As I read THE LOST BOY, I kept wondering when we were going to get to the lost boy. It struck me about halfway through that the answer was right in front of me. Part of the popularity of Camilla Läckberg’s books is due to her penchant for making the reader work a little for answers, even as the narrative makes the pages fly by. This is especially true in the latest installment of her Fjällbacka series to be released in the United States (though originally published in Sweden in 2009). Thanks to an ace translation by Tiina Nunnally, American readers have the opportunity to sink their teeth into one of Läckberg’s most complex yet, at the same time, simplest novels to date.

THE LOST BOY opens with a short enigmatic vignette consisting of a woman named Nathalie and her son, Sam, who are taking up residence on Graskar, a local island that hosts a lighthouse and a reputation for being haunted. We get the sense that they are running/hiding from something, but are barely introduced to them before the narrative turns to a funeral. This commemoration is particularly tragic, given that it is being held for the infant son of Anna, the sister of author Erica Hedstrom, who is married to Fjällbacka police detective Patrik Hedstrom. Patrik, who was also injured in the chain of events that led to the infant’s death, is just returning to work as the book opens.

"Thanks to an ace translation by Tiina Nunnally, American readers have the opportunity to sink their teeth into what is one of Läckberg’s most complex yet, at the same time, simplest novels to date."

This gives Läckberg an opportunity to introduce newcomers to the police department ensemble, whose members are, to a person, quirky and interesting. Patrik himself has his quirks, one of which is his driving habits that are just this side of reckless and incidentally provide a bit of comic relief to the otherwise grim proceedings. Then there is Mellberg, who is chief in name only, given that he has all but ceded apparent authority in serious and significant investigations to Patrik. A number of subplots spin off from several of the characters. Some provide a brief but interesting distraction from what slowly becomes the main investigation for the police department, while others dip and swirl around --- and intersect with --- the primary plot.

Ah, yes. There’s that. THE LOST BOY takes places on the eve of the opening of the remodeling and relaunching of an old hotel in Fjällbacka as a health resort. There is a brother and sister team at the helm of the project, and all seems to be going well until Mats Sverin, a popular but reserved municipal auditor tasked with overseeing the financial side of the project, is found murdered in his apartment. Also missing are his laptop and all of his papers dealing with his oversight of the project. Given that he had some questions regarding certain aspects of what was occurring, it is easy to draw the conclusion that someone associated with the construction of the spa may be behind his violent and untimely death. Patrik, though, is not one to rush to judgment and begins working backward, inquiring as to where Mats had been before he took employment in Fjällbacka. This ultimately leads him, interestingly enough, to another murder after due course.

Meanwhile, it seems that Mats was keeping time, however briefly, with the lady on the island, who has some history of her own. Then there are those almost maddening interludes involving an occurrence on the island that slowly unfolded between 1870 and 1875 and is at least partially responsible for giving the island its haunted repute. Patrik arrives at the conclusion that the murder of Mats and the other killing may be linked, and he could be right, though not in the way that he thinks.

While there are a number of threads to follow in THE LOST BOY, Läckberg as always does an amazing job of creating the distinct and easily distinguishable characters who populate the various primary and secondary plots of her story. She also leaves one thread, created near the end of the book, hanging for resolution in a future volume. Hopefully, we in the United States will continue to be the recipients of these accumulating installments, so that we can see what is resolved --- as well as what is newly created --- in this fine, addictive series.