$12.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Macmillan. Price set by seller.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

John Ajvide Lindqvist
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Let the Right One In: A Novel Kindle Edition

by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Author), Ebba Segerberg (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,456 ratings
See all formats and editions

John Ajvide Lindqvist’s international bestseller Let the Right One In is “a brilliant take on the vampire myth, and a roaring good story” (New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong), the basis for the multi-film festival award-winning Swedish film, the U.S. adaptation Let Me In directed by Matt Reeves (The Batman), and the Showtime TV series.

It is autumn 1981 when inconceivable horror comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenager is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last—revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.

But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door—a girl who has never seen a Rubik’s Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night. . .

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    479 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    St. Martin's Griffin
  4. Publication date
    October 28, 2008
  5. File size
    3.6 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

Review

“It’s easy to compare Lindqvist to Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman.”
---Dagens Næringsliv (Norway)

“Sweden's Stephen King...a classic tale of horror.”
---Tucson Citizen

“A brilliant take on the vampire myth, and a roaring good story.”
---Kelley Armstrong, bestselling author of Haunted

"Absolutely chilling. This page-turner grabs you from the onset and just won't let go. Vampires at their Anne Ricean best!"
---L. A. Banks, author of Bite the Bullet and the Vampire Huntress series

About the Author

John Ajvide Lindqvist is a Swedish author who grew up in Blackeberg, the setting for Let the Right One In. Wanting to become something awful and fantastic, he first became a conjurer, and then was a stand-up comedian for twelve years. He has also written for Swedish television.

Let the Right One In was a bestseller in Sweden and was named Best Novel in Translation 2005 in Norway. Having written what is clearly a classic in the making, Lindqvist has burst upon the scene an instant star. Let the Right One In is his first novel.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00I1W23IG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin; First edition (October 28, 2008)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 28, 2008
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.6 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 479 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,456 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
John Ajvide Lindqvist

John Ajvide Lindqvist

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

John Ajvide Lindqvist is a Swedish author, born in 1968. He grew up in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm. He wanted to become something awful and fantastic. First he became a conjurer and came in second in the Nordic card trick championship. Then he was a stand-up comedian for twelve years, before writing Let the Right One In. That novel became a phenomenal international bestseller and was made into a film and a West End play, both called Let Me In. His books are published in twenty-nine countries worldwide.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
1,456 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and effective. They appreciate the refreshing story and well-developed characters. The writing style is descriptive and emptiness is appreciated. Readers find the book informative and great for the mind. However, some find the graphic content disturbing and creepy.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ReadabilityStory qualityWriting styleCharacter developmentComprehensionPacingDark toneGraphic content
96 customers mention "Readability"81 positive15 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it well-written and effective, with an immersive quality. The scenes and inner-mind workings are well executed, making it a good entertainment choice.

"I love disturbing books and a guilty pleasure of vampires...." Read more

"...If you read this book and then re-watch the original film. It is just beautiful...." Read more

"...With Lindquist's deep skill, Let The Right One In enfolds the reader in a story of jaw-dropping darkness and sexual ambiguity shot through with..." Read more

"...off-beat and the movie does follow the book fairly closely, book is OK entertainment." Read more

82 customers mention "Story quality"63 positive19 negative

Customers find the story refreshing, interesting, and suspenseful. They describe it as a real novel with a great plot, poignant moments, and an original twist. The love story is at its heart, with emotional depth and inner conflict.

"...The book filled my heart and broke it. It is very detailed and so beautifully written. The bond between Eli and Oskar is unmatched...." Read more

"...It is a real novel, one written without compromise and without pity-a vampire novel written for people who've read something other than vampire..." Read more

"Teenage vampire romance. The current trend is to humanize!? vampires...." Read more

"...For some reason it really resonated with something in me, and I'm still thinking a little about what exactly it was...." Read more

33 customers mention "Writing style"29 positive4 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style. They find the prose descriptive and easy to read. The book contains vivid details and subplots, making it a fantastic read.

