The Hidden Child

Starred review from March 17, 2014
Läckberg’s excellent fifth novel set in the Swedish coastal village of Fjällbacka (after 2013’s The Stranger) finds Det. Patrik Hedström on paternity leave, looking after his toddler daughter, Maja, though that doesn’t stop him from taking her to a crime scene, much to the chagrin of Patrik’s wife, Erica Falck. Someone struck elderly Erik Frankel, an expert on Nazis, a fatal blow to the head in the house he shared with his brother, Axel, who tracks Nazi war criminals. Is the historian’s murder related to the uptick in neo-Nazi activity? Meanwhile, Erica has a connection to the victim. She recently asked Erik to examine a Nazi medal that she discovered among the possessions of her late mother, Elsy. Flashbacks to WWII describe how Elsy, the Frankels, and others befriended a young French Resistance fighter. Horrific secrets come to light as the author skillfully shows how the past has influenced recent events. Agents: Bengt Nordin and Maria Enberg, Nordin Literary Agency (Sweden).

June 30, 2014
This latest visit to Läckberg’s Fjällbacka, a tourist resort on Sweden’s southwest coast, finds homicide detective Patrik Hedström on paternity leave, caring for baby daughter Maja, which frees his wife, author Erica Falck, to finish a book about her late mother’s life. When news arrives of the brutal murder of the retired Marxist history teacher Erik Frankel, Patrik is asked for advice. Erica, meanwhile, has just discovered a connection between her mother and Frankel dating back to the WWII years. The lengthy novel leaps back and forth, from the present-day investigations to 1943–1944, when Erik and Erica’s mother become embroiled in the Nazi occupation of neighboring Norway. There are also a number of subplots, populated by numerous characters. Following a story this complex as it moves backward, forward, and sideways can be a bit daunting, but narrator Vance does his best to keep us on track. He presents the expository passages in a crisp, immaculately paced British accent, and slips with seeming ease into a vast assortment of vocal intonations for the characters, each of whom distinctive enough to identify immediately. Läckberg sketches out of what feels like half the population of Fjällbacka and Vance’s narration add detail and color. A Pegasus hardcover.

April 1, 2014
Three months ago, Erica Falck asked a collector of Nazi memorabilia about a medal she found among her mother's effects. Now he's discovered dead from a blow to the head, and the question of who killed him is only the first of many mysteries. Best-selling Swedish author Lackberg (The Stranger, 2013, etc.) returns with her fourth novel about the crime-solving team of Erica Falck and her husband, detective Patrik Hedstrom. Their adorable daughter, Maja, has just turned 1, Erica's ready to return to her work writing novels (though she won't be going far--just to the upstairs study), and Patrik's embarking on four months of paternity leave. But Erica can't concentrate, because Patrik keeps interrupting her with parenting questions and her mother's diaries tempt her like a siren's call. Maybe the diaries will explain why her mother was so emotionally distant. They're filled with stories about her friends back in the 1940s, including Erik, the historian recently found dead; Axel, who joined the resistance during World War II, running dangerous missions; Frans, who grew up to be a politically active neo-Nazi; and Britta, a foolish girl who adored Frans. When Patrik takes Maja out for a walk one afternoon, he stumbles upon his colleagues and joins them in examining the crime scene at Erik's home. Patrik and Erica are pulled deeply into the developing investigation. Soon the line between good and evil blurs as they delve into the complicated history of Swedish involvement in the war. Meanwhile, Erica's sister Anna tries to broker peace between her new husband and stepdaughter, and Patrik's gruff boss, Mellberg, adopts a dog and takes up salsa dancing. Lackberg deftly layers the dark details of the crime upon the disturbing seeds of its origin. Fans of Nordic noir will appreciate this taut, twisty mystery enriched with historical detail.

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April 1, 2014
Long troubled by her late mother's coldness toward her two daughters, writer Erica Falck begins to read her mother, Elsy's, teenage diaries. She also discovers a Nazi war medal with the diaries and asks a retired history teacher to examine it. Within days, the teacher is bludgeoned to death. Then Britta, Elsy's closest friend as a teenager, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, is also murdered. Through the diaries, Erica intuits that the solution to the mystery is rooted in events that took place during WWII. Once again, Lckberg (The Stonecutter, 2012) employs Swedish history and her setting, Fjallbacka, the postcard-pretty village where Falck grew up, to craft an engaging tale that spans three generations of Fjallbackians. The author goes deep into the lives of a very large cast of characters, and some crime lovers might balk at a 520-pluspage novel that is almost half family saga. But taken as a whole, The Hidden Child will keep fans of Swedish crime guessing until the final pages.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2014

The fifth book in the Det. Patrik Hedstrom series (The Stranger) finds Patrik starting his paternity leave so his wife, crime writer Erica Falck, can work on her new book. However, when a retired history teacher is murdered near their home, Patrik finds it impossible to stay away from the investigation. Erica is stunned to discover that the victim, Erik Frankel, was a man she had visited months earlier when she found a Nazi medal among her late mother's possessions. Erik was among her mother's close circle of friends during World War II, and Erica had hoped that digging into her mother's past would help explain why she was always so emotionally distant. But after two more members of this circle die, Erica and Patrik realize that her mother's wartime diaries may be the key to solving the murders and giving Erica peace of mind. VERDICT Once again Lackberg has written an exciting, fast-paced mystery. Though the flashbacks to the 1940s can be distracting, this secondary plot is just as intriguing as the main story line. Though dealing with the serious subjects of extremist groups and prisoners of war, the novel has its humorous moments. Recommended for the author's fans as well as lovers of Scandinavian mysteries.--Jean King, West Hempstead P.L., NY

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