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A review by jarrahpenguin
The Girl in the Woods by Camilla Läckberg
2.0
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 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.
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 crimeThe 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.