"...The book filled my heart and broke it. It is very detailed and so beautifully written. The bond between Eli and Oskar is unmatched...." Read more

"...It is a real novel, one written without compromise and without pity-a vampire novel written for people who've read something other than vampire..." Read more

"...But, as with all page-to-screen endeavors, the magic is in the details, more so in this story than most...." Read more

"...depth of the characters, (the good, bad, and ambiguous) the gritty setting of the scenes, the immersive quality of the inner-mind workings of Oskar..." Read more

23 customers mention "Character development"18 positive5 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters. They find the dialogue between them believable and feel for the main character. The secondary characters are rendered in vivid color as well as the main characters.

"...His characters make sense. His setting makes sense. The inability of the community to react makes sense...." Read more

"...There is a lot of character detail. The secondary characters are rendered in vivid color as well as the two main characters, and I found that it..." Read more

"...It was AMAZING. The real human depth of the characters, (the good, bad, and ambiguous) the gritty setting of the scenes, the immersive quality of..." Read more

"...Second, there are a slew of characters that are loosely connected to the main plot, but are given much attention, even though they play minor parts...." Read more

12 customers mention "Comprehension"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and detailed, providing more information than the movie. They find it engaging and great for the mind. The book provides a better explanation of vampires' behavior and incorporates all five senses. It goes beyond the movie with its atmosphere and unsettling parts.

"...However, I'll watch his movies. Honestly, the film is very true to the story minus the pedophilia and Haken's death - which after reading the book -..." Read more

"...book filled with images and scenes that stick with you and change your understanding...." Read more

"...This story is a full sensory experience transporting you back to 1981 in a cold, gray suburb in Sweden...." Read more

"...He incorporates all of the senses, I found myself grimacing with disgust when he described certain odors...." Read more

13 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive9 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's pacing. Some find it masterfully tied together, while others find it hard to follow at first until they get to know all the characters. The exposition is slow and confusing at times, making it difficult to put down.

"...The book has SO many sins and it's confusing - but confusing for the wrong reasons. Towards the end though, I wanted to pull my hair out...." Read more

"...to tears for the first half and seemed schizophrenic and disorganized the whole way through...." Read more

"...It is very detailed and so beautifully written. The bond between Eli and Oskar is unmatched. I love this novel...." Read more

"It was a huge challenge to put down this book and not just forgo sleep to finish it all in one go...." Read more

12 customers mention "Dark tone"7 positive5 negative

Customers have different views on the book's tone. Some find it dark and entertaining, while others say it's darker than the film.

"...It is a dark, disturbing, book filled with images and scenes that stick with you and change your understanding...." Read more

"...The novel is MUCH DARKER. With that out of the way, this is one of the few cases where I did see the movie before the book...." Read more

"Lindqvist's writing creates a dark suburban atmosphere, where things appear normal but something feels a bit...off...." Read more

"Great vampire story. Dark and cold. The monsters aren't your friends and the humans that try to befriend them are damaged and nearly as dangerous...." Read more

7 customers mention "Graphic content"0 positive7 negative

Customers find the graphic content disturbing and disturbing. They mention the images are visceral, but the violence is handled elegantly. Some also mention the pedophile aspect is creepy and disturbing at times.

"...The images are visceral, but Lindqvist handles the violence in a very elegant way, and as a reader you find yourself connecting to the characters..." Read more

"...Horror really is not my genre, and this is kind of like horrific realism (if there is such a thing), and frankly my reading this book was a mistake!..." Read more

"...The many, MANY POVs, the creepy pedophile whose perspective we are forced to endure, the dragginess of the plot, and the odd ending were all just..." Read more

"...and tie-ins of the many characters but this was one of the most graphic books i have read in a very, very long time...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Kelsie robison
    5.0 out of 5 stars my favorite book so far!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    I love disturbing books and a guilty pleasure of vampires. The vampire theme isn’t over the top and corny, very much like a killer that lives on blood. The book filled my heart and broke it. It is very detailed and so beautifully written. The bond between Eli and Oskar is unmatched. I love this novel. The movie Swedish and American did not do it justice.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • CL McKenzie
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good: The story itself is very good
    Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Good: The story itself is very good. If you read this book and then re-watch the original film. It is just beautiful. It is especially amazing since the screenplay is written by the author himself.

