I can’t remember where I was, or when it was, that I learned about the unsolved 1986 assassination of Olof Palme, Sweden’s Social Democrat Prime Minister. But it was in the early to mid teens of this century.
Olof Palme, PM, was murdered walking home from a Stockholm cinema with his wife at around 10 pm. The impact of the story on Sweden was akin to the impact of the assassination of John F Kennedy on the USA and the world.
I was intrigued, then I asked myself, what sort of characters, apart from police and spy agencies, would pursue such a story after all this time and why? There was still so much speculation, still whispers and rumours, much of it in the time before the World Wide Web or social media took up residence in our heads.
Just like that, the unsolved Olof Palme assassination triggered the idea for a contemporary romance. The mystery added a dash of suspense. Not the detail of the case, just the idea of it.
In about 2015, I started entering early versions and chapters of my manuscript in competitions to get a sense of whether it worked. The manuscript went through multiple titles and multiple competitions, placing Third in the Romance Writers of New Zealand Pacific Hearts competition in 2017 under the title Loving is Believing. Some lovely feedback, enough to feed that voice in my head that said don’t let this one go. I did let it go, because hey—new year, new competitions.
It wasn’t until I found my publisher, Inkspell Publishing, and in the midst of Australia’s Covid lockdowns, that I dug out the old manuscript, retitled it Finding Cleo, and decided to have another look.
Then a body blow—in rechecking facts I discovered that on 10 June 2020, the Swedish lead prosecutor, Krister Petersson announced officials now believed that graphic designer Stig Engström, often referred to in Sweden as “Skandia man “was the killer and the case would be closed”.
Engström got the moniker “Skandia man” because he worked at the Skandia insurance company located close to the murder scene. Engström was working late that night and known to be critic of Palme’s policies. So, thirty four years after the killing, a man who had long been regarded as a witness at the time, was named as the perpetrator. Tricky thing is Engström suicided in 2000 so was unable to defend himself.
As the Politico report concluded:
“The case may be closing, but the debate goes on.”
I hung on to that line while reworking the manuscript. If lots of people had unanswered questions, then my MMC could also legitimately have questions.
The middle months of 2025 were filled with edits and finetuning. Finding Cleo releases on 17 February 2026, but the Olof Palme story took another twist.
I’d already decided to share my interest in Olof Palme’s story in this blog. History is endlessly fascinating and has lessons for us now. Plus, I’m not the only writer who starts a story from a historical event. To be on the safe side, I did a quick search to remind myself of some of the details of the case.
No one was more surprised than I was to discover an 18 December 2025 report by the German Press Agency (dpa.com) where the Swedish Director of Prosecution Lennart Guné stated that in September, “prosecutors received a request to reopen the investigation given the possibility of new DNA technology that could be used to analyse samples from Palme’s coat.”
Guné said this “cast doubt over the evidence provided for naming the chief suspect.” However, Swedish officials won’t reopen the case, “Based on the investigation material that is now available, it is not possible to prove who the perpetrator is and further investigation cannot be assumed to change the evidence in a decisive way.”
Guné noted that the reason for closing the inquiry (in 2020) would be changed: “Based on the investigation material that is now available, it is not possible to prove who the perpetrator is and further investigation cannot be assumed to change the evidence in a decisive way.”
Is this a case of watch this space?
I’m glad I stuck with the doubters, because if I’d definitively stated that Olof Palme’s assassin had been named, eagle-eyed readers could call me out for historical inaccuracy. Engström doesn’t appear in my story, and I don’t go into great detail about the case, but it was the spark for Finding Cleo.
This is my 50th blog post and coincides with the publication of my 10th novel Finding Cleo.
Australian Cleo Montford has spent the last two years working as a guide and interpreter in Helsinki, cocooned from the lies and betrayals of her past, then Australian author Jack Spencer wants to hire her. Not for sightseeing, but to research the story her internationally awarded journalist father was investigating when he was accidentally killed. Cleo’s tempted. Is she brave enough to look the past in the eye and set herself free, or will she keep hiding?
Sometimes you have to let go of what’s killing you, even if it’s killing you to let go.
Upcoming: Australian Romance Readers Association’s (ARRA’s) annual author signing for 2026.
I’ll be attending the Sydney Romantic Rendezvous 2026 on 22 March, with special guests Sarina Bowen and Cathryn Hein. Events are in:
- Brisbane—Saturday 21 March 2026 (Royal on the Park, 152 Alice Street, Brisbane)
- Sydney—Sunday 22 March 2026 (Rydges Sydney Central, 28 Albion Street, Surry Hills)
- Melbourne—Saturday 28 March 2026 (Novotel Preston, 215 Bell Street, Preston)
- Perth—Sunday 29 March 2026 (Pagoda Resort and Spa, 112 Melville Parade, Como)
>>> Tickets are now on sale here! <<<
There are up to 30 local romance authors attending in each city. You can find full details of the authors signing here:https://australianromancereaders.com.au/events/arr2026/
Join the FB group to keep up to date: https://www.facebook.com/groups/arr2026attendees
Find me on:
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/romanceauthorjen/
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jenniferrainesauthor
- Goodreads—https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22577889.Jennifer_Raines
- Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-raines
- Diana Kathryn Penn’s Indie Reads Aloud podcast has recordings of me reading the opening 20 mins of my books:
- Betrayal—Choosing Family Book 3 (episode 212)
- Quinn, by design—Choosing Family Book 2 (episode 208)
- Masquerade—Choosing Family Book 1 (episode 188)
- Lela’s Choice (episode 143)
- Planting Hope (episode 101)
- The Anderson Sisters (episode 54 Taylor’s Law and 80 Grace Under Fire) http://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-podcast.html
You can also contact me directly via the contact page on my website if you have any other questions.
Jennifer Raines 