\New Swedish Books, spring 2019 1
25 Spring 2019 Sanna Juhlin (text) b. 1970 Sandra
Fröjd (ill.) b. 1993 The Crow Mystery – The Top Secret Three Chapter book, 6 –9 years, 97 p. Publisher Ordalaget bokförlag www.ordalaget.se Rights Ordalaget Bokförlag Mattias Henrikson mattias@ordalaget.se Sanna Juhlin Works Hemliga trean, 1 – 5, chapter books, 2016 – 19 Fridolf den lilla bilen, picture book, 2018 Lenny Fox: den coolaste reportern i Dalen, chapter book, 2018 Sandra Fröjd works at a publishing house and as a freelance illustrator. The Crow Mystery In the fourth part of the series The Top Secret Three a clever combination of the detective novel and social critique is established. Sounds are coming from the castle's attic. It isn’t crows, as the detectives first think, but a refugee family that the lady of the castle’s personal assistant has hidden there. And as it happens the lady herself has a hidden secret: she’s been using her mobility scooter fraudulently. She’s made up a disability in order to get an assistant, someone to keep her company in the large, gloomy castle. The Crow Mystery has perhaps a few more words than similar titles in other detective series, but it is still easygoing and fun. Thanks to its playful format and its topical theme it is sure to be widely read. Right in the middle of this mystery for children it introduces subjects such as migration and loneliness. It uses foreignness of different kinds as an exciting ingredient, which in the long run, when the reading has been completed, might lead to conversations about who are allowed to stay, and about how loneliness can be combatted by giving more people access to our society. Photo: Fröken fotograf Photo: Sebastian Leborg