    Bad: The author is a better screenwriter than he is a novel writer. The book has SO many sins and it's confusing - but confusing for the wrong reasons. Towards the end though, I wanted to pull my hair out.

    1. Its 472 pages - about 250 pages too long. Half of the book added nothing to the story - it was clearly just world building and character building but the kind that an author just leaves in their notes - not add to the book.

    2. Tommy, his mom, and Safen, the fiance - are irrelevant. There is no reason for all that backstory when Tommy is literally only important for like one page of the 472 pages and Safen is only important for literally 3 paragraphs are the end of the book. What's worst, their importance would still be relevant without or without all the heavy bulk. The backstory is useless. Frankly, just skip anything mentioning them. It's not worth it.

    3. Dialogue is confusing as hell. (however, so exhilarating the see that the same lines in the movie are in the book. I can't even express my glee.) However, sections just begin with entire conversations and you have NO IDEA who the heck is talking because it's literally one sentence per paragraph - sometimes VERY long conversations. You only find out who is in the scene because two or three paragraphs later, the scene is set - which makes you have to flip back and re-read sections to get the context. So frustrating.

    4. Epilogue. I CANNOT stand prologues or epilogue. Anyone who does this needs to be whipped on the soles of their feet. I can't even put into words how to describe my hatred for prologues and epilogues - however - To have the nerve to write 472 pages - fill it with 200 plus pages of needless bulk and then put an epilogue was hell already.

    What made it unforgivable for me is the fact that ONCE AGAIN - The author does the dialogue flaw again but added coarse salt to the wounds by naming the unneeded character, Safen but purposefully does not name Oskar. A confusing end that just left me so unhappy - and honestly - mad.

    STILL - despite my frustrating experience reading this book. I still give the book 4 stars because the story itself is pretty damn good.

    I will not be reading another book from him. However, I'll watch his movies. Honestly, the film is very true to the story minus the pedophilia and Haken's death - which after reading the book - I consider just part of the bulk that could have easily been removed. Maybe not the pedophilia... you could argue it was important but you will have to decide that.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Mark
    5.0 out of 5 stars If You Think The Movie Was Good, Wait Until You See This
    Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Full of hope and horror, John Ajvidi Linquist's Let the Right One In is an undervalued novel. There is so much in it that is so real, so good and so different from all the things around it that it is hard to do it justice.

    More than just another sample of "fang-fiction," Let The Right One In explores the most familiar ideas of vampirism and sets the result in a run-down housing settlement populated by the lonely, unseen people in Sweden's socialist success story, by single mothers, juvenile delinquents, pensioners, policemen and alcoholics. It is a community of facelessness whose residents often share nothing but the walls and hallways that separate their living spaces and creates a perfect hunting ground for a creature composed of secret, evil need.

    What differentiates Lindquist from the thundering herd of writers currently cranking out vampire fictions in print, movies and television is Lindquist's fearless walk down the paths where his ideas and characters lead him. His characters make sense. His setting makes sense. The inability of the community to react makes sense. His explanation of vampirism and its compulsion is believable without wincing as is the vampire's choice of companion (and the horrific consequences of that choice) and so is the touching, twisted relationship that is the core of the story.

    With Lindquist's deep skill, Let The Right One In enfolds the reader in a story of jaw-dropping darkness and sexual ambiguity shot through with flashes of childhood innocence that stands in absolute contrast to the polite homoeroticism of Rice or the worn, reflexive feminism of Harris and Meyer. Lindquist writes like a writer and never deviates from the directions in which his characters and ideas lead him: over and over he makes it disturbingly clear that he did not sit down to write characters whose lives any sane reader would like to slip into and Eli, the vampire-child of the story is, very simply, a monster-a sentient unnaturally animated, corpse that had once been a child-driven for centuries by an aching loneliness and a savage will to survive.

