The Hidden Child
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Review
Praise for Camilla Lackberg:
'Lackberg is an expert at mixing scenes of domestic cosiness with blood-curdling horror… a must for white-knuckle junkies' Guardian
‘Chilling and thrilling’ The Sun
‘A delight … Tense and disturbing. You won’t want to put it down’ News of the World
‘A must read’ Daily Telegraph
'Lackberg is particularly good at portraying the claustrophobia of a small community in which everyone knows everyone else and the police may well be friends with killers' The Times
'The hottest female writer in Sweden at the moment. Lackberg's job is to make the reader pleasurably uncomfortable – one of her ironclad skills' Independent
'Chilly, deceptive and lucid, just like the icy environment it describes' Literary Review
'Heart-stopping and heart-warming … is a masterclass in Scandinavian crime writing' Val McDermid
Review
Praise for Camilla Lackberg: 'Lackberg is an expert at mixing scenes of domestic cosiness with blood-curdling horror! a must for white-knuckle junkies' Guardian 'Chilling and thrilling' The Sun 'A delight ! Tense and disturbing. You won't want to put it down' News of the World 'A must read' Daily Telegraph 'Lackberg is particularly good at portraying the claustrophobia of a small community in which everyone knows everyone else and the police may well be friends with killers' The Times 'The hottest female writer in Sweden at the moment. Lackberg's job is to make the reader pleasurably uncomfortable -- one of her ironclad skills' Independent 'Chilly, deceptive and lucid, just like the icy environment it describes' Literary Review 'Heart-stopping and heart-warming ! is a masterclass in Scandinavian crime writing' Val McDermid
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
As I started reading The Hidden Child, news came through of the terrorist atrocities carried out by a right wing racist in Norway. That such a thing could happen in peaceful, liberal Scandinavia seemed impossible, but this book illuminates the news story. I think, in this country, we tend to overlook what happened in Scandinavia during the war. We may remember Trondheim and the sinking of the Bismarck off the Norwegian coast, but nobody thinks about what it must have been like in occupied Norway and in Sweden, barely holding onto its neutrality.
What happened in the war is one of the strands in the Hidden Child; its impact on the people today, another.
The Hidden Child is the fifth book written by Lackberg to feature Patrik Hedstrom, a policeman currently on paternity leave. His wife, Erika, a writer, has discovered a Nazi medal among her dead mother's treasured possessions and is anxious to find out why it was there and why her mother had prized it. Before the story starts she has taken it to an expert on everything Nazi, Erik Frankel. As the book starts Erik's very dead, very gruesome body is discovered.
The story is told from various different viewpoints, the modern elements intertwined with a wartime narrative concerning Erika's mother,Elsy, Erik Frankel, his brother Axel (nowadays a dedicated anti-Nazi, working with the Simon Wiesenthal group, hunting down war criminals), Britta and Frans (now a well known member of a far right, pro Nazi racist grouping). We discover that Britta has Alzheimer's disease and is losing her grip on the present.
Another of the wartime group of friends is murdered and although, on the face of it, there is no connection, it seems too much of a coincidence. The book takes us through the various investigations undertaken by Erika, Patrik, the police and Frans' son, Kjell.
The real strength of this book is how Lackberg combines the various elements of the story. In thrillers of this kind, too often the characters become obsessed with the plot, and nothing happens that isn't directly plot driven. That is not the case here. Life goes on around the plot - Patrik's difficulties adapting to paternity leave - Erika's desire to become "a grown up" again, coupled with her inability to let go the main carer's role - a lonely policeman falling in love with a dog which leads him to fall in love with a woman and her family - these are just a few of the things that are going on, spiced both with humour and sadness. It feels like real life and as a result we get involved and are pulled into their lives.
In real life there are rarely neat solutions and this is where Lackberg has been very clever, because, as a reader, I knew far more about the actions and feelings that had caused deaths than the main characters did. So they had the slightly untidy resolution that happens in life and is unsatisfactory in books, while we readers have the full solution.
This is the first book by Lackberg that I have read and I look forward to reading books 1 - 4 in the series.
What happened in the war is one of the strands in the Hidden Child; its impact on the people today, another.
The Hidden Child is the fifth book written by Lackberg to feature Patrik Hedstrom, a policeman currently on paternity leave. His wife, Erika, a writer, has discovered a Nazi medal among her dead mother's treasured possessions and is anxious to find out why it was there and why her mother had prized it. Before the story starts she has taken it to an expert on everything Nazi, Erik Frankel. As the book starts Erik's very dead, very gruesome body is discovered.
The story is told from various different viewpoints, the modern elements intertwined with a wartime narrative concerning Erika's mother,Elsy, Erik Frankel, his brother Axel (nowadays a dedicated anti-Nazi, working with the Simon Wiesenthal group, hunting down war criminals), Britta and Frans (now a well known member of a far right, pro Nazi racist grouping). We discover that Britta has Alzheimer's disease and is losing her grip on the present.
Another of the wartime group of friends is murdered and although, on the face of it, there is no connection, it seems too much of a coincidence. The book takes us through the various investigations undertaken by Erika, Patrik, the police and Frans' son, Kjell.
