Camilla Lackburg is the most popular novelist in Sweden.   She writes crime novels and has published 18 books since 2003.     The Hidden Child is the 5th book in the (detective) Patrik Hedström  and (writer) Erica Falck  series.   Lackberg’s stories tend to have complex plots and strong characterization.    In this story, there are several mysteries to solve and a number of people are trying to find out the murder myster(ies), but also the past events that started the crimes and the cover up.    The clues go back to World War Two when the main players were young.

Past events included a romance, a murder, espionage, racism, threats, criminal activity, a pregnancy, revenge, the cruelty of the Nazis, regrets and a life pursing redemption.   From the past, lives carry on and the secrets are hidden and mostly forgotten.    But one of the characters can no longer live with the guilt and the lies which starts a chain of events which the police detectives of the town and Erica who is researching her mother’s past, on a journey to unravel the twisted pieces of the  hidden past.    There is a hidden child that is part of the mystery, but it is the events of 1944 that are at the heart of the present murders.

This book reflects the Nordic noir style, but Lackberg excels in crime writing by writing tight and twisting plots with well-developed characters.     Many of her books are centered around her home town of Fjallbacka so in some ways the books also fit into the cozy mysteries style, similar to Louise Penny.      Secondary characters are also well-developed and play important parts in solving (or covering up) the crimes.  The interweaving of the War Years in Sweden and Norway with the present added rich historical content to the story, but also demonstrated that the long-term effects of the trauma of war can last for decades into the future.

This was a rewarding book and is recommended – 4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5

An audiobook excerpt: