Missing child thriller set in Sweden

24th October 2021

End of Summer by Anders de la Motte – missing child thriller set in Sweden. Translated by Neil Smith.

It is 1983 and four year old Billy has gone missing. He didn’t come in for his tea when called… and is believed to have wandered into a crop field adjacent to his family garden in a village in rural Sweden. What happened to him there? Despite days of searching nothing was found (except one of his shoes in the field). Eventually the search stopped, and an uneasy calm descended. There were many rumours but never any facts to support them. Eventually the village just ‘accepted’ what had happened.

It is now the present day. Billy’s sister (Vera as she is now called, Veronica as she was called in 1983) is working in Stockholm – helping people survive trauma in their lives. She runs a counselling group. A new member turns up at her group. He seems to know an awful lot about Billy. Is it pure coincidence that he has appeared? Vera thinks not. After putting aside some suspicions, she and he head back to the village to see if they can, in effect, re-open the case. Many family and local feathers are ruffled… their investigations are not welcome. The more they probe, the more sinister and mysterious the case becomes. A small village can hold many secrets.

Finally it becomes clear exactly what happened all those years ago – and the story moves to a well crafted conclusion.

End of Summer is in the very best traditions of Scandi noir. Anders creates a very complex story and tells it extremely well. The characters and events are believable. The family and village relationships are interwoven.

Definitely recommended.

Tony for the TripFiction team

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