The Winners

The Winners by Fredrik Backman is the third and final book of the Beartown trilogy. The novels follow the intersecting lives of an ensemble of residents in the Swedish forest towns Beartown and Hed as they grapple with violence and tragedy.

The first novel, Beartown, focuses on the Beartown community. The town is dependent on the success of their junior hockey team for economic investment and growth, as in recent years local jobs have significantly declined. Kevin Erdahl is the star of the team who becomes unstoppable while protected by his best friend Benjamin “Benji” Ovich. The team also welcomes a younger player named Amat who has astounding speed and skill. After winning their semi-final game, Kevin sexually assaults Maya Andersson; her father, Peter, and mother, Kira, help her go to the police. Kevin is arrested as the team leaves for their final game, causing the team to lose. Maya faces blame and stigma from people who assume she made the assault up. The investigation is dropped due to a lack of evidence. Maya takes a gun into the woods and holds Kevin at gunpoint, pulling the trigger but revealing that the gun has not been loaded.