X-Book

End of Summer

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }} Send as a gift

Listen to a sample

What to expect

You can always go home. But you can never go back . . .

Summer 1983: Four-year-old Billy chases a rabbit in the fields behind his house. But when his mother goes to call him in, Billy has disappeared. Never to be seen again.

Today: Veronica is a bereavement counsellor. She's never fully come to terms with her mother's suicide after her brother Billy's disappearance. When a young man walks into her group, he looks familiar and talks about the trauma of his friend's disappearance in 1983. Could Billy still be alive after all this time?

Needing to know the truth, Veronica goes home - to the place where her life started to fall apart.

But is she really prepared for the answers that wait for her there?

Critics Review

An absorbing crime novel with an atmospheric setting, strong characters, and a suspenseful plot. With End of Summer, Anders de la Motte has proven himself to be one of Sweden’s most talented crime fiction authors

Erik Axl Sund

An utterly brilliant crime novel! So delicate and perceptive, and at the same time so endlessly thrilling

Kristina Ohlsson

What you have in your hands is a masterpiece of crime fiction, a very hot competitor for this year’s thriller . . . Anders de la Motte proves once again with his End of Summer that he is one of Scandinavia’s most ingenious crime writers, just as grand as Jussi Adler-Olsen. He writes absolutely murderously. His books are definitely unbeatable in terms of suspense

Literaturmarkt, Germany

An atmospherical dense book reminiscent of Henning Mankell’s early crime novels . . . Anders de la Motte writes profoundly without the tension dwindling for a second

Petra Magazine

A Swedish-set crime thriller for fans of the hugely successful CWA Gold Dagger-winning The Dry by Jane Harper . . . A gripping crime novel that moves between two narratives at a terrific clip, populated by vivid characters, with more twists along the way than you can shake a stick at. Crime fiction at its best

Vaseem Khan

A fantastic read. Atmospheric, beautifully written, with strong characters and with a really compelling mystery that made it incredibly hard to put down when I really needed sleep! A real triumph

Gytha Lodge

End of Summer is captivating from beginning to end, an evocative story of family secrets set in the broad open landscapes of southern Sweden – prepare to fall in love with Scandinavian fiction all over again

Kevin Wignall, author of A Death in Sweden

Each layer of this story reveals itself like the tilling of the soil with a brooding threat of summer rain close at hand. End of Summer is a delectable slice of unmissable rural noir where a dark harvest blossoms from the seeds of a terrible past

Matt Wesolowski

About xigxag and the x-book®

Discover the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed to simplify finding, purchasing, and enjoying your favourite books in audio format. Our flexible pricing model makes bestselling audiobooks affordable, offering the best audiobook deals without the need for a subscription. You can also give the perfect gift with our convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

A core differentiator of xigxag is our groundbreaking listen-and-read x-book® technology, which delivers a truly immersive digital book experience. This unique innovation seamlessly combines the audiobook, text, and images into a brilliant, integrated format, complete with exclusive audiobook features and a next-generation digital reading experience. Our growing x-book selection is easily discoverable by looking for the distinctive purple x-book® ribbon, or by simply filtering your search by ‘x-book’.

Beyond our technology, xigxag is committed to sustainability and ethical practices, ensuring a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we stand as a leader in audiobook innovation and a compelling alternative to big tech. Our commitment extends to delivering extraordinary customer service, provided by our friendly UK support team.

Effortlessly search audiobooks, gain insights from honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. You can download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere, guaranteeing the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Experience the future of audiobooks today.