Title: Sweden’s Child: Murders at the Fair
Author: Elaine Cornell
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1532098659
Pages: 162
Genre: Biographic / Thriller
Reviewed by: Philip Zozzaro
Pacific Book Review
The year was 1893 – there is a killer stalking the vulnerable in Chicago. He preys on their trust and naivete and then pounces. The police are baffled, the numbers of disappeared young women and the occasional men are climbing. The World’s Fair (Columbian Exposition) is currently being held, vast numbers of citizens and tourists are attending, and the crimes are drawing bad press. Ida is a Swedish immigrant who works for the wealthy Randolf family. The patriarch of the Randolf family is increasingly concerned about the abductions and possible murders and he wants the women under his employ exercising special care.
Meanwhile, the crimes of H.H. Holmes continued. Holmes lives a sociopathic double life, running a boarding house with his unsuspecting wife. He knows his way around knockout drugs as he is a physician and has worked in a pharmacy. Once he is certain of his victim, they are helpless as it is too late. Chicago is not his first base of operations; he relocates when the heat gets turned up. However, unbeknownst to Holmes, someone is onto him and his depravities.
Ida has been afflicted with vivid dreams and visions for far too long. Her dreams have foretold the deaths of loved ones. She is a young woman of sweet disposition and strong work ethic, but her nighttime visions as of late are leaving her spellbound. Every time she closes her eyes, she wanders into the path of a serial killer. She sees the victim applying for a job, being gently interrogated by her potential employer and then lured to her demise. Ida’s nightmares draw the attention of her employer, whom she promptly informs. She has noted certain aspects of the alleged killer that might aid in his capture.
Despite the trauma of her visions, Ida strives to maintain normalcy in her day-to-day life. Longtime friends are coming to visit, they are intent on visiting the marvels and innovations of the World’s Fair. Ida is also the object of multiple male suitors who want to court the lovely young woman. Yet, the dreams keep coming, and Ida feels she will never sleep soundly again while a madman stalks the innocent.
Sweden’s Child is an entertaining semi-biographical book about young Ida (Inga) Ohlsdotter and her life in an ever-expanding world, some amazing and some terrifying. The terror and paranoia conveyed by the killer on the loose is palpable. A coming-of-age tale mixed in with a horrific true crime narrative makes for an entertaining read from beginning to end. This book will appeal to the Biography/True Crime lover, while also reaching out to those who love books about the past.
