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Returning to her hometown of Fjallbacka after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning. Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice-cold bath, it seems that she has taken her own life.Erica conceives a book about the beautiful but remote Alex, one that will ans Returning to her hometown of Fjallbacka after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning.
Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice-cold bath, it seems that she has taken her own life.Erica conceives a book about the beautiful but remote Alex, one that will answer questions about their own shared past. While her interest grows into an obsession, local detective Patrik Hedstrom is following his own suspicions about the case. But it is only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about a small town with a deeply disturbing past. There is no lesson. There is also not much intrigue or suspense either. Lackberg comes up with good ideas for plots but doesn't follow through with There is no lesson. There is also not much intrigue or suspense either.
Lackberg comes up with good ideas for plots but doesn't follow through with sharp prose or suspense built up over the chapters as the reader discovers clues along with the detective. Instead, everything was held back until the end in a very unexciting anti-climactic finish.Lackberg is not like Mankell. Mankell explores the human condition in Sweden with his detective; the reader discovers things along with the detective and the world is seen through his prism.
Lackberg's multi-character first person approach is weak and lacks direction. Other novelists have used that approach much more effectively than she has. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it,TONS OF SPOILERS TO SAVE YOU THE EFFORT OF READING THIS HORRIBLE BOOK: Could this be worse? We have one family that runs a town and the 100% evil, snooty aristocratic mother with TWO sociopathic sons (one natural, one adopted). The natural one rapes both boy AND girl children. The adopted one sets fires and commits fratricide before the age of 12.
There's a 100% piggy grope-y police chief without redeeming qualities. There's a 100% piggy, grope-y brother-in-law without redeeming qualities (he pr TONS OF SPOILERS TO SAVE YOU THE EFFORT OF READING THIS HORRIBLE BOOK: Could this be worse? We have one family that runs a town and the 100% evil, snooty aristocratic mother with TWO sociopathic sons (one natural, one adopted). The natural one rapes both boy AND girl children. The adopted one sets fires and commits fratricide before the age of 12. There's a 100% piggy grope-y police chief without redeeming qualities. There's a 100% piggy, grope-y brother-in-law without redeeming qualities (he practically twirls his non-existent mustache).
The murder victim is one of the most beautiful women who has ever walked the earth, and she's not only secretly pregnant, but had been secretly pregnant before (and is that her earlier spawn lurking around her parents' house, sulking, perhaps? What a surprise!)The focus of action shifts without explanation from the first main character (a decently sketch-out Brigit Jones-like woman) to a second main character (a decently sketched-out young detective, who has always been in love with the first main character). Several times at the end of a chapter, one of these folks finds a Clue, reads it, is surprised, and puts it in their pocket without sharing with the reader. The detective is credited as being very clever for finding the impression of a note that's been torn off a pad (yeah, good going, Sherlock).
The author conveniently finds a will crumpled up in the evil family's trash can (what, shredders haven't made it to Sweden yet?). All the participants in an earlier murder conveniently keep little bookmarks inscribed with the initials of their childhood 'gang' name in plain sight for the author and detective to find.At some point, I decided to keep reading only to see what fresh stereotype or abomination waited on the next page.On top of all the bad characterizations and dopey plotting, bad writing abounds. You can't blame the translation, because the guy translates Henning Mankell, and Mankell's gorgeous writing comes through in English just fine.The only pluses were the two surprisingly likable and 3-dimensional main characters, and the vivid setting off- season at a seaside resort town. Plus a lot of careful, interesting and varying descriptions of the coffee people brewed. If the author could write a mystery the way she writes about coffee, this might have been a decent book. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,I’m shocked.
The cover of this book boasts that this is an international bestseller. The back of the book says, “Ice-cold suspense from Sweden’s new Agatha Christie.” This book was not very good. Normally I’d say that maybe there was something lost in translation, but I don’t think that’s the (whole) problem.And now a list of grievances:1. It seemed like all the characters who were good guys were pretty/handsome. And the bad guys (or people you were supposed to dislike) were fat and ugly. There I’m shocked. The cover of this book boasts that this is an international bestseller.
