“Little Star” by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Thomas Dunne Books, 2012)
From the international bestselling author of the chilling and horrific Let the Right One, Handling the Undead and Harbor comes a new novel that appears innocent and charming at first, but eventually leads the reader down a long dark path, covered in blood and filled with bodies. Little Star will lull you into enjoyment and then terrify you all the way to the end.
Lennart finds an abandoned baby in the woods, left for dead. He brings it home, feeds and looks after it, much to the reluctance of his wife, Laila. A musical duo who have essentially disappeared into obscurity, Lennart finds a new lease of life with this baby who grows to become a beautiful young girl with a unique singing voice. Jerry, the son, eventually looks after the girl, moving to Stockholm, after his parents suffer a gruesome end, and the child enters a national singing contest and becomes a celebrity, renowned throughout Sweden. But she also has plans of her own, viewed through her fractured, distorted lens of a psyche, with an idea of what is good and right not shared by many others.
Lindqvist’s novel is an addictive read, much like his others, with a seemingly simple story that turns into something dark and sinister, combined with the harsh geology of Sweden, and his own unusual characters. Little Star will keep you up late, and by then you’ll be too scared to go to bed.
Originally written on November 10, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
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