- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins (5 Feb 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007253958
- ISBN-13: 978-0007253951
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 487,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Preacher
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Review
Australian praise for ‘The Ice Princess’:
'A genuine whodunit that leaves you guessing right to the end, then throws in a few more twists in the final pages, just for good measure' Courier Mail
‘A Swedish murder mystery with a backdrop cold enough to make you put on a jumper… a Must Read’ Daily Telegraph
‘Well-written, plausible crime fiction’ Herald Sun
Praise for ‘The Ice Princess’:
‘Heart-stopping and heart-warming, The Ice Princess is a masterclass in Scandinavian crime writing’ Val McDermid
"Camilla Lackberg 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
Review
'Strong portrayals and ice-cold suspense from Sweden's new Agatha Christie' My Life 'Ingenious' Metropol 'This is unputdownable. Lackberg keeps the thrills coming until the very end' Viva 'Camilla Lackberg 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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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Camilla Läckberg laid good foundations for a crime series in her first book, The Ice Princess. In this, her second, she builds successfully on these foundations.
The story opens with a strong and very visual scene. A small boy, playing where he has been told not to, stumbles across the body of a young woman. And that's not all - when police examine the scene they find older remains of two more women below the first body.
The story then moves to Erica Falck and Patrik Hedstrøm, Camilla Läckberg's two principal serial characters. He is on leave and the couple is at home together in her childhood home when Patrik is called back to work to investigate the three killings.
Hooray for a detective who isn't an idiosyncratic maverick but a regular person with a familiar family life!
The two older bodies are swiftly linked to the cases of two young girls who went missing some twenty years ago. Back then, suspicion fell on the members of a prominent local family, and signs point to them again.
The Hult family is descended from Ephraim Hult, a distinguished and charismatic preacher and healer. Living in the shadow of such a man is not easy and the family has many deep seated troubles and feuds.
Meanwhile, Erica is heavily pregnant in the middle of a heatwave and she is plagued by friends and relations who expect to visit and be looked after. It's the price of living in a large house in beautiful countryside. And she worries about sister, who has left her abusive husband but will maybe take more missteps.
And so the story weaves between the police investigation, the family under scrutiny and Erica and Patrik's family life.
When I wrote about The Ice Princess I was a little critical of the balance between those three elements. Not this time around - it helps maybe that all of the continuing characters and relationships are in place this time around - the balance feels right and the contrast between the darkness of the crime and the warmth of the domestic storyline is interesting.
Camilla Läckberg shows emotional understanding and great psychological understanding. Her characterizations are spot on and her style is clear and exact, with not a word wasted.
The story twists and turns, before reaching a conclusion that is both unexpected and totally logical - something that many distinguished crime writers can't pull off this well.
Definitely a successful second outing - I look forward to the third.
The story opens with a strong and very visual scene. A small boy, playing where he has been told not to, stumbles across the body of a young woman. And that's not all - when police examine the scene they find older remains of two more women below the first body.
The story then moves to Erica Falck and Patrik Hedstrøm, Camilla Läckberg's two principal serial characters. He is on leave and the couple is at home together in her childhood home when Patrik is called back to work to investigate the three killings.
Hooray for a detective who isn't an idiosyncratic maverick but a regular person with a familiar family life!
The two older bodies are swiftly linked to the cases of two young girls who went missing some twenty years ago. Back then, suspicion fell on the members of a prominent local family, and signs point to them again.
The Hult family is descended from Ephraim Hult, a distinguished and charismatic preacher and healer. Living in the shadow of such a man is not easy and the family has many deep seated troubles and feuds.
Meanwhile, Erica is heavily pregnant in the middle of a heatwave and she is plagued by friends and relations who expect to visit and be looked after. It's the price of living in a large house in beautiful countryside. And she worries about sister, who has left her abusive husband but will maybe take more missteps.
And so the story weaves between the police investigation, the family under scrutiny and Erica and Patrik's family life.
When I wrote about The Ice Princess I was a little critical of the balance between those three elements. Not this time around - it helps maybe that all of the continuing characters and relationships are in place this time around - the balance feels right and the contrast between the darkness of the crime and the warmth of the domestic storyline is interesting.
Camilla Läckberg shows emotional understanding and great psychological understanding. Her characterizations are spot on and her style is clear and exact, with not a word wasted.
The story twists and turns, before reaching a conclusion that is both unexpected and totally logical - something that many distinguished crime writers can't pull off this well.
Definitely a successful second outing - I look forward to the third.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
'The Preacher' is the author's second novel.and like
the first ,set in a small Swedish coastal town,which is
basking in a hot summer.It is a riveting read ,and confirms
her place amongst the panoply of first-rate Scandinavian
crime novelists.