The back of the book says, “Ice-cold suspense from Sweden’s new Agatha Christie.” This book was not very good. Normally I’d say that maybe there was something lost in translation, but I don’t think that’s the (whole) problem.And now a list of grievances:1.
It seemed like all the characters who were good guys were pretty/handsome. And the bad guys (or people you were supposed to dislike) were fat and ugly. There was this oversimplification that just felt lazy.2. There was a subplot (Erica’s sister’s drama) that was never completed.
Maybe there’s a sequel? Even still, there should have been SOME kind of mention at the end about it.3.
When one of the characters found a clue (Erica or Patrik) they would find it (in a trash can/drawer/whatever), look at it all, “A ha!” and then move on WITHOUT TELLING THE READER WHAT THE FUCK THEY JUST FOUND. This happened three times. Now, I’m not a mystery author, but I know the damn rules.
In fact, you’re probably not a mystery author either, and I bet YOU could even make a guess at some of the rules, yeah? One of the rules is No Evil Twins (unless of course the Evil Twin is made known at the beginning). Another rule? Only One Secret Passage.
This book had neither secret passages nor evil twins, but it DID break the rule of When the Detective Finds a Clue He shares It With the Rest of the Class.Now look, I’m all for breaking rules. You want to use an evil twin at the end? No one will ever take you seriously again, but go for it. You want more than one secret passage? It worked for Clue, didn’t it? But I swear on a stack of Edgar Allan Poe books, if your detective finds a clue, and you don’t tell the reader what the hell it even is until much later? That’s bush league.
That is hack. That is insulting to the reader and I have no idea why this book was an international bestseller.4. This book had the slowest pace of any crime fiction I’ve ever read. A slow pace doesn’t have to be bad as long as the story, characters, events are compelling. In this story nothing was compelling.5. The love story fell flat. I appreciated that there was an almost normal love story going on in the book.
It is a quick open and not have to Activation. So, It can open the telephone in 5 to 60 second. Unlock base keygen. Then, It can be accustomed to Unlocking Like as Accounts locks, Password lock, Password lock, and bootloader. The without Box is the main information card for Flashing and Unlocking item in around the world.It can fix the gadgets. It is exceptionally simple to utilize included easy to use interface.
But it didn’t add anything to the book. (This is different from most of the Swedish crime fic and it’s desolation and despair.) So I was rooting for the love story, but it, like the character studies (from Grievance #1) seemed too easy and therefore came across as lazy. Plus, they have sex 5 times in one night just like in a boddice-ripping romance novel. But without all the steamy details, which is fine because hey, it’s a mystery, not erotica, however, when you write something like that and give no steamy details but you’re all, “then they did it!
Like, 5 times!” it’s like it’s written by a 9th grader or something.6. There was a part where something may have been lost in translation, but not in a, “that sentence makes no sense.” kinda way, but in a, “I think they left out a whole paragraph somewhere.” This big reveal is going on about the lady who was murdrered and her past.
It was very important to the story. Then the detective is all, “I’m shocked she had been pregnant before!” and see, the problem is, not in any previous part of the book was this mentioned, nor was it mention in the preceeding paragraphs, where, i think, a paragraph or two must have been left out. Because his declaration just made no sense, nor would he have known about her previous pregnancy if he had not just heard it from the character who was telling of the murdered girl’s past. What a piece of shit.Sadly, the book was slow and boring. And because the clues were withheld and paragraphs of info seemed to be totally missing, I have to call this a disaster.
Perhaps it’s a much better read in it’s native tongue? This has to be one of the worst mystery novels I've read so far. In fact, I'm not even sure if it's supposed to be 'mystery'. More like 'character discovers x clue, reader is not told what it actually contains, character suddenly reveals it much later on in a really dramatic, Scooby-Doo fashion'. And this happened throughout all the book.Then there was the narrative. In the beginning, I thought it was a translation issue.
