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The Hidden Child

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AuthorCamilla Läckberg
TranslatorSteven T. Murray
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPopular Fiction-Contemporary Thrillers
GenreCrime
PublisherHarper
Publication date
(20 Jun 2011)
Published in English
April 1, 2008
Pages400 pages
ISBNISBN 000741949X Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Preceded byFlavours from Fjällbacka 
Followed bySuper Charlie 

The Hidden Child (Swedish: Tyskungen) is a novel written by Swedish writer Camilla Läckberg.

Camilla Lackberg knows how to tell a good first page to last yarn, THE HIDDEN CHILD is to some at least the best effort in this unconscious series since the first, THE ICE PRINCESS. Why? Mainly because Erica's uncovering of her mother's past is directly related to the contemporary case being investigated by the police, which provides the book with more focus than some of the previous titles-this is however a matter of some debate.[1] The mystery is a good, solid one that tells the story of a young woman facing the darkest chapter of Europe's history which makes her realise nothing in her past is quite what it seems.[2] An understanding of Swedish history will help an appreciation of the book; Sweden supposedly neutral during the Second World War rather as the French under the Pétain's virulent right-wing Vichy Regime, was divided between those either supporting the Resistance in neighboring Norway ( under occupation) or in fewer instances the racist theories of the Third Reich.[3] Erica Falck is shocked to discover a dubious medal among her late mother's possessions dating from this era. This is perhaps a reference to the other 'holocaust'-the nuclear variety-when the truth of what this might mean hits.Haunted by a disturbed childhood she decides to investigate.[4] Lackberg once again shows her skill at portraying an already insular community from the wrong end of a microscope where everyone knows everyone else and the police may well be unwittingly friends with the murderer.[5] Could what little she knows already be enough to endanger her husband, but worst of all-Erica's greatest dread-her newborn baby?[6]

The Hidden Child Foundation to which the title perhaps refers is a charity for Holocaust survivors who lost not just their families when between 1933 and 1945 the Nazis murdered six million Jews but their faith as well-when the so-called Third Reich systematically destroyed all the Jewish communities of Europe.[7]Läckberg handles the alternation between the present and the 1940s with her usual steely skill more fitting to an older more experienced writer, as she does the dangerous investigation into secrets from Sweden's murky history.[8]

Plot Synopsis

Erika wants to write a 'great-book' so Patrik goes on paternity leave to look after the baby whilst this occurs; then unexplained things start to happen- an elderly neighbour is found dead – not just that, he s been dead for a long while( generations of flies have fed upon his corpse).[9] What's more, this guy knew Erika's late mother. Erica consults a local historian of World War 2, 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. [10]The plot focuses on the discovery of a child's blood spattered vest plus other memorabilia.[11] The real strength of this story is how Lackberg combines the various elements: many thrillers of this genre find the characters obsessed with the plot becoming two dimensional resultantly; here the theme is manipulated with great skill giving greater depth.[12] Who would murder so cold-bloodedly to bury secrets so ancient? [13] The sentences are short and the style straightforward, which makes it easy to keep turning the pages; what has been crafted is an intelligent novel which is nicely paced with a sub-plot presented intriguingly.[14]Hedström's domestic milieu may be one of almost Tolkeinish complexity, teeming with ex-partners, step-children, siblings and in-laws but unravelling the mystery has its own reward in that it gives the characters greater depth.[15] By way of a side-theme Melberg adopts a stray mutt finding that this leads to a meeting with another pooch owner who happens to be the mater of his new detective, Paul Morales; this provides a counterpoint to the increasingly sordid facts being unearthed in the search for the murderer. [16]

References

  1. ^ "laxploit".
  2. ^ "pengarna".
  3. ^ "masblog".
  4. ^ "goodreads.com".
  5. ^ "1".
  6. ^ "2".
  7. ^ "crazigarna".
  8. ^ "quaga".
  9. ^ "pengarna".
  10. ^ "reader-review".
  11. ^ "nylon-review".
  12. ^ "product-review".
  13. ^ "3".
  14. ^ "scandinavianbok".
  15. ^ "guardianpai".
  16. ^ "melberg".


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