This is the second Patrik Hedstrom, detective, novel.
STORY SUMMARY
Fjallbacka, Sweden is a tiny fishing village that is also a summer destination for many Swedes, and other Europeans. Life in Fjallbacka tends to be quiet, remote and peaceful.
However, tragedy also permeates in this village. Twenty years ago, in 1979, two young campers went missing. They were presumed dead and their bodies were never found. Foul play was suspected yet never proven.
But now, a little boy is playing near a structure known as The King's Cleft (think cave), and he discovers the body of a current missing young woman named Tanja. She, too, was a camper and was a German tourist. And...once the police arrive, they discover not just Tanja's body, but the bones of two other bodies. Tanja's body was placed on top of them. This brings the entire village into shock.
Local detective Patrik Hedstrom who is married to Erica and about to become a father for the first time, can't imagine what life must be like to lose a child.
Upon examination of the bones and DNA, the police force discover that the bones do indeed belong to the women missing from 1979.
Once they begin the investigation into all 3 of these cases, another young girl goes missing. And Hedstrom and his colleagues begin to look closely at the Hult family. The Hults consist of two feuding families: Solveig who was married to Johannes the son of Ephraim aka "The Preacher" and her two sons Robert and Stefan; and Gabriel, Johannes' brother who is married to Laine and has 2 children: Jacob (married to Marita with 2 little ones) and Linda (who is sneaking around with her cousin Stefan). Johanne's had always been the one the town assumed killed the 2 girls in 1979 and then hung himself.
But is that really what happened? How does the religious fervor of Jacob come into play with this family and these disappearances? What legacy did The Preacher really leave behind???
MY THOUGHTS
Yikes. This is quite the story.
It moves quickly at the beginning, slows down in the middle and moves very fast towards the end. The plot is full of twists and mysteries.
There's a lot of family drama and police force drama and both make for an excellent story.
The one I don't like that this author does is the use of the F word although it's not as prevalent as in some contemporary books. But because of this, my rating automatically slips down. Add to that some odd editing mistakes...or just maybe it was the author? But the editor should have caught it: one character went to the USA in the mid-thirties, got pregnant after 2 years there, and birthed a son named Kennedy (a minor character but an important one in spots). However, Kennedy is described as being a young adult in 2003. He was named for John F Kennedy who was active in politics in the '50s and '60s. I think the author meant to say the mother went to the States in the mid-sixties. (see page 266) Also, 2003(when the story takes place) is more than 20 years after 1979. And in the first part of the book, Johannes is called Stefannes, brother of Gabriel. Um...why do editors do such a sloppy job nowadays?? (see page 30).
But despite all of that, this is a good mystery. I loved the character development as well as the setting. A bit creepy regarding the "religion" that is described...more like a cult...and then to find out what really was going on with Ephraim and his sons....well..I don't want to spoil it for you.
Main themes in this book could be triggering for some readers: kidnapping, torture/physical abuse, incest (although because this is set in Sweden and that country allows marriage between cousins, this may not be considered incest in that culture). Other themes are poverty; wealth; extortion; adultery; death; religious cult-like activity; "divine" healings; betrayal; justice.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to mature content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 7.
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