Verbal tenses seemed inconsistent, there was some really awkward phrasing This has to be one of the worst mystery novels I've read so far. In fact, I'm not even sure if it's supposed to be 'mystery'. More like 'character discovers x clue, reader is not told what it actually contains, character suddenly reveals it much later on in a really dramatic, Scooby-Doo fashion'. And this happened throughout all the book.Then there was the narrative.
Adobe after effects cs4 32 bit crack. In the beginning, I thought it was a translation issue. Verbal tenses seemed inconsistent, there was some really awkward phrasing, a lot of events seemed to be mentioned more than once without adding anything. But no; that was simply the style of the writer. Dull and repetitive. Sometimes really irrelevant descriptions of places, situations or characters were made.
Sometimes those descriptions were retold, just because.Then there were the characters themselves: extremely flat and boring. No spark of intelligence whatsoever (except maybe the old lady with the garden gnomes), no self respect in any of the female characters, no improvement, no complex way of viewing life. In fact, all characters seemed to be tired, bored and exasperated of living itself. Sometimes the description of the narrator or of one of the other characters would go on saying that X or Y was like this and like that, when in fact, X or Y would be way too simplistic of a character to be able to hold onto such an image.As for the mystery itself: once you had all the clues (and boy, was there a problem with them being revealed), it was really logical and dull. No surprises here; no intricate puzzle; just event A leading to event B. This was my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I always like reading books set in Scandinavia and this one gave me lots of lovely descriptions of snow and beautiful Swedish settings.
I enjoyed the romance between Erica and Patrik and felt it only added to the overall story. The mystery was suitably mysterious and I solved it just before the police did except that the solution was so horrible I did not want to believe it. I raced my way through this book and only put it down o This was my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I always like reading books set in Scandinavia and this one gave me lots of lovely descriptions of snow and beautiful Swedish settings. I enjoyed the romance between Erica and Patrik and felt it only added to the overall story. The mystery was suitably mysterious and I solved it just before the police did except that the solution was so horrible I did not want to believe it. I raced my way through this book and only put it down once when I just had to sleep whether I liked it or not.
I have not researched yet what else has written but I will be on the look out for more. Beginning with her 2002 novel, Isprinsessan, Camilla Lackberg has been a popular crime fiction novelist in Sweden. In an obvious attempt to capitalize on the current wave of interest in Scandanavian crime fiction in the U.S., Lackberg's first novel has now been published here as.Erica Falck, a writer, returns to her small hometown of Fjallbacka, a Swedish fishing village, to deal with family matters in the wake of her parents' deaths. No sooner does she arrive, though, when her Beginning with her 2002 novel, Isprinsessan, Camilla Lackberg has been a popular crime fiction novelist in Sweden. In an obvious attempt to capitalize on the current wave of interest in Scandanavian crime fiction in the U.S., Lackberg's first novel has now been published here as.Erica Falck, a writer, returns to her small hometown of Fjallbacka, a Swedish fishing village, to deal with family matters in the wake of her parents' deaths.
No sooner does she arrive, though, when her best childhood friend, Alexandra Wijkner, is found dead, frozen in her bathtub, an apparent suicide. Alex was a beautiful woman, married to a successful, caring husband and appeared to have a wonderful life. The two women lost touch years earlier when Alex and her family mysteriously left town in something of a hurry, but even though they had not been close for years, Erica cannot imagine why her old friend would have taken her own life.Erica's first instinct is to write a book about Alex's death.
Her second is to join forces with another childhood friend, Patrik Hedstrom, in an effort to unravel the mystery. Patrik is the principal detective investigating Alex's death. It soon becomes apparent that the small town of Fjallbacka has a lot of deep, dark secrets, some of them dating back for years, and Erica is determined to root through all of them to uncover the truth about the death of her friend.Inside this four-hundred-page book is a lean psychological thriller struggling to break free. The basic plot is interesting enough, although a lot of readers will usually be at least one step ahead of our heroine. The problem is that there's an awful lot of navel-gazing that one has to wade through. Every few pages the action screeches to a halt while one or another of the characters examines his or her emotional state, and after a while this gets pretty tedious. The characters are also very uneven.
