The Stonecutter by Camilla Lackberg

 

Patrik Hedstrom, a local Swedish detective, has just received news that no policeman wants to hear.  A body has been found and it is that of a six year old girl.  Patrik, who has just had a baby girl with his girlfriend, is affected more than usual by the news and especially after he views the body and sees that it is the daughter of his girlfriend's best friend.  

There are plenty of people to look at.  The parents, a local doctor and his wife, are in a strained marriage and the father doesn't seem to have an alibi.  The maternal grandmother with whom the family lives is caught up in a years long feud with her next door neighbor.  Would that neighbor kill a child to get back at her?  She has reported the neighbor's son to the police several times.  That son, grown, lives in a cottage on his parent's land and has Asperberger's which makes him suspicious to those who don't understand the syndrome.  The doctor's is estranged from his parents and his father is especially furious with him and caught up in religion.  Could there be something there?  And of course, there is always the possibility of a stranger murder.  Can Patrik solve the case?

This is the third novel in the Patrik Hedstrom series.  It is interesting to see how police procedure differs in another country.  Lackberg gives a lot of backstory to each character and the reader can see how family situations affect other parts of characters' lives.  It is hard to read about a young child's murder but it is treated in a way that allows the reader to do so.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.