Det fördolda

Det fördolda is the first in a series of crime novels featuring psychologist Sebastian Bergman, a criminal profiler, in the main role. This is Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s first crime novel and marks this year’s most sensational Swedish debut.

It begins with a call to the police. A fifteen-year-old boy, Roger, has gone missing, and his mother is worried. After a few days of careless delay in which the case gets overlooked, the local police department in Västerås finally starts looking for the boy. Haraldsson – who would really prefer to be at home impregnating his wife – is assigned the task of organising a search. Then a group of scouts makes an awful discovery in a marsh uncovering the horrific tragedy behind the boy’s disappearance.

The psychologist Sebastian Bergman, criminal profiler and one of Sweden’s top experts on serial killers, is in Västerås to settle the estate following the death of his mother. He isn’t working anymore following a personal tragedy. He lost his wife and daughter in the tsunami and has completely withdrawn from police work over the past few years. He is emotionally cut-off, a bit degenerated, and has relapsed into his sexual addiction.

But CID – which has taken over the case – needs his help. Sebastian Bergman finds himself, for the first time in a long while, drawn into a murder investigation. He becomes increasingly involved, and beyond that has his own highly personal reasons for wanting access to the police records.

All the leads point toward the Palmlöv School, the private school Roger attended. On the surface, an ideal environment for a young boy, but increasingly cracks begin to appear in its facade. Det fördolda is intelligent and riveting entertainment that never lets go. There is an authoritative tone to Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s writing, a confidence that puts everything where it needs to be in their first book, which is the first in a series with Sebastian Bergman in the lead role.

Be prepared to get hooked!

Extracts from reviews:

“Among the most talked-about literary debuts this autumn, is that of scriptwriter Michael Hjorth and TV presenter Hans Rosenfeldt, who like many write as a duo. You can tell that these are two people with lots of experience of writing. Det fördolda is a well-written story with a very well thought-out gallery of characters. /…/ Despite the gruesome murder, Det fördolda is a crime novel where action and blood-dripping details are left behind for more interesting depictions of the every-day – although complex and infected – relationships between people.  The cleverly increasing tension lies in the gradual mapping out of Roger’s life and it leaves you with a taste for more.”
Skånska Dagbladet (SE)

“Hans Rosenfeldt and Michael Hjorth have written a really good crime novel. /…/ The team work is described in detail, with all the dynamics and all the frustration over lost leads and incompetent colleagues in the Västerås city police force. But also people in the victim’s social sphere, family, friends and teachers, are described so vividly that now and then I find myself thinking that it is about a story from real life. It is skillfully done.

Rosenfeldt & Hjorth add something to the Swedish crime fiction scene. /.../ This bodes well for the future.”
Borås Tidning (SE)

“For seasoned crime fiction readers, the set-up is hardly new, nor are the frictions within the police force. The violence is raw and irrevocable, but the authors – who have made names for themselves as good script writers for television – never wallow in brutal sequences. Instead, they choose to stay close to a feel of a realistic police investigation. My thoughts go to Val McDermid’s series about Carol Jordan and Tony Hill.”
Östgöta Correspondenten (SE)

“After reading a few pages I am captivated. After that, it is hard to put the book down. It is good. Really good. /…/

Congratulations! The best Swedish debut since Larsson…?”
Kristianstadsbladet (SE)

“It doesn’t happen often, hardly even once a year, but when it does happen it is both welcomed and memorable; to get hold of a book that refuses to let you go. [A book] with such drive and such energy that the only thing you want to do is read. Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s debut crime novel Det fördolda is such a book. /…/

The book is exciting, interesting, with good characters and written in a flowing language. /…/

Det fördolda is a sensationally good Swedish crime novel.”
Hallands Nyheter (SE)

”Effective, well written and flawless are three pretty precise labels one can put on the Swedish author duo Mikael Hjorth and Hans Rosenfeldt’s first crime novel Det fördolda. The two authors, who began their co-operation with writing crime stories for Swedish Television’s drama department, are in short really good craftsmen. /…/

Hjorth & Rosenfeldt cannot be placed in a classic, Swedish crime tradition. Neither criticism on society, nor women’s crime fiction’s tiring predilection for every-day trivialities is offered here, instead a solid narrative, where nothing is black or white. The good ones are never really good, and the evil are at least nuanced, and the novel almost has its own chronology in a good enough, but never straight plot.

Det fördolda is well written and well translated, with believable characters and precise descriptions of the setting.”
Politiken (DK)

“The book is of customary good Swedish quality.

There is lots of psychological tension, while the authors drive the reader in circles. There are excellent twists and turns in the plot, and they succeed in concealing the killer along the way. The book is entertaining, and in the end there are elegant turns, which promises well and serves an interesting development for the next installment.”
MetroXpress (DK)

“Det fördolda is a glimmering crime novel, if it is a well-executed plot you’re after.”
Ny Nordisk Litteratur (DK)