“Everyone is convinced that they would never be taken in by a cult. But the truth is that any of us could fall into the trap of one of them”, assures Camilla Läckberg (Fjällbacka, 1974) to La Vanguardia during a telematic interview. The queen of Nordic crime has been paying attention to these secret societies for some time together with Henrik Fexeus (Örebro, 1971), her faithful writing partner, with whom she has just published The Sect (Planet / Column), the second book in a trilogy. which began with The Mentalist and which has sold a million copies in just twelve months.
On the reflection of his partner, Fexeus, a mentalist by profession as well as a writer, he makes a note: “Today many sects are not religious but arrive disguised as something else, such as self-help movements or companies that sell you a product but have a sectarian structure. The point is that at first they bombard you with a lot of love and, little by little, they integrate you and separate you from your environment. When they have left you isolated, then they begin to ask you for things and that is when problems and threats arrive. Although you may not even notice them, since by then they have absorbed you.
In this story, in which the agent Mina Dabiri and the mentalist Vincent Walter return to the ring, the sect disguises itself in the form of practical courses to manage stress, or cope with grief, among others, but that have no other purpose than to capture to executives. “They are mostly people with studies and even so they fall. The underlying psychology seems incredible to me”, admits Läckberg.
The truth is that the subject is something that “fascinates” both authors. Fexeus himself, a very popular television figure on the Swedish scene, came to consider creating a program in which one of these societies would be formed. “Build her from scratch so I can understand how she works and see up close how her techniques are polished.” Although the format was not carried out, it does encourage us to do the same study with the fury towards certain political classes. “The rise of the extreme right, not only in Sweden but in a large part of Europe, and the acceptance of its discourses, such as xenophobia, is something that, in addition to being scary, allows us to answer many of these questions.”
This is precisely a theme that is present in the background of the novel and that worries both Läckberg and Fexeus. “A decade ago it was unthinkable to hear the atrocities of the extreme right on prime time television. Extremism is dangerous and always leaves someone out. But, like Henrik, I believe that novels should capture the time in which they take place. And this is happening at a current time, in which this movement has turned an entire country upside down, so we could not ignore it”, Camilla points out.
Another aspect that worries writers and that is why they reflect on their pages is “the constant fear that something could happen to your children. In fact, the novel starts from the disappearance of a child in a playground. Fortunately, Läckberg stresses that “when we write about disappearances we try to lessen this fear. We always keep in mind that we are dealing with a fiction. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to work.”
Given these scenarios as a backdrop and with the sects as the main plot, one of the questions that already arose in the first book and that is repeated now is what a mentalist can do. “We are people who use theater, magic and psychology to create the illusion that we can read minds. But in order to achieve that, it is essential to become an expert in body language. Now, as much as the character of Vincent, that his skills allow him to create the profile of a criminal? I feel more comfortable giving training to the Police on some techniques than not telling them who the murderer of a crime is”. That is precisely what he does. “This very morning they sent me an email from the Stockholm Police in case I could give them a workshop on how to positively influence the perception of society in marginal neighborhoods. Here if I can help, just like in the theater or writing books. But not playing police.”
Despite the fact that they are in full promotion of the book, Läckberg and Fexeus are counting down the delivery of their third manuscript, of which they have provided some progress. “In English it will be titled Mirage. I mean, mirage. It will be a story that will put the reader in the tunnels of the Stockholm subway, where they will find some bones that seem to come from some kind of ritual. It is a book that will put more focus than ever on Vincent and whose end will turn everything that is known about the saga up to now, “the authors point out.
And after this collaboration and these years of joint writing, what? “The future is uncertain. For now, both of us will go our separate ways and develop our individual projects. But never say never. And less with Henrik Fexeus involved. I never thought that he would be able to write something with four hands. And less with a friend whom I have known for so many years. Luckily, we haven’t quarreled and the work has been fun as well as fruitful. Who knows what adventures lie ahead. I can’t wait to find out”, concludes Läckberg”.
