The Collector
A missing child. No witnesses.
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- £1.99
Publisher Description
'Gripping, endearing, dark, and funny ... Highly recommended' Harlan Coben
When 10-year-old Lukas disappears, investigator Erik Schäfer has little to work with. Until he discovers that the boy is obsessed with pareidolia – the psychological phenomenon where we see faces in random things – and has recently photographed an old barn door. Journalist Heloise Kaldan thinks she recognizes the barn – but from where?
Kaldan drops her current article, a controversial investigation into soldiers with PTSD, to cover the story of the missing boy. But when she realises that the traumatized soldiers are mixed up in Lukas' case, Schäfer and Heloise must try to separate optical illusion from reality – before it's too late.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Danish author Hancock's tense sequel to 2021's The Corpse Flower finds journalist Heloise Kaldan, who's five weeks pregnant and conflicted about her current relationship, visiting a Copenhagen abortion clinic. Just as her attentive physician, Jens Bjerre, is about to test her for hyperthyroidism, he's interrupted by an urgent call—his 10-year-old son, Lukas, has gone missing after school—and in a panic he leaves the clinic. Heloise and her compassionate police detective friend, Erik Schäfer, investigate the disappearance of the boy, who was keenly interested in pareidolia, "a psychological phenomenon in which random patterns are interpreted as faces." A recent photo on Lukas's phone shows a barn door that looks like a face. The quest for answers presents Heloise and Erik with a host of social concerns that at times overwhelm the main plot line, including Denmark's refugee problem, alcoholism, domestic violence, child abuse, and even the American-led involvement in Afghanistan. Hancock, though, does a good job portraying her leads' complex motivations. Scandi noir fans will want to stay tuned.
