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This is the sixth Fredrik Backman book I read. He’s become one of my favourite writers, so it’s always exciting to read something new from him.

Us Against You continues to delve into the lives of some of Beartown’s inhabitants. We are acquainted with many of them from his previous novel, Beartown (also known as Scandal in other countries).

Again, at the centre of this novel we have the Beartown Hockey Team manager �� Peter Andersson, his lawyer wife, Kira, their kids, Maya, 16 and Leo, 12. What happened to Maya in the past year still affects her, her family and, to a certain extent, the entire town. The only thing that makes Beartown tick is hockey, but they’re about to lose that as well. Many players had moved to the bigger neighbouring town, Hed. There’s conflict between the two towns stemming from hockey rivalry but also due to socio-economic issues. Add a sociopathic, master manipulator politician to the mix and we’ve got yourself an explosive mixture.

We reacquaint ourselves with some of the hockey players we met in Beartown : Benji, the excellent hockey player, who’s in the closet; Amat �� the immigrant, very talented player and his best friend, Bobo, hardworking, less talented but with a heart of gold. Benji gets more play time on the pages of this novel, I personally didn’t mind, as he was intriguing in so many ways. There are some new characters, who are given more or less air-time.

I loved the pacing of the book and how Backman kept adding layer, upon layer, upon layer, creating a tower of tension about to topple.

This is another ambitious novel that deals with trauma, parenting, friendship, small town mentalities, homophobia, sexism, and politics. Oh, and some hockey.

While I agree with every single message of the book, I did find this novel a bit too sanctimonious �� it pains me to say that, but that’s how I felt. Also, I would have preferred he’d dialled-down the melodrama. In saying all that, I adore the guy - Backman is a Renaissance man �� I don’t say that lightly.

As always, I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next. His writing is a treat I hope to indulge in for many years to come.

I’ve received this book via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Atria Books allowing me to read this novel. I truly appreciate it.