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The Ice Princess
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Now that Scandinavian crime fiction is very firmly on the map (along with much other crime in translation), it has become clear to readers that Henning Mankel -- the Trojan horse for the breakthrough of Swedish crime writers -- was only the tip of the iceberg. Now readers in Britain and America are starting to discover that there are other writers of real accomplishment out there. And a name that will soon be on many lips is that of Camilla Leckberg -- already a very well-known name in her native Sweden, with five novels under her belt. The first to reach these shores, however, is The Ice Princess -- and its phenomenal success in Sweden looks set to be replicated over here. Leckberg has been described as Sweden's new Agatha Christie, and although there is some truth in the description, it doesn't tell the whole story. We have a Christie-like provincial village (here, Fjällbacka, in which Leckberg herself was born) and a variety of suspects for a very unpleasant murder. Also Christie-like is the machine-tooled precision of the plot, but Leckberg is very much a contemporary writer, offering a picture of modern society that is as penetrating as her narrative is involving.
The writer Erica Falck has returned to her home town on the death of her parents, but discovers the community in turmoil. A close childhood friend, Alex, has been found dead. Her wrists have been slashed, and her body is frozen solid in a bath that has turned to ice. Erica decides to write a memoir about the charismatic but withdrawn Alex, more as a means of overcoming her own writer’s block than solving the mystery of Alex's death. But Erica finds that her interest in Alex is becoming almost obsessive. She begins to work with local detective Patrik Hedstrom, and the duo soon find that some unpleasant secrets are buried beneath the comfortable surface of the town.
On the evidence of this first book of Leckberg’s to be translated, we have yet another authoritative crime writer from abroad to add to an ever-growing list. Let's hope translations of her successive novels follow quickly. --Barry Forshaw
Review
Praise for ‘The Ice Princess’:
‘Heart-stopping and heart-warming, ‘The Ice Princess’ is a masterclass in Scandinavian crime writing’ Val McDermid
‘Camilla Läckberg is a more than welcome addition to the growing ranks of Scandinavian crime writers translated into English. With its sharp emotional nuances and psychological insight, The Ice Princess builds in suspense as the author turns her clear eye on the buried secrets and contemporary relationships of a small, isolated community. I predict that Fjallbacka and its crimes and people will soon be as poplular here as they are in her native Sweden’ Peter Robinson
European reviews for ‘The Ice Princess’:
‘The plot is simply superb, in an almost Agatha Christie-style. The cast of characters emerge with clarity and feel quite genuine… secrets come out in the 331-page book that bring about more things than murder. I read it in one go. A book that you can’t put down’ Sala Allehanda
‘Camilla Läckberg is a Crime Queen’ Bild am Sontag
‘Strong portrayals and ice-cold suspense from Sweden's new Agatha Christie’ My Life
‘Ingenious’ Metropol
'This is unputdownable. Läckberg keeps the thrills coming until the very end' Viva
'Camilla Läckberg was voted Swedish Writer of the Year for 2005. Bring on the next one!' Crimezone.nl
‘An amazingly mature, well thought-out and exciting criminal novel…Leckberg stands out as the best first-time offender of the year’ Jury
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Set in the small fishing community of Fjällbacka, the finding of the body of Alex Wijkner partially frozen in the bath with her wrists slashed is the start of a series of events that threatens to uncover dark secrets that some residents would prefer stayed buried.
Alex's childhood friend, authoress Erica Falck is one of the first at the scene of the apparent suicide and she with Policeman Patrik Hedström (another childhood friend) find themselves working together as they look into the death of their former school friend. The budding relationship between these two, tentative and unsure of each other, is central to the storyline and whilst quite nicely done, at times had chicklit overtones.
After struggling with the first few chapters, I really liked it. A 'slow-burner' rather than a 'page-turner' that flowed well and kept me reading to the end. The small town community with its twitching curtains was well depicted and the characters interested me. There seemed to be quite a lot of side threads where additional characters were introduced with quite lengthy background detail only to then vanish from the pages which I found quite strange, but on the whole an enjoyable read and I'll certainly be reading the second book in the series The Preacher.
Alex's childhood friend, authoress Erica Falck is one of the first at the scene of the apparent suicide and she with Policeman Patrik Hedström (another childhood friend) find themselves working together as they look into the death of their former school friend. The budding relationship between these two, tentative and unsure of each other, is central to the storyline and whilst quite nicely done, at times had chicklit overtones.
After struggling with the first few chapters, I really liked it. A 'slow-burner' rather than a 'page-turner' that flowed well and kept me reading to the end. The small town community with its twitching curtains was well depicted and the characters interested me. There seemed to be quite a lot of side threads where additional characters were introduced with quite lengthy background detail only to then vanish from the pages which I found quite strange, but on the whole an enjoyable read and I'll certainly be reading the second book in the series The Preacher.
