The Ice Princess: A Novel

I loved all the Patrick/Erica series. They are books that draw u in to this small coastal town in Sweden with recurring characters and some very complicated storylines. Most have some type of historical backstories that enrich them. However, I would have to say I had guessed who the bad guy was by halfway through in all or most of all of them. But not all the details. That said, I would still read them knowing that beforehand because they are so rich.

The Ice Princess is a most uneven book. At least in translation, it sometimes seems to be written for ten year olds. Sometimes it appears a ten year old wrote it. The author deals with child and wife abuse often in stereotypical language. She dwells on the most ordinary aspects of her main characters. I was surprised at how much like heroines and heroes in US romances and TV shows they sometimes seemed. And yet, the characters came alive and the story twisted and turned in interesting ways, and the setting in a Swedish village is vivid. It is, finally, fun to read in spite of itself.

Camilla Lackberg's "The Ice Princess" is a mystery full of mysteries. There's Alex Wijkner, the murder victim, found partially frozen in the bathtub of her childhood-turned-summer home by the caretaker and Erica, Alex's estranged friend from childhood. Why was she there and not at her home in Göteborg with her husband, Henrik, Erica wonders. Why had Alex abandon the close friendship with Erica while they were in grade school and moved away without even saying goodbye? Then there is the Lorentz family: mother Nelly, adopted son Jan, and missing son Nils, who simply vanished on January day in 1977 and was never found. Why had Alex kept an article about Nils' disappearance hidden in a drawer in her childhood bedroom? Why had Nelly Lorentz come to Alex's funeral reception and spent most of her time talking to Alex's sister, Julia? And there's the mystery of a painting Alex kept hidden in her closet at Fjällbacka of herself, naked, painted by her childhood classmate, Anders Nilsson, whose adult life is characterized by frequent extreme drunken binges occasionally interrupted with bouts of creativity. Other, more domestic mysteries, also wind their way through this complex narrative: Will Erica, who has returned to Fjällbacka after her parents' death in a car accident, keep her childhood home from the greedy hands of her brother-in-law, who she is sure is physically abusing her sister, Anna? What is the issue between Dan, her former lover and still close friend, and his wife, Pernilla? Why does Pernilla, after all these years, suddenly seem to think she and Dan are once again romantically involved? And can Patrik, the Police Detective investigating Alex's death, possibly be "the one" for Erica? I found "The Ice Princess" a solid whodunit with many interesting side stories. I enjoyed the characters and the setting and found myself hoping Lackberg has written other as equally engaging mysteries. There were, at times, seemingly abrupt shifts of scene but this could be due to the Kindle formatting and not the author's style. Note: This review is of the Kindle version of this work.

I am a fan of Scandinavian mysteries, and count Karin Fossum, Henning Mankell, Arnaldur Indridason, Johan Theorin, Mari Jungstedt, and Yrsa Sigundadottir, among others, as my favorite authors. Camilla Lackberg's "The Ice Princess" is an interesting read, though it is slow and plodding in parts. The story is set in a seemingly idyllic fishing town in Sweden, where a beautiful and reclusive young woman, Alex, is found dead in her parents' home, seemingly a suicide, with her wrists slashed in the bath-tub. Erica Falck, a biographer and Alex's childhood friend is the second person to discover the body and this sets the stage for her eventual deep involvement in the case. Together with policeman and old school friend, Patrik Hedstrom, the pair do their best to solve the mystery (independent of each other and later together) when it turns out that Alex's death was not due to suicide but murder. The story unfolds very slowly, there really is no fast-paced action here. What readers get instead is a meticulously-detailed plot with lots of twists and different story arcs, all weaved together in a fine example of story-telling. Erica is a complex character - having had a strained relationship with her mother (who apparently was indifferent to Erica), she has become very protective of her married, younger sister Anna, who is under the control of her domineering husband, Lucas. Erica shies away from serious relationships with men, which changes when she meets old school pal Patrik and they begin investigating the case informally. Patrik is the nice guy who gets along with everyone and who digs deep to get at the truth. There are many other characters in the story - beginning with the murder suspect & resident drunk Anders, Anders' mom Vera, society lady Nelly, the dead woman's wealthy husband Henrik, Erica's high school sweetheart Dan and many more. As the story unfolds, dark secrets are unearthed, revealing some very troubling and horrifying family secrets that some would prefer stay buried. I found "The Ice Princess" to be a satisfying read, though it could have done with better editing as some parts seemed more like "fillers" and only served to slow down the story. I do look forward to reading Ms. Lackberg's other novels.

If you like to read mysteries that take place in far away places, then you will enjoy the Ice Princess. Camilla Lackberg creates a gripping mystery in a remote Swedish town. She manages to create interesing characters and also makes me want to travel to the town. I love mysteries like this. I bought this in the Barcelona airport to read on the trip home to Atlanta. Very enjoyable.

Kriminalroman Svenska, 319 sidor I debutromanen Isprinsessan förlägger Camilla Läckberg handlingen vintertid till sin hemort Fjällbacka och låter morden växa fram ur småstadsandans sämre sidor. Hon tecknar ett porträtt av ett slutet samhälle där alla, på gott och ont, vet allt om varandra och där det yttre skenet har stor betydelse. Något som under fel omständigheter kan bli ödesdigert...