New book: ‘Wicked Heart by Frida Skybäck

Wicked Heart, the fifth installment of Frida Skybäck’s bestselling Fredrika Storm series, is published today.

The lush greenery in the park stands in stark contrast to the murky waters of the pond. Fredrika Storm stares at the young woman who is floating face down in the green sludge, her body marred by stab wounds. An undeserving death for seventeen-year-old Emelie Svensson. An excruciating end to a life that had barely begun.

Fredrika and her partner Henry Calment lead the investigation into Emelie’s murder, and when they begin mapping out her life, they discover a rough childhood marked by self-harm, substance abuse, and years spent in various institutions. However, Emelie had recently turned her life around; she was back to living at home, seemed to enjoy school, and for the first time in a long time, she had even made a friend.

When Fredrika and Henry visit Emelie’s school, the case unravels into something that stretches far wider than they initially thought. They learn of a white van following one of the students around, and to make matters worse, a young woman was assaulted a few weeks back in the same park where Emelie was found. Fredrika and Henry must consider a potential connection – is a serial offender at large?

Meanwhile, troubling reports about Emelie being involved with older men, prostitution and drugs emerge. With the truth shrouded in a maze of contradictions, it doesn’t help that those close to Emelie seem to be hiding things, and that Emelie too kept a few secrets of her own. Perhaps one of them finally caught up with her… How much darkness can one carry in life before it consumes them?

In Wicked Heart, the fifth installment of Frida Skybäck’s bestselling Fredrika Storm series, the reader is plunged into the harrowing world of adolescence, wrought with the nasty undercurrents of social media and exclusion. Twisted and unsettling, Wicked Heart builds toward a chilling resolution where it becomes evident that evil can be found where you least expect it.

Wicked Heart is published by Polaris today, August 19th, 2026.