Introduction

The brilliant new psychological thriller from worldwide bestseller Camilla Läckberg—the chilling struggle of a young woman facing the darkest chapter of Europe’s past.

Crime writer Erica Falck is shocked to discover a Nazi medal among her late mother’s possessions. Haunted by a childhood of neglect, she resolves to dig deep into her family’s past and finally uncover the reasons why. Her enquiries lead her to the home of a retired history teacher. He was among her mother’s circle of friends during the Second World War but her questions are met with bizarre and evasive answers. Two days later he meets a violent death. Detective patrik Hedström, Erica’s husband, is on paternity leave but soon becomes embroiled in the murder investigation. Who would kill so ruthlessly to bury secrets so old? Reluctantly Erica must read her mother’s wartime diaries. But within the pages is a painful revelation about Erica’s past. Could what little knowledge she has be enough to endanger her husband and newborn baby? The dark past is coming to light, and no one will escape the truth of how they came to be . . .

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

All summer Erica had tiptoed around the issue that constantly occupied her thoughts. She had weighed the pros and cons, decided to go up to the attic, but she had never gotten any far- ther than the stairs. She could blame it on the fact that there had been a lot to do over the past few months. The aftermath of the wedding, the chaos at home while Anna and the children were still living with them. But that was only part of the truth. She was quite simply afraid. Afraid of what she might find. Afraid of rooting around in something that might bring things to the surface that she would rather not know about.

Erica knew that Patrik had been on the verge of asking her several times. She could see that he was wondering why she didn’t want to read the books they had found in the attic. But he hadn’t asked. And she wouldn’t have had an answer to give him. What frightened her most was the idea that she might have to revise her picture of reality. The picture she had of her mother, who her mother was and how she had treated her daughter, was less than positive. But it belonged to her. It was familiar. It was a picture that had stood the test of time, like an irrefutable truth, a part of her life. Perhaps it would be confirmed. Perhaps it would even be reinforced. But what if it was turned upside down? What if she had to come to terms with an entirely new reality? Until now, she had lacked the courage to take that step. Erica placed her foot on the first stair. From downstairs in the living room she could hear Maja’s joyous laughter as Patrik teased her. The sound was reassuring, and she placed her foot

on the next stair. Five more and she had reached the top.?The dust whirled around in the air as she pushed open the hatch and climbed into the attic. She and Patrik had talked about remodeling it at some point in the future, perhaps as a den for Maja when she was older and wanted her own space. But at the moment it was just a storage area, with wide wooden planks on the floor and a sloping roof with exposed beams. It was half full of clutter: Christmas decorations, clothes Maja had already outgrown, various boxes crammed with things that were too ugly to put on display but too valuable or too imprinted with memories to be thrown away.?The chest was right at the far end. It was old, made of wood and metal. Erica had an idea that this kind of thing was called an American trunk. She went over and sat down on the floor. Ran her hand over the chest. She took a deep breath, then lifted the lid. A musty smell rushed toward her, and she wrinkled her nose. She wondered what it was that created that characteristic, heavy smell of age. Probably mold, she thought, and immediately her scalp began to itch.

She could still remember the feeling when she and Patrik had discovered the chest and gone through the contents. Slowly she had lifted out one object after another. Drawings she and Anna had done. Small trinkets they had made in craft lessons at school. Saved by their mother, Elsy, the mother who had never shown any interest when they came rushing up to give her the things into which they had put so much effort. Erica carefully took out one item after another and placed them on the floor beside her. The thing she really wanted was right at the bottom. She could feel the fabric with her fingers, and she gently picked it up. The child’s dress had once been white, but now, when she held it up in the light, she could see that it was yellow with age. But she couldn’t take her eyes off the brown marks. At first she had mistaken them for rust, but then she had realized they had to be dried blood. There was something heartrending about the contrast between the tiny dress and the spots of blood all over it. How had the dress ended up here? Who did it belong to? And why had her mother kept it?

Erica gently laid the dress down on the floor beside her. The object that had been concealed in the dress when she and Patrik first found it was no longer in the chest. It was the only thing she had removed. The soiled fabric of the child’s dress had been wrapped around a Nazi medal. The feelings aroused within her when she first saw the medal had surprised her. Her heart had begun to pound, her mouth had gone dry, and images from all the newsreels and documentaries she had seen of the Second World War had flickered past her mind’s eye. What was a Nazi medal doing here in Fjällbacka? In her home? Among her mother’s possessions? The whole thing had seemed bizarre. She had wanted to put the medal back in the chest and close the lid, but Patrik had insisted that they should hand it over to an expert to see if they could find out more about it. Reluctantly she had agreed. It was as if she could hear whis- pering voices inside her, ominous, warning voices. Something told her that she ought to hide the medal away and forget about it. But curiosity won the day, and at the beginning of June she had taken the medal to an expert on the history of the Second World War; with a bit of luck they would soon find out more about its origins.

However, the most interesting things that Erica had discovered in the chest were four blue notebooks right at the bottom. She recognized her mother’s handwriting on the covers. That elegant, right-slanted handwriting, but in a younger, more rounded version. Erica took them out and ran a finger over the top one. “Diary” was written on each book. The word aroused mixed feelings for Erica. Curiosity, excitement, eagerness. But also fear, hesitation, and a strong sense of invading someone’s private life. Did she have the right to read the diaries? Did she have the right to share her mother’s innermost thoughts and feelings? By its very nature, a diary is not intended for anyone else’s eyes. Her mother hadn’t written them so that someone else could read the contents. Perhaps she wouldn’t have wanted her daughter to see them. But Elsy was dead, and Erica couldn’t ask her what she thought. She would have to make her own decision, decide what she was going to do with them.

“Erica?” Patrik’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and she shouted back, “Yes?”

“Our guests are arriving!”

Erica glanced at her watch. Goodness, it was three o’clock already! Maja was celebrating her first birthday today, and their closest friends and family were coming over. Patrik must have thought she had fallen asleep up here.

“Coming!” She brushed off the dust, and after a moment’s hesitation she took the notebooks and the child’s dress with her as she clambered down the steep staircase. She could hear the hum of voices from below.

Excerpted from The Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg. Copyright © 2014 by Camilla Lackberg. Reprinted by arrangement with Pegasus Books. All rights reserved. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

*The book revolves around the unveiling a secret others want hidden so badly, they’ll kill to keep it that way. Is it always better to search for truth, as Erica does? Or there some secrets it would be better to let lie?

*Much of the book is occupied with the role of parenting. How do Erica and Patrick grapple with their division of labor? What does Patrick learn from his conversation with his ex-wife, Karin, about her dynamic with her new husband? How do you think Paul and Johanna will handle co-parenting?

*In the novel, we see how the remnants of WWII’s anti-Semitism and xenophobia reverberate in modern day Sweden. How do the different characters deal with healing from these wounds of the past? What drives Axel’s attempts to hunt down former Nazis? Does this give him a sense of peace? What about Kjell and Carina’s efforts to shield their son Per from Frans’ beliefs?

Weblinks

»	Author Camilla Lackberg's web site
»	Publisher's Book Info

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 1 of 1 members.

Member Reviews

Rate this book