The Eavesdropper
About the book
”I have an assignment for you. I want you to murder my husband.”
An elderly woman walks into Cleopatra’s Comb, a newly set-up company. She wants to get rid of her wife-beating husband, and she is prepared to pay handsomely for the service.
The original business idea of Cleopatra’s Comb was to help people sort out their problems, but friends and business partners Anna, Mari and Fredrik never expected an assignment like this. Everything is now brought to a head. Soon, they begin to understand how little they really know about each other, or how far they are prepared to go…
Cleopatra’s Comb is about complicated relationships, a suspense novel offering constant surprises, a story of revenge and reconciliation, right and wrong and the unpredictable nature of the inner self.
What other people have said
A positive review is always a pleasure. These ones made me really happy.
A fantastic book. Through her characters, the author impresses on us that we are all capable of deeds which we may have thought beyond the realms of possibility. At the same time, she asks a series of questions about life, death and love. The book is well written and intensely exciting, and the reader is frequently moved to tears. Bibliotekstjänst
Cleopatra’s Comb really does wow the reader with more wonderful surprises than a Kinder egg. Ernestam’s language is beautiful and her imagination quite remarkable. As soon as one starts to believe one has the plot figured out, Ernestam performs a quick turnaround and overthrows everything. Smålänningen
Maria Ernestam has a remarkable ability to paint cryptic, evocative stories with depth and conviction. I am deeply impressed by her ability to paint her living characters in such detail, even from the level of their souls. Even before the publication of this book I was very taken with Ernestam. Both of her already published books, ‘Caipirinha with Death’ and ‘Buster’s Ears’ offer a refreshing, wonderful and bizarre reading experience, which in my view everyone should try. ‘Cleopatra’s Comb’ has just the same value as the two earlier works, if indeed it does not supersede them. Ernestam’s authorship is a fresh, invigorating breeze in the densely packed crime and chic-lit jungle of the Swedish publishing scene. Nerikes Allehanda, also published in Motala and Vadstena Tidning
Ernestam knows the art of fashioning a hugely off-beat story which nonetheless feels both feasible and recognisable. Plaza kvinna