Some of them are very well-drawn, complete and interesting; others not so much. There is one central character in particular who's a totally unbelievable cartoonish caricature unworthy of being included in a serious novel. There's also a totally unnecessary subplot involving Erica's sister that intrudes into the story on a regular basis.My other main concern with this book is that the police procedure is often laughable.
The police miss obvious clues and neglect to take even basic steps in the investigation, leaving Erica to make discoveries that the detectives should have made very early on. Patrik also allows Erica, a civilian, to take a role in the investigation that no real police detective would ever countenance.Toward the end, the book finally gathers steam and Lackberg produces a fairly interesting and entertaining conclusion.
Camilla Lackberg Series In Order
But it does leave one with the distinct impression that this would have been a much better book if the author had gotten to the conclusion a lot earlier.The cover suggests that fans of Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell 'will devour' this book, but Lackberg is clearly not in their league-at least not yet. Several others of her novels are soon to be available in the U.S. And perhaps they will demonstrate more conclusively that she is moving to fulfill that claim. H Camilla Lackberg is a new promising Swedish author of crime fiction. The 'Frosted Princess' manages through its central heroine Erika Falk, a young writer to give us a unique novel full of mystery and suspense without failing to focus on the lifestyle and values of Swedish society. Love, loneliness, domestic violence, alcoholism, pedophilia presented sometimes subtly and sometimes directly around the axis of the murder of Alex, who is found dead in a bathtub by her childhood friend, Eric. TheH Camilla Lackberg is a new promising Swedish author of crime fiction.
The 'Frosted Princess' manages through its central heroine Erika Falk, a young writer to give us a unique novel full of mystery and suspense without failing to focus on the lifestyle and values of Swedish society. Love, loneliness, domestic violence, alcoholism, pedophilia presented sometimes subtly and sometimes directly around the axis of the murder of Alex, who is found dead in a bathtub by her childhood friend, Eric. The small community is disrupted by such a tragic event and America, in cooperation with local police, trying to trace the crime. The Alex, though still has a lasting presence in the novel through the memories of their of. H Camilla Lackberg with background Fielmpaka bringing the cold and closed society of Sweden.
Excellent translation. Surely the 'Icy Princess' is the first book of Lackberg I have read but not the last. I am giving this a 3.5. Pretty darn good mystery here. The very end may be a bit far fetched but it is fiction after all.
The author did keep me guessing throughout the whole book. There is a romance in this mystery (which usually bugs the crap out of me but for some reason this one didn't). One thing that did irk me is that author does mention how some of the characters feel about their physical image quite a bit. Since this is mystery it felt a bit out of place (for me) in this setting.
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It mad I am giving this a 3.5. Pretty darn good mystery here. The very end may be a bit far fetched but it is fiction after all. The author did keep me guessing throughout the whole book. There is a romance in this mystery (which usually bugs the crap out of me but for some reason this one didn't). One thing that did irk me is that author does mention how some of the characters feel about their physical image quite a bit.
Since this is mystery it felt a bit out of place (for me) in this setting. It made me wonder if the author focuses on other peoples physical images in her own life.But all-in-all I did enjoy it and will be reading the second installment for sure. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,Now that I had a night to sleep on it, I thought I share some of my thoughts about this book. First of all, let me tell you that if you love this book, that is ok. I love some really terrible books and I am not ashamed of it and neither should you.
Nevertheless, I want to talk a bit about why this book just did not work for me.When I suggested this book as a read for my Read Around the World Bookclub it was on the basis of the marketing for this book as a 'hard-hitting Scandi-crime novel that e Now that I had a night to sleep on it, I thought I share some of my thoughts about this book. First of all, let me tell you that if you love this book, that is ok. I love some really terrible books and I am not ashamed of it and neither should you. Nevertheless, I want to talk a bit about why this book just did not work for me.When I suggested this book as a read for my Read Around the World Bookclub it was on the basis of the marketing for this book as a 'hard-hitting Scandi-crime novel that explores the difference in Swedish society between rich and poor, small town Sweden.'
