After ten volumes of the detective series Fjallbacka (The Ice PrincessActes Sud, 2008), where we follow the investigations of the novelist Erica Falck and Inspector Patrik Hedström, a few feminist novels (merciless women2020), children’s books (Super Charlie2012) and cookbooks (At the table with Camilla Läckberg2012), the prolific Swedish author Camilla Läckberg has made an accomplice in the person of the internationally renowned mentalist Henrik Fexeus (The Art of Reading MindsSt. Martin’s Essentials, 2019).
Written with four hands, The box to magic, the first of a trilogy — which explains the unanswered questions — features detective Mina Dahbiri who, after the discovery of a woman’s body pierced with swords in a box similar to those used by illusionists, calls on Vincent Walder, a famous mentalist, to help him better identify the author of the murder. Murders…
“The poster in the lobby touted him as the ‘master mentalist’, but he regretted accepting that title. It was too… simplistic. Vulgar. But on the other hand, it wasn’t so bad to hide behind such a title. It could give the impression that he was a fictional character. ” We can not say it better !
Besides the inevitable attraction between the two partners, Läckberg and Fexeus did not skimp to spice up their relationship. He is ASD (autism spectrum disorder), she is germaphobic: “She opened a kitchen drawer and looked at the box of extra-thin disposable gloves. She knew she didn’t need it. No one risked their life by touching a pot of yogurt. She the knew. But the very idea of opening the fridge and touching the food without any protection made her stomach knot. »
Sometimes this results in touching scenes where one helps the other to overcome their anxieties, and vice versa: “What you are feeling at this precise moment is horrible, but it is not the reality, says the voice. It’s simply the effect of hormones, adrenaline and cortisol that take over your body and affect your feelings. »
More often, we are entitled to comical moments where the authors borrow more from situation comedy than from thrillers. Add to the improbable but endearing tandem of stereotypical characters — the toxic male, the hardened bachelor, the exhausted dad, not to mention the strong and fragile boss and the hysterical fan.
However, these manifestations of humor and lightness offer a striking contrast with the unbearable violence and the poisonous climate of this captivating story set in Stockholm and Kvibille in 1982 today. In fact, in the pure tradition of nordic black, the Sweden presented to us by the queen of Scandinavian thrillers and her sidekick is nothing short of idyllic. Especially for women, immigrants and the intellectually disabled.
If they struggle to preserve the mystery in the story set 40 years earlier, the authors manage to cover their tracks for more than 600 pages and offer a tragic, sad and hectic triple finale. We are already looking forward to the second volume.