    In a world where it seems no manuscript with the word "vampire" in it can escape publication, Let The Right One In is a breath of fresh air. It is a dark, disturbing, book filled with images and scenes that stick with you and change your understanding. It is a real novel, one written without compromise and without pity-a vampire novel written for people who've read something other than vampire novels and there is nothing phony in it.

    Nothing in Let The Right One In gives the reader the impression that it is there because Lindquist thought, "Oh, they'll love this!" Twenty pages of Let The Right One In are all it takes to give the reader an impression that is like driving down a road and coming to a signpost that says, "The Meyer Stops Here."

    I can't recommend it enough.
    16 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • RR
    3.0 out of 5 stars Vampires are good?
    Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Teenage vampire romance. The current trend is to humanize!? vampires. Everyone should read Bram Stoker's original Dracula, it shows what vampires are, murdering, amoral, psychopathic not-humans. This story dresses it up by making the vampire a seemingly helpless child (who is super strong, ageless and murders at will or has others do it at her behest). The story makes it seem that some of the humans had it coming to them, but murder is murder and most people don't want to be the un-dead. Still it was off-beat and the movie does follow the book fairly closely, book is OK entertainment.
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Monica K. Thompson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and Held my Interest
    Reviewed in Canada on December 27, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Full of twists and turns, characters come alive in this book. Some may find some of the subject matter offensive and off shoots too much. I didn't like certain aspects; however, this book held my interest and I felt it was tastefully portrayed. So far I would class author John Ajvide Lindqvist in with Stephen King. Plan to continue exploring this author's books.
    Report
  • Lindsay
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Usual Vampire Novel
    Reviewed in Australia on December 4, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    The story is by now well-known and covered in other reviews. I'm only going to add that I've been a vampire tragic since reading Dracula as a child and found this book to be a unique take on the genre. Good enough to make me read all of Lindqvist's published works. An entertaining, quirky storyteller, this guy.

    But the ending? Wasn't it a little vague? Oskar sitting alone in a train compartment in charge of a large travelling trunk, having his ticket punched by the conductor. Leaving the "ever after" to your imagination.

    Not good enough for many readers who contacted Lindqvist asking for a sequel. And got one, just a few pages, buried in a book of short stories.

    Of course the police investigated Oskar's disappearance. The last person to have seen him turned out to have been the train conductor, so at first he came under suspicion. His story was that at the train terminus he saw not one but two children, a boy and a girl, sitting on a large box in the near-darkness of the far end of the station carpark, slicing each others' hands with a knife.

    Exuding such an air of menace that he dared not approach them.

    Many years later, in the late 1990s, a picture crosses the desk of a Swedish police officer. It has been forwarded by Spanish police and the date on the back shows that it has been recently taken. It apparently shows Oskar, unchanged from 1982, moving very quickly, about to leap onto the back of a person who is side-on to him.

    "Let the Right One In" is a must-read for all devotees of the genre. And all those who have ever been bullied.
    Report
  • Kate
    5.0 out of 5 stars Children and their emotions
    Reviewed in Australia on July 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This book describes the complex emotions of two groups usually ignored in literature: ostracised alcoholics and children who are a little bit different. Loneliness, exhilaration, love, despair and especially fear are described so evocatively. This alone makes it a worthy read.
    Report
  • Toni
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of My Favourites
    Reviewed in Canada on December 16, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    A great story of romance with horror elements, but not too insulting like other "vampire tales."
    Report
  • G. W. Watts
    5.0 out of 5 stars Favourite vampire movie favourite vampire book
    Reviewed in Australia on May 30, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    A few different cuts ( nudge nudge wink wink) to movie but loved it. Love to know what happens next for these characters who cares what the critics might say
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report