The real strength of this book is how Lackberg combines the various elements of the story. In thrillers of this kind, too often the characters become obsessed with the plot, and nothing happens that isn't directly plot driven. That is not the case here. Life goes on around the plot - Patrik's difficulties adapting to paternity leave - Erika's desire to become "a grown up" again, coupled with her inability to let go the main carer's role - a lonely policeman falling in love with a dog which leads him to fall in love with a woman and her family - these are just a few of the things that are going on, spiced both with humour and sadness. It feels like real life and as a result we get involved and are pulled into their lives.
In real life there are rarely neat solutions and this is where Lackberg has been very clever, because, as a reader, I knew far more about the actions and feelings that had caused deaths than the main characters did. So they had the slightly untidy resolution that happens in life and is unsatisfactory in books, while we readers have the full solution.
This is the first book by Lackberg that I have read and I look forward to reading books 1 - 4 in the series.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the fifth book in Camilla Lackberg's series of novels featuring Patrik Hedstrom, set in the Swedish seaside village/fishing port of Fjallbacha. I've read two of the earlier books, so was keen to get hold of this one which starts off right where book 4, The Gallows Bird ends. Hedstrom's wife Erica had discovered her mother's old wartime diaries in her loft, together with a Nazi medal and a blood stained baby shirt. Curious to know more, Erica consults a local historian of the second world war. However, shortly after her visit, he is brutally murdered and it becomes clear that the past is still very much a part of some people's lives in Fjallbacha. Like Lackberg's previous books, this one is written in an easy to read style which has translated well from Swedish. The sentences are short and the style straightforward which makes it easy to keep turning the pages. Also as in previous books, we get a good dose of domesticity. There is ample scope for it this time as Hedstrom himself is on paternity leave looking after his one year old daughter Maja. We also get to learn about the concerns of the other police officers who work with Hedstrom, from the pompous station chief who will be familiar to readers of the earlier books, to new recruit Paula. Through their lives, in contrast with previous generations, you get a sense of how much Sweden has changed since the Second World War, although echoes of the past remain, with some people showing a renewed interest in far right politics. Lackberg tells her story mostly in the present, although there are short chapters which take the reader back to war-time Sweden, and this way of structuring the tale worked well for me. It is similar to the device used in The Stonecutter (Patrik Hedstrom 3) and it works well here too. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The resolution was quite satisfying and I thought Lackberg drew the strands together well.
Even if you haven't read any of the earlier books, this would make a very enjoyable read if you enjoy a good mystery with an historical twist added to the mix. The subject matter at the heart of the mystery is dark, but the contrast with Scandinavian domestic life lightens the overall mood.
Even if you haven't read any of the earlier books, this would make a very enjoyable read if you enjoy a good mystery with an historical twist added to the mix. The subject matter at the heart of the mystery is dark, but the contrast with Scandinavian domestic life lightens the overall mood.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Camilla Lackberg's books always start with such promise, but more and more recently I've found myself floundering about half way through, unmotivated to finish the book. I find this disappointing, because the Nordic Noir thrillers are normally such good reads. This book did exactly the same as the others. Once started, I struggled half way through to the middle, and I just simply put it down, unable to pick it up again.
I suspect that the problem is caused by something being lost in translation, I'm not entirely sure. I don't think it's the fault of the author, on this occasion, I suspect it is the fault of the reader (me).
I suspect that the problem is caused by something being lost in translation, I'm not entirely sure. I don't think it's the fault of the author, on this occasion, I suspect it is the fault of the reader (me).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Stil undecided about Lackberg
Camila Lackberg's books confuse me.I've stuck with the series but it's been a close call,if I hadn't had "The Hidden Child" on my bookshelf when I finished the dire "Gallows Bird"... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Oldbiker
Good, but not her best
Another installment of the Patrik Hedstrom series, these are becoming essential to get me through a long night shift at work - gripping enough to keep me awake, light enough not to... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Marie
Camilla Lackbert - The Hidden Child
Absoutely brilliant - I love Scandanavian books, but this is a MUST read. There are no red herrings - everything has its place and all the pieces slot together at the end - I am... Read more
Published 1 month ago by monk de feet
I was really gripped by this...
I enjoy Camilla Lackberg's books but this has to be one of my favourites. I was gripped from the start and couldn't put it down towards the end. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jackie, Chartered Physiotherapist
Camila Lackberg Hidden Child
First one of Camila Lackberg's books that I have read thoroughly enjoyable good decetive story lots of twists and turns interwoven with the lives of the main charactors and their... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Leigh
Lackberg
The book arrived quickly and was a reasonably good read, as had been suggested by the good reviews. I will order more by this author.
Published 2 months ago by Ilona
The best of the series so far
I've read all five of the Camilla Lackberg books which have been released in the UK so far and I've read them in order - saving the best till last. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Denise4891
Absolute tosh, deserves no stars
It is completely unbelievable that this book was published at all never mind translated. It is the worst written book I have ever read in print. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sarah, Chester UK
Just couldn't get into it
A mystery novel and the fifth in a series built around Detective Patrik Hedström.
Crime writer Erica Falck finds a Nazi medal among her late mother's possessions. Read more
Crime writer Erica Falck finds a Nazi medal among her late mother's possessions. Read more
Published 4 months ago by OEJ
Underwhelming and mildly enjoyable
This is the first of Lackberg's books that I've read and I won't be rushing to read any others, as althought the plot kept me vaguely interested it had a bland back story about... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Manda Moo
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