James Patterson is set to add another name to his list of collaborators: Liza Marklund. Marklund is Scandinavia’s bestselling female crime writer. The announcement came Friday afternoon via a blog post by “Lindsay Boxerette” on Patterson’s social-networking site. The international thriller is due in 2010. All that is known of the story at this point is that it is set in Stockholm, Sweden.

Marklund was quoted as saying, “Writing this book is so much fun. The story is violent, emotional, and fast paced. It’s very exciting to work with such an intelligent and creative writer. James Patterson is not only exceptionally smart and funny, he is also incredibly humble.” A goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, Marklund is credited with revolutionizing the Swedish police procedural in the late 90’s with The Bomber, her first novel in a series that is now heralded as the most successful ever by a female Scandinavian writer.

The series centers on character Annika Bengzton, a crime reporter for a tabloid who must balance her career with the responsibilities of motherhood. The books have been so successful internationally that the author has become a #1 bestseller in all five Nordic countries. Collectively, the books have sold 9 million copies in 30 languages worldwide.

Patterson, meanwhile, is set to release MAX, the fifth installment of the young adult Maximum Ride series, on March 16th. Most recently, Run For Your Life (Little, Brown February 2009), written with Michael Ledwidge, topped bestseller lists. Other collaborators have included Andrew Gross, Maxine Paetro, Hal Friedman, Howard Roughan, and Peter de Jonge.

(Hartford Books Examiner, Mar. 8, John Valeri)

www.vjbooks.com has signed copies of all James Patterson novels.