Ahead of its first publication Son, the first instalment of a gripping new series by Thomas Enger and Johanna Gustawsson, is already making waves. The book has already sparked international interest, selling rights in 17 languages, even before its official release.
Writing partnerships are common, but two writers, one French, one Norwegian, writing for the first time in a third, shared, shared language – English, is something of a literary first.
Glen Pearce from Nordic Watchlist sat down with the writing duo to talk about their collaboration, the linguistic challenges, the art of crafting flawed characters, and why body language is the ultimate storytelling tool.
With successful careers as established solo writers, entering a writing partnership can seem like an odd choice. For French writer Johanna Gustawsson, whose Swedish set Yule Island was a best seller in 2023, writing with a collaborator was a first. Co-author Thomas Enger, however, has already established both a solo writing career, but also a highly successful partnership penning the Blix and Ramm series with fellow Norwegian author Jørn Lier Horst, last seen in 2024’s Victim.
Though Son is their first novel together, Enger and Gustawsson’s partnership traces back years to an initial meeting with the publisher Orenda Books. “We met with Orenda Books in 2017,” recalls Enger. “We went on one of those Orenda roadshows together, then another in 2018, and another in 2019.” Their paths intertwined through book tours and festivals, but it was a charity project during COVID-19 that cemented their collaboration.
“In France, we have a tradition where authors contribute short stories for charity,” explains Gustawsson. “A friend asked me to get a Nordic author involved and asked Thomas if he’d give us a short story. Thomas said with great pleasure, but he just had it in Norwegian.” That exchange highlighted the first logistical problem, the choice of language.
With neither author fluent in the other’s language, that initial project could have soon come to a grinding halt. The solution of translating and refining Enger’s Norwegian short story laid the foundation for their co-writing future. “What Thomas suggested was his father, who was a retired French and English teacher, could translate it to French, and then I could polish it.” explains Gustawsson. “I started working with Thomas’ father and we became friends.”
Through the editing process for the short story, it soon became apparent the authors had shared passions and interests, including a love of Second World War history, and, as conversations continued by phone during COVID, a mutual collaboration began to form.
“During COVID, when things were really shitty for everyone, our conversations became a little beacon of light, in all the darkness that was going on in the world,” says Enger. “We realised we had a very good creative energy when we were talking together, and ideas were coming left and right.
Somewhere in those conversations, Gustawsson began to share an idea that she’d been harbouring for a while about a book about body language and a criminal profiler. “I wanted to write about it for years but never had time for the research,” she admits. It was an idea that intrigued Enger. “Once we started digging into that idea that Johanna had about body language very quickly the character of Kari Voss appeared,” explains Enger.
The central character of Kari Voss, a body language and memory expert who works as a consultant for the Oslo Police, was someone the pair spent a lot of time developing before putting pen to paper, even the decision to make her Norwegian and set the books there. “I don’t remember precisely why we chose that but it kind of fitted the universe, and the character better, that she was Norwegian.” Says Enger. “Johanna started doing a lot of research, we planned quite a lot of what we wanted to tell about Kari, giving her a backstory and giving the skeleton some flesh.”
Many writers spend a lot of time planning out the story arc for a single specific novel but for Gustawsson and Enger the research phase stretched far wider. “We had an idea for our first three books before we even started writing the first one.” Enger explains. “So quite a lot of time went into the prep work, figuring out who is Kari and what are we going to do to her in this universe.”
Creating such a detailed character and storyline though takes time, especially when working in different countries and different languages. Both writers had existing projects and contracts to fulfil for their solo projects and so needed to call in some favours.
“I had readers asking me (and it was the same for Thomas) asking what’s next and we were talking about our project, about Kari, and people were like, wow, that’s so cool,” Gustawsson muses. “At some point we thought we needed to take the time to do this. So, we both asked for some time around our current contracts, asking our publishers to carve out some time and it’s been quite an extraordinary adventure.”
One of the most remarkable aspects of Son is its seamless voice. Despite being written by two authors from two different countries and languages, the novel reads as though penned by one voice. “That’s the biggest compliment,” Gustawsson beams. “Even my agent, who knows our voices well, couldn’t tell the difference. She told me, ‘I cannot see your voices, I just see one,’ which is amazing.”
