Body Double
Translated by Kira Josefsson
Overview
A surreal thriller that blurs the lines between lies and truth, between the selves we conceal and the faces we show the world.
As winter descends and the city fills with the scent of woodsmoke, a young transcriber follows the same routine each day. She collects tapes from a ghostwriter’s office, stops for an espresso and croissant, and returns home to type out the voices of strangers — stories that will become someone else’s novels. Her solitary life is predictable, unremarkable … until the day she hears something different on the tapes: a message meant only for her.
Across the city, two women, Laura and Naomi, accidentally swap coats at a department store cafe. This brief encounter sparks something electric and strange, and soon, Laura has moved in with Naomi. As the days pass, she begins to mirror her more and more closely — her gestures, her habits, her very essence. Slowly, deliberately, Laura starts to take over Naomi's life.
Meanwhile, the transcriber makes a disturbing discovery: she is beginning to disappear …
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Rights held
- Other rights
- Paperback
- 198mm x 129mm
- 224 pages
- 9781917189514
- GBP£9.99
- 12 March 2026
- UK & Commonwealth (ex. Can)
- Nordin Agency
Categories
Praise
‘Spare, poetic, and endlessly enticing, this windy tale of obsession had me hooked and spooked. Single White Female with a chicly bleak Scandinavian sensibility.’
‘A razor sharp novel of exquisite prose and uncanny tension, Body Double lures the unsuspecting reader into a sophisticated hall of mirrors where obsession blurs the lines between self and other. Bravo!’
About the Author
Hanna Johansson began her writing career as a critic and essayist covering topics like fashion, literature, art, and performance, and currently works as the art editor at the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. Her debut novel, Antiquity, was awarded the Katapultpriset Prize in 2021.
Translator
Kira Josefsson is a writer and translator working between English and Swedish. She is the recipient of grants from the PEN/Heim Translation Fund and the Swedish Arts Council. She writes about the intersection of politics, literature, and identity for both Swedish and English-language publications.