31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm astonished. I just finished "The Ice Princess" -- and clicked on on AmazonUK to order three more Camilla Lackberg books. I absolutely loved "Princess", thought it was well written, tightly plotted, interesting, unique and filled with little thought-provoking tidbits (eg, "The silence was something he couldn't take back.") Then -- just for the heck of it -- I decided to see how much everyone else had loved it too, so I came to read other reviews. I was astonished at the negativity! Really? Did we read the same book? Steven Murray, the translator? I found little if anything to criticize -- I live in Israel, and as one might assume, the cultural differences between Sweden and Israel are considerable. In spite of that, what I enjoyed so much about Ms Lackberg's book was that her characters were all people I knew, which is to say, I saw people I knew in them. They came across as real people. I've read Jo Nesbo, Karin Fossum, loved Henning Mankell until I decided for political reasons not to buy his books anymore. I liked those authors too, but the difference, I think, was in characterization. Nesbo's characters, as well as some of Fossums and certainly Mankells, tended toward the stereotype of silent and depressive Scandinavians, whereas Lackberg's seemed relatively normal. And calling this "chic lit"? Wow -- the ultimate insult, both to women and literature! I don't see anything trivially romantic, trite or "beach read" about this book at all. Well -- there you have it! At least we've given potential readers two very different opinions -- readers run hot or cold, not much in between.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'd been put off buying any Camilla Läckberg books because of the amazingly polarised reviews of "The Ice Princess", the first in the series. One reviewer called her books "charity shop fodder," and lo and behold I found "The Ice Princess" in one. I'm pleased I did: the book isn't perfect but it's a very decent first novel, a bit of a mixture of Barbara Vine and Ruth Rendell herself, and of Thomas H. Cook (read him soon if you haven't found him already). As with these other authors, the plot's origins lie well back in the past, and as each onion layer is peeled off you learn a little bit more, until the whole dreadful truth is revealed. It's certainly very obviously the work of a woman (surely no man would write of the dangers of sitting on cold benches!), and true that the powerful amongst the men aren't very nice, but the women aren't perfect either, and I reckon the two sexes get about equal treatment by and large. And surely the reason that Eilart appears again at the very end is simply to show that a deserving husband can eventually get the beter of a ghastly wife ... it's just a PS from the author saying "hey, this isn't all one-way anti-male stuff, you know". I thought Steven T. Murray's translation was perfectly OK, if looking a little rushed in places, and yes, perhaps a little more editorial supervision would have made a better book ... but I'm going to get the next one direct from Amazon and read the whole series.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Takes a while but it's worth it...
This book definitely isn't what I would call 'all action'. Some people would see it as quite slow and I suppose it is because it's more of a who dunnit rather than a murder... Read more
Published 15 days ago by A. Douglas
Heart warming yes - heart stopping, not quite
I have written at some length about what I like about Camilla Lackbergs writing style under my review of "The "Preacher".
And this book is not as good by some distance. Read more
And this book is not as good by some distance. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Ginola14
6 stars easily!!
Without doubt the best book I have read this year. At the moment there is a cult in Scandinavian novelists and Lackberg is as good as it gets. This novel ticks all the boxes. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Jane Baker
Great Stuff
For those of you who are into the Scandavian crime books it is a must, for those of you who arent and wonder what it is all about then read this. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Mr. Peter J. Wade
Decent crime drama
I read a lot of crime drama and Lackberg is a welcome addition, the editing/writing could do with tightening up, but this is her 1st, so maybe it has been in later books. Read more
Published 1 month ago by JG
Disappointed
I hadn't read any of this author's novels before so I was hoping to add this and many more of her books to my library but im afraid its not to be... Read more
Published 1 month ago by booklover
loved it!
I trully enjoyed the Ice Princess and have already bought the Preacher and the Stone Cutter to read. Read more
Published 1 month ago by nassia
Third rate dross
Having enjoyed so much top class Scandinavian crime fiction in the last few years - Mankell, Nesbo, Nesser, Fossum, Indridasson- I picked up my first Camilla Lackberg with high... Read more
Published 2 months ago by AlanF
Another great Nordic crimewriter
I really liked this book. It comes from a different angle with the unsavoury truth slowly emerging through a variety of twists and turns which keep you guessing to the end. Read more
Published 3 months ago by RoverP
I have read them all.
What were the 1*,2* and 3* people reading it couldn't have been the Ice Princess. I thought it was excellent because it was about the secret stories that are in any small town. Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. Gibson
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