Excellent, well described, developed characters

The mysteries are interesting but, having read the whole series, the characters never change.

I am generally a fan of Camilla Läckberg's mystery novels but unfortunately this book fell short in significant ways.

The Girl in the Woods begins with the disappearance and murder of a little girl on a farm, where Detective Patrik Hedström is called to investigate. It turns out that this is the same farm where another little girl was killed years before, in an unsolved case that Patrik's wife, crime writer Erica Falck, is investigating for a new book. The chapters alternate between the present day and the old case, and there is a third story interwoven, of historical happenings in the area that may have influenced those committing the crimes.

I think the book suffered from failures in the writing and editing to pare back unnecessary details - like the number of times Erica thinks about starting to eat or drink healthier - and to keep track of plot threads. There were some significant things that came up, like

Spoiler

the police arguing that Erica should have to stop her investigation for her book while the police are actively looking at the new crime

and then seem to be totally forgotten by the next chapter.

The historical subplot was incredibly predictable and kind of unnecessary. It could've been improved by tying in more clearly to contemporary events earlier on, or by not giving away the way it was going. Combined with the amount of extraneous and unnecessary exposition, it made this book highly put-downable for a mystery novel.

In addition there were translation errors in the English edition that jarred you out of the narrative. For example, I'm pretty sure the intention was that the film team was shooting "b-roll", not "stock photos." And the investigators would be asking if there was any "semen" found, not "sperm."

There is a nice effort to integrate topical stories about racism against Syrian refugees, and their story is told very compassionately. Readers should have a content note that the book includes brutal and fairly graphic depictions of sexual assault, torture and murder.

All in all a bit of a disappointment which could've been improved if there had just been more rigorous editing.

Tom for mer lesestoff oppsøkte jeg hotellets «bibliotekshylle», fylt med bøker andre gjester har lagt igjen. Jeg var åpen for det meste, og fant der en av Camilla Läckbergs bøker. Jeg har aldri lest noe av henne før, men har forstått at krimserien hennes er typisk ferielektyre. Til tross for at hun skriver en serie, plukket jeg med meg bok nummer 10, en tykk bok med en veldig spennende oppsummering på baksiden. Heksen nådde opp til forventningene, en lettlest men kjempespennende bok hvor sidene fløy forbi. Noe innviklet med mye navn, savnet nesten Lindells konstante etternavnsbruk, men mot slutten ble alle trådene samlet på elegant vis. Enda en krimbok jeg synes de fleste burde plukke opp, den er nemlig ikke bare en god mordhistorie, men også samfunnskritisk og veldig relevant til dagens samfunn!

While I think there were some flaws in this one by Camilla Lackberg, specifically, the introduction of the 17th century story, I still love reading about Patrik and the various members of the police force, his wife Erica and her extended family and the crimes that they solve together. This one covered a wide range of topics: immigration, bullying, dysfunctional families and at times it became a bit convoluted trying to keep track of the various characters and time periods, but overall, I still found it entertaining.

Always enjoy this series. It was particularly interested to learn of the immigration struggles in another country.

3,6 ⭐️