The Lost Boy

Returning to work after a health scare, Patrik Hedström and his team must investigate the murder of Fjallbacka’s new town finance officer, Mats Sverin. Mats had recently moved back to his hometown from Göteborg. Before he died, he had concerns about the town’s joint venture with private investors to renovate and reopen a spa. Was the murder related to his work? Or could it have been related to the job he left in Göteborg working for a shelter for battered women?

On the home front, Erica has recovered from the car accident that ended the last book on a cliffhanger. She and Patrik are now the parents of twin boys. Erica’s sister, Anna, wasn’t as fortunate. Anna survived the accident, but her unborn son did not. Anna’s show more withdrawal from her family alarms Erica. She also provides some assistance with Patrik’s investigation since the murder victim had been her high school classmate.

It should be no surprise to the reader that lost boys are a theme in the book. The murder victim is his parents’ only son, and Erica’s sister, Anna has lost a son. Abused women and domestic violence are another theme in this book. Two women from the murder victim’s past have been subject to domestic violence, as has Erica’s sister, Anna. There is also a touching tribute to the author’s father in this book.

I’ve noticed a great improvement in the writing/translation over the course of the series. The main plot in this installment is well executed, with a surprising twist at the end of the investigation. However, a couple of the minor elements weren’t explained to my satisfaction. I also didn’t care for the supernatural elements in the plot. show less

This is the seventh entry in Lackberg's Erica Falck/Patrik Hedstrom novels, and it holds its own in that excellent series. This novel mixes present day crimes with a mystery from the past, with a frisson of a ghost story tossed in. The plotting is tight and compelling, with several story lines unfolding in parallel, and becoming more and more intertwined as the novel progresses. Characters are sharply drawn and fully rounded. Running into the regular cast, on the home front and at the police station, is like meeting old friends, while the new characters are convincing. I wish there were more books in this series available in English: it's a real treasure.

I tend to like the nordic mysteries. Like others I have read, this one is intelligent, complex, peopled with interesting characters, and offering a touch of darkness. Maybe more than a touch.

There are several characters here, including the various police members and the characters involved in the mystery. The story hinges on the murder of a young man in front of his apartment building. By all accounts, he was a model citizen, a decent human, always friendly yet not in the habit of offering any details of his private life.

His parents are devastated. His coworkers are shocked. Nobody has any clue why someone would want him dead.

Mats Sverin was a financial officer for a company developing a major spa hotel in the town of Fjallbacka. In the show more days before his death, he had asked to speak to someone higher up about what looked like some oddities in the finances. Was he onto something?

He also had previously held a job at a women's shelter, a job where men were employed against standard practice. It was considered something of an experiment and the leaders of that organization needed the men to be unimpeachable. Why did he leave? Was he hiding something?

It did not appear that he had any romantic interests at the time. He had had a girlfriend in highschool, Nathalie, and the couple was expected to marry, but Nathalie chose to leave for other parts of Sweden instead, leaving Matte (nickname) behind. Was she just selfish? Did he want revenge and she reversed the situation?

Nathalie happened to be living nearby at the time, on a small island she owned as a family inheritance. She lived in the only cabin on the island, an island called the Ghost Island by locals because of rumors of ghosts. She felt comfortable with the ghosts, believed they would never harm her.

The lead detective, Patrik Hedstrom, has his own demons to stare down. His wife, Erika, a leading mystery writer, is still recovering from an accident, and he worries about her and their children. Erika, meanwhile, is stir-crazy, wants to resume a more normal life.

There are other interesting characters and stories. The plot is convoluted and, to me, highly improbable, but really, what's new about that? It is interesting and I enjoyed getting to know everyone. I will be seeking out more of Lackberg's work now. show less

Schriftstellerin Erica Falck hat mit ihren Zwillingen alle Hände voll zu tun, seit ihr Mann Patrik wieder im Polizeidienst ist. Sie findet kaum Zeit für ihre Schulfreundin Annie, die gerade in das idyllische Fischerdorf Fjällbacka zurückgekehrt ist. Annie zieht in das kleine Haus auf der Leuchtturminsel vor der Küste. Dort soll es nachts spuken, und dunkle Legenden ranken sich um den Ort. Annie scheint es nicht zu stören, vor allem als Mats, ihre erste große Liebe, zu ihr zurückkehrt. Doch dann wird Mats brutal ermordet. Patrik und Erica beginnen zu ermitteln.

