Here is the complete publication order of the books, featuring their English titles alongside their original Swedish titles:

  1. The Beast (also published as Pen 33 / Swedish: Odjuret) (2004)
  2. The Vault (also published as Box 21) (2005)
  3. Cell 8 (also published as Edward Finnigans upprättelse) (2006)
  4. The Girl Below the Street (Swedish: Flickan under gatan) (2007)
  5. Three Seconds (Swedish: Tre sekunder) (2009)
  6. Two Soldiers (Swedish: Två soldater) (2012)
  7. Three Minutes (Swedish: Tre minuter) (2016)
  8. Three Hours (Swedish: Tre timmar) (2018)
  9. Knock Knock (Swedish: Tre dagar) (2019)
  10. Sweet Dreams (Swedish: Sovsågott / Tre år) (2020)
  11. Trust Me (Swedish: Litapåmig) (2021)
  12. 100 Percent (Swedish: 100 procent) (2022)

Understanding the Series Structure and Subseries

While Ewert Grens is the central police presence in all 12 books, the series undergoes a major shift midway through. To get the most out of your reading, it helps to understand these two distinct eras:

The Classic Detective Era (Books 1–4)

The first four novels, beginning with The Beast and ending with The Girl Below the Street, function as gritty, standalone police procedurals. They focus heavily on Detective Inspector Ewert Grens and his team investigating dark, systemic social crimes in Stockholm, such as human trafficking, child exploitation, and the death penalty.

The Grens & Piet Hoffmann Era (Books 5–12)

Starting with Three Seconds, the series introduces a secondary protagonist: Piet Hoffmann, a former criminal operating as a top-secret undercover police infiltrator. From this book onward (with the exception of Two Soldiers, which shifts the focus to gang violence in Stockholm's suburbs), the overarching plot centers on the tense, shifting alliance between Ewert Grens and Piet Hoffmann. This subseries is often marketed as the Hoffmann & Grens series, featuring high-stakes espionage, cartel infiltration, and prison breaks.

The Co-Author Transition

The series was originally created as a collaborative partnership between Anders Roslund, an investigative journalist, and Börge Hellström, an ex-convict and crime-prevention activist. This unique combination gave the first seven books their incredibly realistic, hard-hitting detail regarding criminal networks and police methodology.

Following Börge Hellström's passing in 2017, Anders Roslund continued writing the series solo, beginning with Three Hours (2018) and continuing through Knock Knock, Sweet Dreams, Trust Me, and 100 Percent. Despite the transition, Roslund has preserved the gritty tone and moral complexity that defined the co-authored books.

Practical Reader Advice

Where should you start?

If you want the full experience, start at the very beginning with The Beast. However, if you prefer fast-paced, international undercover thrillers over traditional police procedurals, you can safely start with Three Seconds, which serves as a second pilot for the series and kicks off the Piet Hoffmann story arc.

Can they be read as standalones?

While the crime mysteries in each book are resolved by the final pages, the personal lives of the characters—especially Grens's grief and Hoffmann's struggle to protect his family while living a double life—develop continuously. Reading them out of order will spoil major character arcs and plot resolutions from previous books.

What to Know Before You Start

  • Bleak Themes: This series is quintessential Nordic noir. It handles highly sensitive, dark topics, including child abuse and trafficking, with a realistic, social-criticism edge.
  • Screen Adaptations: Several books have been adapted for the screen. Three Seconds was adapted into the 2019 English-language feature film The Informer. Meanwhile, the Swedish TV series Box 21 and Cell 8 bring the early Ewert Grens stories to life.
  • Alternate Titles: Depending on where you buy the books (US vs. UK vs. translation editions), titles can differ. For instance, The Vault is also known as Box 21, and Knock Knock corresponds to the Swedish title Tre dagar.

Frequently Asked

QCan I read the Ewert Grens series out of order?

It is highly recommended to read them in publication order. While the individual investigations wrap up in each book, the personal lives, trauma, and major plot developments of Ewert Grens and Piet Hoffmann carry over directly from one novel to the next.

QWhat is the difference between the Ewert Grens series and the Hoffmann & Grens series?

They are the same series. The first four books focus purely on detective Ewert Grens. Starting with the fifth book, Three Seconds, former criminal Piet Hoffmann becomes a co-protagonist, leading many publishers and readers to refer to the later books as the Hoffmann & Grens series.

QWhich Ewert Grens books were co-authored?

The first seven books—from The Beast (2004) through Three Minutes (2016)—were co-authored by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström. Following Hellström's death in 2017, Anders Roslund wrote the subsequent novels solo.

QWhat is the best Ewert Grens book to start with?

For the complete police procedural experience, start with the first book, The Beast. If you want a high-octane undercover thriller, you can skip ahead and start with Three Seconds, which introduces Piet Hoffmann.

QAre there any TV or movie adaptations of the series?

Yes, the novel Three Seconds was adapted into the 2019 film The Informer starring Joel Kinnaman. Additionally, Swedish television has produced critically acclaimed series adaptations of Box 21 and Cell 8.