The Stonecutter

The remote resort of Fjällbacka has seen its share of tragedy, though perhaps none worse than that of the little girl found in a fisherman’s net. But this was no accidental drowning …

Local detective Patrik Hedström has just become a father. It is his grim task to discover who could be behind the murder of a child both he and his partner Erica knew well.

What he does not know is how the case will reach into the dark heart of Fjällbacka and tear aside its idyllic façade, perhaps forever.

The reader is captured in the perfect degree of uncertainty. The narrative is slow and methodical, with ample time for psychological depth, at the same time as the suspense relentlessly increases as we near the terrible conclusion to this tragedyfilled drama.

This is exactly what a good crime novel is supposed to be! Perfectly balanced between police work and portrayals of everyday life.

Läckberg’s job is to make the reader pleasurably uncomfortable – one of her ironclad skills. This latest novel (translated by Steven T Murray) adds another level cannily designed to unsettle us: a measured examination of the elements of determinism in human nature, and the readiness to cut loose moral restraint when passionately held desires are frustrated. There is also a lacerating picture of an unrestrained female psyche, both attractive and monstrous.

The Stonecutter

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