I expected something a bit like Mankell, bit like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I prepared myself to be scared and freaked out by the descriptions of horror that humans inflict on each other.
Instead, I read a book that claims to be a hard-boiled crime story, but in fact it is a cozy mystery pretending that it is not a cozy mystery.Now, don't get me wrong, I do love a cozy mystery now and then. They are honest about what they are, reading one, I expect outragous storylines, crazy people, over description of everything and outlandish crimes with weird motives. And here is my main problem with the book, it's just not honest what it is about.
It is cozy set in a Swedish backwater with a bit of romance thrown into the mix.I found the writing to be terrible and I don't think it's a translation error, Murray is a well respected translater of Swedish. The portrayal of each woman being dependent on a man or the opinion of a man or the action of a man was a throwback to the 1950ies. Erica's obsession with Weight Watchers, her thoughts on urinary tract infections or analysing her weight and her eating all the time, was at first amusing towards the end downright annoying. Laeckberg is so judgey of women's appearances. They are either too skinny or too fat. Some could do with a good haircut. Her obsession with interior design reflecting the people's personalities in this book, because you know if you don't have hardwood flooring, you are a bit frumpy.
Camilla Lackberg Movies
Just deal with it.By the time, the conclusion comes around, you will no longer care about who murdered the victim. I cared, however, because as I predicted that it would feature childhood abuse (referred to quite often as 'assault' which made me livid to say the least). As a survivor, I have so many issues with childhood abuse portrayal in books, and this book has hit a new low. The beautiful woman who is withdrawn from everyone and cannot love anyone and does not share anything, the talented artist who has to drown his painful experiences in drink and the successful businessman that has become a psychopath himself. No real reflection on what has happened to these people, but then what did I expect, after all, there is no character development in this book whatsoever, so surely reflection is just too much to ask.In short: This was the worst book I have read (and finished) and a very long time. This was just ok.
I believe I received this as a free download from iTunes a number of years ago as part of a 12 days of Christmas promotion and it was a good distraction during a recent long haul flight.It is a Scandanavian murder mystery, where a young woman is murdered in her bathtub, and her body is discovered by an estranged childhood friend. It starts out well enough but I quickly began to dislike the victim which hampered the story a little for me.The author also withheld vital clues from This was just ok. I believe I received this as a free download from iTunes a number of years ago as part of a 12 days of Christmas promotion and it was a good distraction during a recent long haul flight.It is a Scandanavian murder mystery, where a young woman is murdered in her bathtub, and her body is discovered by an estranged childhood friend.
It starts out well enough but I quickly began to dislike the victim which hampered the story a little for me.The author also withheld vital clues from the reader until the big reveal which made it hard to come to the correct conclusion yourself.The main character,Ericka was nice enough if a little bland. I found her love story a little too easy and convenient. The amount of meddling she did in this investigation also stretched belief. Camilla Lackberg writes crime fiction in a very refreshing way, and it's quality stuff.
With a murder occurring early in the book it took off with a raring start but what made this book really good was the focus on the people, their inner worlds of good and bad, the relationship dynamics and the psychological interplay between them.It's not a book overdone with excessive police procedure, sex, gore, violence or other things often found in crime fiction. No, but it doesn't detract from the book w Camilla Lackberg writes crime fiction in a very refreshing way, and it's quality stuff. With a murder occurring early in the book it took off with a raring start but what made this book really good was the focus on the people, their inner worlds of good and bad, the relationship dynamics and the psychological interplay between them.It's not a book overdone with excessive police procedure, sex, gore, violence or other things often found in crime fiction. No, but it doesn't detract from the book whatsoever. The writing has a depth that is brilliant. I enjoyed seeing how all the characters played out in the book, each and every one of the characters was good, like really good.Don't get me wrong, the book has police work in it, and it's ultimately about solving a crime but it doesn't stop there. It takes a small town that is riddled with secrets and piece by piece those hidden things begin to reveal themselves to the reader.I did not work out many things in this book, not hugely obvious outcomes which is good, it keeps you interested and reading for more pieces of the story.I felt it was a sophisticated piece of crime fiction.
