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.