The secret to that seamless join? Relentless collaboration. “We correct each other constantly,” Gustawsson explains. “A single chapter might go back and forth multiple times—JG, TE, JG, TE, marked over it over and over.” Enger agrees. “If we found ourselves pushed into a corner with a scene that we really couldn’t figure out how to solve, we would always pick up the phone and talk to each other.” He continues. “We can have an idea at 10pm on a Sunday, and we can call each other and talk for an hour and a half!”
The pair share a background as working journalists, a background that has also helped shape their writing and research process. “We like our facts being checked and I know that with Thomas I don’t need to double-check, he will have checked the way I check things,” Gustawsson explains. That journalistic background may also feed into the body language theme of Son – the need to look past what is being said for the true meaning – but for Gustawsson it’s a more personal link. “For me, it’s more linked to my family, because I grew up in a family of psychologists,” she explains.
One of the joys of the book is the detail the pair have instilled into Voss’ background, ensuring she is more than just another stereotypical detective in the genre. Voss, alongside other characters, isn’t perfect though, the authors are keen to show their humanity, complete with all their flaws.
“I think every person, every character has some kind of flaw. No one is perfect and the thing I really like about Kari is she’s vulnerable, she’s human.” Enger says. “She doubts herself. her own body is betraying her with the blackouts that she’s having, telling her body to shut down, and that makes me like her more.” Gustawsson agrees that depth and the flaws are essential. “We don’t want superheroes. We want people readers can relate to,” she adds.
While Son boasts an intricate plot and compelling characters, the setting is equally vital. “Setting is a character,” insists Gustawsson. “Readers tell me they can feel the cold, smell the sea. That’s exactly what we wanted.” Enger agrees, “You really want to take your reader where you are, where you’ve set the story. Oslo and Son are very easy places to write about, it’s raw at times, because of the darkness and the cold and the ice.”
English readers may notice a double-edged meaning in the title, Son relating to both the place and family relationships. “We picked Son as the setting without realising how fitting it was,” Gustawsson laughs. “For me, it was Jesper is a son and Kari has a son who is missing. So it is a story of sons and Son the place. There are layers to it.” Son wasn’t the original title though, with the working title being The Truth About Jesper, with the current title being suggested by the UK publishers. For Enger and other Norwegian speakers, it is a title that doesn’t entirely scan, with the pronunciation of the place name being more akin to ‘soon’. “It’s a good title, but it is very hard for me to look at the cover and say something else.” Enger laughs.
Son ends with a shocking two-word cliffhanger that leaves readers desperately wanting more. So, can fans expect more in the series? “We have solid outlines for three books,” says Gustawsson. Enger adds, “We planned it out well before starting, and our agents sold the rights for three from the get-go. But who knows?”
“I’m going to do a little parallel here because Jørn (Lier Horst) and I have been writing together since 2018. At the start, we just had one book that we were going to write. That was the plan. We ended up writing five as our character and universe started expanding. Now we’ve signed for books six, seven and eight, so God knows where this is going to end!” he continues.
For now, the duo is balancing writing and promoting Son with their solo projects, but they’re eager to reunite in late 2025/2026 ahead of a planned publication of book two in the series in 2027. “We’ve set time in our calendars,” Gustawsson confirms. “It’s just a matter of getting through our current commitments first.
So, what do they hope readers take from Son? “For me, it’s always the characters,” says Gustawsson. “The books that stay with me are the ones where I connect with the people. I hope they would just love Kari and her father and Ramona just as much as I do, and I think about them a lot” Enger agrees. “I would love for them to connect with the characters. Not just Kari but also Ramona and her relationship with her wife and the kids.” He continues. “They feel very real to us having written them, and that is what I would like for the readers as well.
With their razor-sharp writing, deep character work, and immersive setting, Enger and Gustawsson have set the bar high for 2024’s Nordic Noir. One thing is certain—this is only the beginning for Kari Voss.
Son by Johana Gustawsson and Thomas Enger is published on 27 March by Orenda Books.