No wonder Lackberg has sold millions of books, I will be happily reading more of her after this, my first taste of her writing.If you like your books with a strong emphasis on interpersonal dynamics, psychological thrills and a good balance of light and dark then you will enjoy this. Recommended highly. I'm a bit in love with Scandinavian crime fiction at the moment, and this book didn't let me down.Be prepared for a few surprise twists as the book reveals itself and the plot, some you might see coming, many you won't.
The book tackles tough family issues very well. Brilliant reading. I feel so lackluster about this book that it's not even worth posting a review. Maybe I would have been shocked to discover who the murderer was, if I'd had a chance to solve the mystery, but I didn't.
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The characters often find important clues that we aren't allowed to see (for example, finding a piece of paper with something important written on it, which we're told, but we don't know what it says). For me, that's a fail on the writer's account.
When I have access to the information, and the op I feel so lackluster about this book that it's not even worth posting a review. Maybe I would have been shocked to discover who the murderer was, if I'd had a chance to solve the mystery, but I didn't. The characters often find important clues that we aren't allowed to see (for example, finding a piece of paper with something important written on it, which we're told, but we don't know what it says). For me, that's a fail on the writer's account. When I have access to the information, and the opportunity to try to piece together the evidence that I'm given, I am blown away if I haven't guessed the outcome.
This novel, I didn't care who the killer was, because I had no leads, so it could have been anyone and I wouldn't have been surprised, because I wasn't lead to suspect anyone.There were other issues here that made the novel not work at all: the characters weren't believable or particularly likable, one of the characters was suffering from domestic abuse but her sister did nothing, there was a love story that wasn't affecting at all.if you're looking for a great foreign thriller writer, try Jo Nesbo. I'll write a review tomorrow, right now I feel like I need to bleach my brain after this stupid book! Someone give me a good book damn it! I'm tired of reading one stupid book after another -Update:ok here comes the review but be warned! I didn't bother removing potential spoilers so if you plan on reading this, then don't read anymore.I finished this book relatively fast, not because it was good but because I wanted it to be over as soon as possible.I haven't been lucky in the books I chose I'll write a review tomorrow, right now I feel like I need to bleach my brain after this stupid book! Someone give me a good book damn it!
I'm tired of reading one stupid book after another -Update:ok here comes the review but be warned! I didn't bother removing potential spoilers so if you plan on reading this, then don't read anymore.I finished this book relatively fast, not because it was good but because I wanted it to be over as soon as possible.I haven't been lucky in the books I chose to read recently, so I decided to play it safe and read a crime novel, an international bestseller no less, I mean what could go wrong really? EVERYTHING apparently.This book is a stupid, slow-paced, downgraded version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.The start was promising, Alex, the beautiful, rich, beautiful, distant, beautiful, cold, (did I say beautiful enough times already? Because in this book all the good guys are blond, beautiful with clear blue eyes and all the bad guys are ugly and fat and have no taste in decorating their houses apparently), so Alex is found dead, clearly murdered and at first you really wanna know who did it ( spoiler alert: by the time you finish you will neither care nor be surprised).Now to prevent any more rambling on my part I made this nice list of the things that sucked in this book( in addition to the ones I already mentioned):1. Several times when someone found a clue, the writer simply chooses not to tell you what they found!!!!! I mean 'Erica found a paper in the trash, and she read it with growing interest' and then BAM!!
Nothing about what she read for like 50 pages!!! I am not an expert but I am pretty sure the author have to share everything your POV character founds/thinks.2.The women are mostly shallow, and all they care about is makeup and clothes and thea are tottaly dependent on the men in their lives, and please don't jump and tell me that Erica is this intelligent, independent woman. She judges Pernilla for not having a 500 kronor haircut and designer clothes right when Pernilla asking for her help about her cheating husband.3. The real killer sucked!!! And I saw it coming a mile away because she/he made a comment that was tottaly out of place and which I think the author thought no one will catch on, but it will give the clever detective the key to solve the mystery( Spoiler alert: it was really obvious and not at all clever)4. Anna's story in left unfinished.5.