This is the first book I've read by Camilla Läckberg and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't as hard boiled as some crime novels, but nor was it cosy crime. It was cleverly plotted, with a slower pace than I'm used to, but that made it more enjoyable. I really liked how the personal lives of the police officers were woven into the crime investigation, and had impact on how they carried out their work.

THE LOST BOY written by Camilla Lackberg and translated (from the Swedish) by Tiina Nunnally is Book #7 of the Patrik Hedstrom (Fjallbacka) series.

“Patrik Hedstrom is no stranger to tragedy. A murder case concerning Fjallbacka’s dead financial director, Mats Sverin, is a grim but useful distraction from his recent family misfortunes. It seems Mats was a man everybody liked yet nobody knew - a man with something to hide. His high school sweetheart, Nathalie, has just returned to the area with her five-year-old son - could she shed some light on who Mats really was?” [book jacket]

THE LOST BOY has a brilliantly layered plot. A trademark of Ms. Lackberg’s seems to be secrets - lots of them and very, very dark - unfolding over show more decades and generations.
I quite this technique with historical and cultural references. Every book has a definite personality. I also like the main characters, Patrik and Erica, their families and co-workers at the police department. The western, coastal area of Sweden is a character in its own right. The title is very tense and suspenseful.
Not to be missed. **** show less

In western Sweden’s version of Cabot Cove there is, in the seventh instalment of Lackberg’s series, a nasty death, a historic mystery (of sorts) and a whole load of domesticity. I actually enjoyed this one a little more than its most recent predecessor but even so I doubt I’ll rush to read the remaining four books still to be published in English in my neck of the woods.

The main case here is the investigation by Fjallbacka police into the murder of a young man recently returned to his home town in somewhat mysterious circumstances. For most of the book then there is an assumption that his death is related to his work for a women’s shelter in a nearby town and there are many visits to interview staff, peruse records and faff show more about inefficiently (seriously they could have wrapped the whole think up in a couple of hours if they’d been a bit logical in their questioning). My real interest was therefore much more concentrated on the historical story involving a young woman in the 1800′s living and looking after the lighthouse on a nearby island which the locals portentously call Ghost Island. Her story wasn’t particularly suspenseful (the ending was easy to spot from a distance) but at least it was told with a degree of brevity. The present-day story on the other hand meandered and wandered fairly aimlessly before wrapping itself up.

The domestic lives of the Fjallbacka police and their extended families occupied another good chunk of the 15 hours of this series instalment and my interest in this ongoing soap opera has waned considerably over the course of the series. I’m not entirely sure why this is, as there are other series where I do maintain my interest in such things but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that here the same people keep experiencing the same things. Good things happen to some characters (Erica), awful things happen to others (her sister Anna) and so it goes. For me the ongoing characters have grown predictable and here there really wasn’t a new character who really engaged me.

I know I’m inconsistent because there are a couple of authors who I only read because they follow a formula (e.g. Dick Francis) so I shouldn’t be finding fault with someone else who does the same but I still do feel like the quality here has dropped away as the word count has increased. In the early books there was always a topic of some interest around which the murder revolved so even if I was a bit bored by the latest baby news I knew it wouldn’t be long until I’d get back to central theme but here that element was missing. If domestic violence against women was meant to be the issue du jour there are plenty of books which deal with that topic with greater insight and depth.

I know Lackberg is hugely popular in Sweden and in translation so clearly I’m the atypical reader looking for her to take her characters somewhere new or, heaven forbid, write about a different set of people entirely. If you’re looking for a series which formula and a cast of largely positive characters (it is refreshing to read crime fiction not dripping with alcoholics) you could do worse than visit Fjallbacka but if you’re looking for originality then honestly I can’t recommend THE LOST BOY. show less