The Gallows Bird by Camilla Läckberg (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of The Gallows Bird by Camilla Läckberg. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, including alcoholism, reality television and family. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 48-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Camilla Läckberg
• Presentation of The Gallows Bird
• Summary of The Gallows Bird
• Character study
  • Inspector Patrick Hedström and family
  • The members of the Tanumshede police force
  • Lars Kruse
  • The reality TV show contestants
• Analysis of The Gallows Bird
  • A crime novel
  • A critique of contemporary society
  • The heart of the novel: the psychology of family

About The Gallows Bird

The Gallows Bird is the fourth novel in Camilla Läckberg’s series of crime novels, which are set in the author’s own hometown of Fjällbacka and focus on the characters of Erika Falck and Patrik Hedström. In The Gallows Bird, Erika and Patrik are preparing for their imminent wedding when Patrik is drawn into an unusual murder investigation, which he soon realises bears striking similarities to various other unsolved murders around the country, suggesting the work of a serial killer. Läckberg combines the suspense of a psychological thriller with social criticism and domestic drama to create a layered novel which is equal parts crime fiction and a portrait of modern life in Sweden.

About Camilla Läckberg

Camilla Läckberg is an award-winning Swedish crime writer. Born in Fjällbacka in 1974, she has published a series of 10 novels to date, all of which centre around fictional crime investigations in her own hometown. She has been praised for her alternative approach to crime fiction, which is more optimistic in tone than noir fiction and which devotes significant time to developing the main and secondary characters’ personal lives instead of focusing exclusively on the main plotline following the criminal investigation. She received the Swedish People’s Literature Award in 2006, and her novel The Ice Princess won France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for Best International Crime Novel in 2008.