And I am sorry,do all people in Sweden tal in elaborate monologues that sound copied straight out of some novel?' I don’t know, actually. We were children. Like all kids of that age, we were blood sisters and never wanted to be separated and all that.
But if Alex hadn’t moved away, the same thing probably would have happened to us. The same thing that happens to other little girls who grow up and turn into teenagers.
We would have fought over the same boyfriends, had different taste in clothes, ended up on different rungs of the social pecking order, and abandoned one another for different friends who better suited the phase we were in—or wanted to be in. But sure, Alex had a big influence on my life, even as an adult. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to shake off that feeling of being betrayed. I always wondered whether I was the one who said or did something wrong. She just retreated more and more and then one day she was gone. When we met again as adults, she was a stranger. In some odd way it feels as though now I’m getting to know her again.'
![]() The Ice Princess Camilla Lackberg
I'm entirely clear on police procedures, buta)Shouldn't they search the house of a suspected murder victim and right away? How can someone just wander in there and find clues several days after the police started investigating?b) Do the police NOT check the last calls made from the victims phone? Seriously, Erica just wanders in and hits redial and she finds a huge peace of the puzzle just like that.c) sgouldn't they be able to know by a DNA test or something who was the father of Alex's unborn child?d) They mentioned in the first few pages that she gave birth before and they just ignore this huge information convieniently for about 150 pages.7.Bingo! Ugh enough said.So obviously it was a disaster, weak writing, a weak plot, stupid flat superficial characters, I don't even know why I bothered with a lengthy review,but I guess I needed to vent. I quite enjoyed this book and it was not at all what I expected.
The story starts out with the apparent suicide of a woman who has a mysterious past. It soon is revealed to be a murder and Ericka Falck an author who knew the victim as a child, and police investigator Patrik start to chip away at the many layers of mystery and deceit that are associated with Alex the victim.Although this is not fast paced and gruesome like other crime novels I still found this book to be quite appealing. I really I quite enjoyed this book and it was not at all what I expected. The story starts out with the apparent suicide of a woman who has a mysterious past. It soon is revealed to be a murder and Ericka Falck an author who knew the victim as a child, and police investigator Patrik start to chip away at the many layers of mystery and deceit that are associated with Alex the victim.Although this is not fast paced and gruesome like other crime novels I still found this book to be quite appealing.
I really liked the human qualities that the author revealed about her characters, from the extra pounds they were carrying, to the need for 'support pantyhose'. This did make me laugh and feel more connected to them. Barely two stars. The writing was terrible, though I don't know whether to blame that on the author or the translator. The story was a bad version of an episode of CSI or Law and Order SVU, complete with caricatures of the useless/incompetent station chief, small town murder, sappy unnecessary romance, family complications, and other things I don't want to give away for anyone who actually still wants to read this.I'd read a decent amount of press on this and saw a signed copy at a Partners and Barely two stars. The writing was terrible, though I don't know whether to blame that on the author or the translator.
The story was a bad version of an episode of CSI or Law and Order SVU, complete with caricatures of the useless/incompetent station chief, small town murder, sappy unnecessary romance, family complications, and other things I don't want to give away for anyone who actually still wants to read this.I'd read a decent amount of press on this and saw a signed copy at a Partners and Crime bookstore in NYC - an awesome indie bookstore where it's always fun to chat with the wonderful/knowledgeable staff - so I picked it up. I should have talked to the staff to get their recommendation on it first.
It might have saved me the trouble and cash.This probably only got the press due to the popularity of Larsson's Dragon Tattoo series - which I'll digress further and recommend seeing the Swedish/Danish film version of that series which was very good. Don't bother with this. I wasn’t completely won over by this book unfortunately.First off I had huge issues with its editing. I think Lackberg/the editors should have opted for shorter chapters, rather than the six my ebook version presented (I’ve worded it this way because I’m sure there were seven and the six in the Contents page is an error).
