Buried Angels by Camilla Lackberg
Harper Collins (hardback), 2014
474 pages
This is a library book borrowed from The Mitchell Library (http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/libraries/the-mitchell-library/Pages/home.aspx).
BLURB FROM THE COVER
YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST
Easter 1974. A family vanishes from their home on an idyllic island off the Swedish coast. They have left everything behind – including their one-year-old daughter, Ebba.
Now, years later, Ebba has returned to the island. She and her husband have suffered the loss of their only child and are looking to make a fresh start. But within days, their house is the target of an arson attack.
YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE FUTURE
Detective Patrik Hedstrom takes on the investigation, aided by his wife, crime writer Erica Falck, who has always been fascinated by the mystery of Ebba’s abandonment and the family’s tragic history.
When dried blood is found under the floorboards of the old house, it seems that the cold case involving the missing family is about to be brought back to life. And soon, Patrik and Erica are consumed by the hunt for a killer who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried…
EXTRACT
They had decided to renovate their way out of the grief. Neither of them was sure it was a good plan, but it was the only one they had. The alternative was to lie down and slowly pine away.
REVIEW
Lackberg has become one of my favorite writers recently. I’ve borrowed all of her novels from the library. Buried Angels is another fine crime novel. Lackberg kept me guessing right until the last few chapters. Like her other novels, Buried Angels includes flashbacks to events in the past that are connected in some way to Patrick’s current case. Lackberg uses this as a very effective way to drip feed the back story without it coming boring and slowing the whole pace right down. One of the most enjoyable things about Lackberg’s novel is the way the chapters are structured. One chapter contains numerous scenes. Each scene focuses on a specific character or plot event. Buried Angels is no exception. I really enjoy the way Lackberg drips feeds you the story one section at a time forcing you to read on until all the threads connect. I really enjoyed the storyline of Buried Angels and Lackberg took me by surprise a few times. I had no idea who was behind the attacks against Ebba and her husband and when Lackberg dropped the bomb my jaw hit the floor. The same goes for Lackberg revealing what really happened to Ebba’s family. I never saw that coming. Ebba does have a happy ending though. Buried Angels is an example of how good crime fiction can be when a writer tries to do something different and doesn’t rely on blood or violence.
RATING
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