The Lost Boy

Topnotch writing and plot.

Yet another tremendous Nordic noir writer.

La]ckberg weaves fine lines through this multilayered thriller, connecting a ghostly historic backstory, tragic portrayals of domestic violence, shady business dealings, and series regulars' various personal dramas. The result is a slice-of-life feel that lends a welcome lightness to the darker underlying story of control and abuse.

Another exceptional multilayered mystery. Läckberg continues to craft fully fleshed-out, complicated characters. Highly recommended for readers who love character-driven crime novels, especially followers of Nordic mysteries and Läckberg's growing fan base.

Stunning. With her trademark impeccable psychological insight, Läckberg intertwines subplots that personalize the devastation wreaked by Sweden's drug trade, its biker culture, and its far too prevalent domestic abuse. Ghostly shadows from this searing entry will surely linger long in the reader's imagination.

Part of the popularity of Läckberg's books is due to her penchant for making the reader work a little for answers, even as the narrative makes the pages fly by. This is especially true in the latest installment. Thanks to an ace translation by Tiina Nunnally, American readers have the opportunity to sink their teeth into one of Läckberg's most complex yet, at the same time, simplest novels to date.

Läckberg has a knack for creating very believable characters and for mixing the funny moments in everyday life with dark and twisty crimes that will keep the reader hooked. Fans of other Scandinavian investigators, like Henning Mankell's Wallander and Stieg Larsson's Blomkvist and Salander, are sure to love Patrik and Erica.

In the manner of Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache books, Läckberg's tale weaves a particular event (in this case, the murder of a recently returned native son) with the evolving narrative of a community. To further beat the Penny comparison into the ground, Läckberg's prose is similarly well crafted (and sensitively translated by Tiina Nunnally).

The Lost Boy is a complex and brilliant novel. Another masterpiece by Swedish author Camilla Lackberg.

Detective Patrik Hedstrom is no stranger to tragedy. A murder case concerning Fjällbacka’s dead financial director, Mats Sverin, is a grim but useful distraction from his recent family misfortunes.It seems Sverin was a man who everybody liked yet nobody really knew — a man with something to hide . . .His high school sweetheart, Nathalie, has just returned to Fjällbacka with her five-year-old son — perhaps can she shed some light on who Sverin really was?However, Nathalie has her own secret. If it’s discovered, she will lose her only child. As the investigation stalls, the police have many questions. But there is only one that matters: Is there anything a mother would not do to protect her child?