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Money to Burn

Money to Burn

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

A dazzling work of fiction and a true-crime investigation into the unshakeable hold of money, greed and desire on us all.


Maggie and Kurt are a couple struggling to hold their marriage together after their only daughter has left home. They live in a old farmhouse in Nyborg but somehow keep missing each other, unable to discuss the events that brought them together.

Decades ago, a passenger ferry called the Scandinavian Star caught fire, killing hundreds of people. The event is still considered a national tragedy in Denmark and Norway. Years later, it was revealed not to be an accident, but the result of an insurance scam gone wrong.

How is the Scandinavian Star disaster connected to Maggie and Kurt's relationship? How does money affect and infect our closest relationships? And is it ever possible to escape?

© Asta Olivia Nordenhof 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Reviews

  • Nordenhof’s first novel isn’t like others. That’s one of the reasons why Money to Burn sets the bar so unbelievably high for the coming volumes of what can already be dubbed the most ambitious literary project of the 2020s
    Jyllands-Posten

About the author

Asta Olivia Nordenhof

Asta Olivia Nordenhof is an award-winning poet and author. Money to Burn was first published in Denmark in 2020 and went on to win the European Union Prize for Literature and the PO Enquist Prize, and to be shortlisted for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. Its publication caused a sensation internationally and it is set to be published in sixteen languages. The second book in the series, The Devil Book, was an instant bestseller in Denmark.
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