The Mail on Sunday

We’re all dying to visit Sweden’s ‘murder’ capital

It’s a beautiful part of Scandinavi­a and has seen 80 (fictional) killings. No wonder ...

- By Sarah Turner

EVERYTHING about t he t i ny Swedish village of Fjallbacka screams holiday perfection. From my vantage point next to the church, I look down towards the harbour and a cluster of red-roofed, weatherboa­rded houses, set against clear blue skies and granite cliffs.

But Fjallbacka (population: 987) has seen more than 80 fictional murders take place within i ts confines, thanks to the works of Camilla Lackberg, the bestsellin­g author who grew up here.

‘Do you see that diving board?’ asks Asa Cunniff, a nice Swedish woman who recently returned to the area after several decades living in Maidenhead. I look down to where the sun glistens on the water and see a jetty. ‘In The Drowning, a body was found hanging from it,’ she says matter-of-factly.

Close to the border with Norway and a 90-minute drive from Gothenburg, Fjallbacka has some of the country’s most spectacula­r scenery (which is saying something) and is a hugely popular holiday destinatio­n for Swedes.

Ingrid Bergman loved it here too – she spent every summer on the nearby island of Dannholmen. There’s a small tribute to her by the harbour. Asa points out a photograph of a boy receiving a prize from Bergman for a sailing regatta. ‘That’s Ingemar. He now runs boat trips,’ she adds.

Fortunatel­y, away from Lackberg’s Nordic noir novels, the only screams in summer are of children by the waterfront angling for ice creams and excited Lackberg fans spotting the locations for murders.

Asa has seen a huge increase in demand for her tours, particular­ly among Britons. She points out the waterside cottage that Lackberg still owns and visits regularly.

As summer ends, the lobster season gets under way. Fishermen in the nearby village of Grebbestad run crustacean safaris. We set sail under cloudless skies with brothers Per and Lars. In these parts, lobsters are known as ‘black gold’ and each one sells for about £40 a kilo. They are highly prized since the cold water means that they grow slowly and have exceptiona­l flavour. Since this is an orderly society, every lobster is measured and the small ones and the pregnant ones ( where eggs can be seen) are put back in the water. And since this is a civilised safari, we have fika – coffee and biscuits – during a break. Another passenger brings out some schnapps and I feel myself becoming more Nordic by the minute. At the end, ten lobsters have been hauled in along with more than 20 crabs.

Back at Fjallbacka, I go for a walk along the Jungsklyft­an, a dramatic gorge that towers over the village. The Preacher, Lackberg’s second novel set in the village, starts with a small boy coming across a woman there he assumes is sleeping.

My hotel, the Stora Hotellet Bryggan, also features regularly in Lackberg’s novels.

A keen cook, the author has even collaborat­ed with the restaurant on the menu. Today, there are just a few other tables occupied as I watch the sun set over the water and I eat my lobster with a huge sense of contentmen­t.

 ??  ?? HOLIDAY PERFECTION: The pretty harbour at Fjallbacka
HOLIDAY PERFECTION: The pretty harbour at Fjallbacka
 ??  ?? BLACK GOLD: Per and Lars on one of their lobster fishing trips. Below: Author Camilla Lackberg
BLACK GOLD: Per and Lars on one of their lobster fishing trips. Below: Author Camilla Lackberg

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