Madeleine Eskedahl was born and raised in Sweden on the beautiful island of Gotland. Her imagination and creativity was inspired by a carefree childhood, filled with adventures, surrounded by medieval buildings and ancient Viking remnants.

Madeleine was a voracious reader, and loved spending time at her local library, itself a treasure, with half metre thick walls, worn floorboards and ancient frescoes. This is where she discovered the magic of books and reading. She had a real fondness for mystery, and was convinced she’d grow up to become a private detective or a spy.

Madeleine moved to New Zealand in the early nineties. Now married with two daughters, her family also includes Walter and Dottie, their two West Highland White Terriers, who not only love to snooze under her desk when she writes, but gets her outside regularly. She also enjoys weaving, patchwork and spending time on the beach, and monitoring and rescuing Little Blue Penguins.

Life at the beach is the perfect place for her creativity to run wild. Her thriller Blood On Vines, was released in 2021 and is the first instalment in The Matakana Series, which debuted on the Kete New Zealand Bestsellers List on release, and remained there for eight weeks. It was also voted onto the prestigious Whitcoulls Top 100 List. Rings On Water, book two in the series was released in 2023, and also debuted on the New Zealand Bestsellers List. The highly anticipated Angels Of Clay, the third book in the series, will be released in late 2025.

Alongside her New Zealand thriller series, Madeleine is passionate about writing for children. She draws experience from the everyday wonderful and diverse environs north of Auckland, as well as her growing up on a magical island, with an incredible history, in the middle of the Baltic Sea.