Due to the long chapters, there is no clear break between changes of scenes and character point of views, and I’d often have to read paragraphs a couple of times to work out w I wasn’t completely won over by this book unfortunately.First off I had huge issues with its editing. I think Lackberg/the editors should have opted for shorter chapters, rather than the six my ebook version presented (I’ve worded it this way because I’m sure there were seven and the six in the Contents page is an error). Due to the long chapters, there is no clear break between changes of scenes and character point of views, and I’d often have to read paragraphs a couple of times to work out who I was reading about.I also didn’t find the writing flowed smoothly and again, a lot of times I hesitated and had to re-read sections to make sense of things. I suppose you could blame the translation. It probably read fine in its original Swedish but in English many of the phrases were slow or repetitive and the dialogue was clunky.The book starts with the discovery of a body in a frozen over bath.
The victim, Alex, was a childhood friend of the book's heroine, Erica. Another childhood friend is the local policeman, Patrik, investigating the case.Lackberg also introduces a plethora of Fjallbacka locals.
Although I liked the ‘small town’ feel of the book, I also found it annoying that everyone apparently went to school/grew up together but no one seemed to remember many details of each other. For example, we read lots about how Erica and Alex were inseparable but later find out they haven’t seen each other since they were 10 when Alex’s family left Fjallbacka.
As the details of Alex's life are revealed, we also realise Erica has little or no knowledge of Alex’s other friends and life before she left Fjallbacka, meaning the whole inseparable tag is untrue.Unlike the usual murder mystery books set in small towns, there are no cute and quirky characters in this book. Instead, 90% of the characters in Fjallbacka are abhorrent. And these are the apparently respectable upstanding members of the community.
The head police officer and Erica’s brother in law, in particular, are repulsive.I don’t think there was much mystery in the book anyway. There is a second death in the book and it took me about 5 mins to figure out the details and whodunnit. I also quickly guessed why Alex had left Fjallbacka and I was a little puzzled at the shock portrayed by every character when they also discover the reason. It didn’t seem that shocking or unique to me (alas).The reader probably would work out everything quicker if they weren’t kept in the dark each time the characters made a discovery. I lost count of how many times Erica or Patrik picked up a piece of paper, read it, and then tucked it away with an inner thought of how they now knew just what had happened, without sharing this with the reader. Lackberg also gave us one-sided telephone calls - quite often the reader didn’t even know who was on the other end of the line, let alone what vital clue the caller was revealing. It was super annoying.Also, for an Aussie in the tropics, I expected the descriptions of the cold to transport me to another place.
Instead all Lackberg gave me was the occasional reference such as a furnace that's broken or a car that won't start.I mostly enjoyed the romance between Erica and Patrik but the reaction of the supporting characters was at times ridiculous especially Patrik’s colleague, Annika, and Erica’s sister, Anna. For example, Anna asks if Patrik has a brother straight after being on the receiving end of a major domestic violence incident. Just what?The ending was also very annoying. At least two psychopathic characters are still on the loose but instead of this being the hint of the second book, we get several pages of an extremely minor character leaving town. I can only assume the second book’s murder will revolve around him but it was still a huge WTF moment and not a cliffhanger that would make you rush out and buy book two.Maybe 2 out of 5.
The psychological thriller debut of No.1 bestselling Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg.Returning to her hometown after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning. Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice cold bath, it seems that she has taken her own life.Erica conceives a memoir about the beautiful but remote Alex, one that will answer questions about their lost friendship. While her interest grows to an obsession, local detective Patrik Hedstrom is following his own suspicions about the case. But it is only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about the small town with a deeply disturbing past.
The psychological thriller debut of No.1 bestselling Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg.Returning to her hometown after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning. Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice cold bath, it seems that she has taken her own life.Erica conceives a memoir about the beautiful but remote Alex, one that will answer questions about their lost friendship. While her interest grows to an obsession, local detective Patrik Hedstrom is following his own suspicions about the case.
But it is only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about the small town with a deeply disturbing past.
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