A naked young woman is found murdered,together with the
skeletons of two women who went missing from the town 20 years
previously.The likeable Detective Patrik Hedstrom,whose wife
Erica is heavily pregnant, leads the investigation,impeded by
some indolent and incompetent colleagues.After a teenaged female
holiday-maker goes missing the enquiry turns it's attention onto
the dysfunctional Hults family.
Interspersed with the police procedural aspects are details
of the relationships and domestic lives of some of the characters,
emphasing the fact that horrendous crime is often rooted amongst
ordinary people and their normal concerns.
The reader can never be sure as to the motivation for the
crimes,and it is this that holds one's attention to the end.
Excellent.
the first ,set in a small Swedish coastal town,which is
basking in a hot summer.It is a riveting read ,and confirms
her place amongst the panoply of first-rate Scandinavian
crime novelists.
A naked young woman is found murdered,together with the
skeletons of two women who went missing from the town 20 years
previously.The likeable Detective Patrik Hedstrom,whose wife
Erica is heavily pregnant, leads the investigation,impeded by
some indolent and incompetent colleagues.After a teenaged female
holiday-maker goes missing the enquiry turns it's attention onto
the dysfunctional Hults family.
Interspersed with the police procedural aspects are details
of the relationships and domestic lives of some of the characters,
emphasing the fact that horrendous crime is often rooted amongst
ordinary people and their normal concerns.
The reader can never be sure as to the motivation for the
crimes,and it is this that holds one's attention to the end.
Excellent.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Preacher" (Predikanten) is the second of Camilla Läckberg's mystery novels. I haven't read the first one, The Ice Princess, but that didn't cause any trouble for me as this works as a standalone novel.
A young girl is found murdered together with the remains of two young girls who were reported missing 24 years ago and never found. Patrik, a local police, tries to find the murderer and figure out the connection between the murder and the previous disappearances. Meanwhile, his wife Erica is at home, pregnant, and there's quite a lot of focus on their family life and especially a subplot involving Erica's sister Anne's problems with the men in her life that takes a bit too much focus off the main plot, the murder mystery, without adding anything to the novel. It's still a decent mystery novel with a well constructed mystery, although I can think of some minor plot holes that I won't go into so as not to spoil anything.
The Preacher is a readable but not great mystery novel. 3 stars.
A young girl is found murdered together with the remains of two young girls who were reported missing 24 years ago and never found. Patrik, a local police, tries to find the murderer and figure out the connection between the murder and the previous disappearances. Meanwhile, his wife Erica is at home, pregnant, and there's quite a lot of focus on their family life and especially a subplot involving Erica's sister Anne's problems with the men in her life that takes a bit too much focus off the main plot, the murder mystery, without adding anything to the novel. It's still a decent mystery novel with a well constructed mystery, although I can think of some minor plot holes that I won't go into so as not to spoil anything.
The Preacher is a readable but not great mystery novel. 3 stars.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Preacher
The Preacher
I bought this as I was very impressed with the author and in particular the Patrick Hedstrom series.
It makes good reading.
I bought this as I was very impressed with the author and in particular the Patrick Hedstrom series.
It makes good reading.
Published 13 days ago by pbirdpatbird
Camilla beats Hakan beats Indridason beats Nesbo beats Stig
May I be the first to congratulate you.
You are considering "tuning into" my current favourite, Skandi author. And trust me I've read a few. Read more
You are considering "tuning into" my current favourite, Skandi author. And trust me I've read a few. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Ginola14
Maybe this needs retranslating?
I'm afraid I gave up with this book after just over 40 pages.
- Already there is an overly convenient plot twist (the police database is down - as if! Read more
- Already there is an overly convenient plot twist (the police database is down - as if! Read more
Published 1 month ago by gentle reader
Murder and broken windows
There have been some great Scandinavian crime thrillers in recent years, most notably the novels of Nesbo and Larsson. Read more
Published 1 month ago by H. Thomas
whodunit
I'm a Camila Lackberg fan, I enjoy the change of location from the usual western novels and the thread of complicated personal realationships woven through her books.
Published 3 months ago by supacook
A really good read
I have recently read all five of Camila Lackberg's books and would not hesitate to recommend them. They are a fascinating mix of homeliness and mystery, and thrill to the end.
Published 3 months ago by honeybunch
An enjoyable read
I was a bit dubious at first about reading this book. I've already read Lackberg's first novel 'The Ice Princess' and was looking forward to reading some more of her books however... Read more
Published 3 months ago by LightningWolf
A great read
My wife's review:
Having just finished this novel, I must say that I thoroughtly enjoyed it. Read more
Having just finished this novel, I must say that I thoroughtly enjoyed it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. S. N. Pattison
Just awful
The plot is paper thin, the characters unconvincing (and neither likeable nor interesting) and worst of all the translation is TERRIBLE! Avoid at all costs!
Published 4 months ago by docket
I do recommend this book
I do recommend it.It's good crime book and I would say better than 1st part of Lackberg's trilogy.Still not as good as Larsson but worth reading.
Published 5 months ago by marta
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