Customer Reviews

Ice Princess

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I'm a huge fan of Scandinavian crime fiction, and Sweden has produced some sensational authors: Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson, Liza Marklund, Karin Alvtegen (and this is not an exhaustive list). While Camilla Läckberg shows some promise, she has a long way to go before she can be considered of similar calibre.

The novel's premise is intriguing: writer Erica Falck's best childhood friend, with whom she lost touch, dies suddenly, apparently by her own hand. As Erica, in tandem with another childhood friend (and eventual love interest), local copper Patrik Hedström, look into the circumstances further, they find that the explanation is not so simple. Inevitably, they uncover secrets that have been hidden for decades.

The claustrophobic small town setting is relatively well drawn, and the novel started off really promisingly. Unfortunately, there are a number of issues with it that interfere with the flow of the story. Another reviewer has commented on the numerous "filler" scenes, full of redundant information, which bog down the narrative - for example, too frequently we have a scene where Character A tells Character B the same information that the reader has already been told on the previous page. Similarly, while Patrik and Erica are engaging characters, I really did not care about their incipient romance and Erica's repetitive musings on "Does he like me? Will I look fat in this?" became tedious (yes, we even have a Bridget Jones-esque scene where Erica debates whether to go with the lacy undies or the supportive nanna knickers, and just in case we don't get what has inspired this scene, Bridget Jones is helpfully referenced in the text ... mildly amusing at best, but did not advance the plot one jot, and should have been cut). Nor, for example, did we really need to know about the romantic history and family life of Patrik's friend, Robert the forensic scientist - he only appears in a few pages of one chapter. I found myself skimming those scenes. Further, I felt that the themes of domestic violence and child abuse were not explored quite as well as they could have been, and dealt with quite simplistically. The big reveals towards the end felt rushed and somewhat anticlimactic.

The character development is a bit patchy, partly because there is far too much telling rather than showing, and too many POV shifts. Erica herself, and Nelly Lorentz, a wealthy widow with an apparently inexplicable interest in the deceased's victim's family, are the most well developed and interesting. Patrik is the standard nice guy, bordering on Marty Stu territory. By contrast, Erica's sister Anna's husband, Lucas, is a cardboard cutout villain, with no trace of the charm that supposedly led Anna to fall for him in the first place. While we frequently see him only through the eyes of Erica, who can't stand him, there is no complexity to him at all; this subplot would have been much more effective had he and Erica been on good terms, with Erica slowly becoming uneasy that things are not quite right. In fact, I think this storyline would have been better dealt with standing alone; it really had little relevance to the major plot.

The prose is uneven, especially the dialogue, with characters speaking in an often stilted and unnatural way and overusing each other's names; seriously, no-one in real life talks like that unless they're a telemarketer who rings you in the middle of dinner. I acknowledge this could at least partly be due to the translation, but unfortunately I don't read Swedish so cannot compare it to the original. Either way, some judicious editing would have helped.

I've given it three stars because it is a reasonable, not too demanding holiday read. However, despite what the publisher's spiel claims, Läckberg is not yet any threat to Agatha Christie based on this effort.

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.

I may be the only living female who hasn't yet read Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy. So, when Lackberg's new book is compared to the Scandinavian publishing phenomenon, it doesn't register much with me.

Maybe that's a good thing. There's nothing to compare The Ice Princess to. I'm not a reader of the recent craze of Swedish noir, though I will venture into Henning Mankell territory next week. Thus, this novel will be considered strictly on its own merits.

The Story:

Erica Falck moves to her hometown of Fjallbacka, Sweden after the death of her parents. A writer, she is attempting to finish her fourth biography when she discovers the death of her childhood friend, Alex. Found in a tub of nearly frozen water with both wrists slashed, Alex's death sets off an investigation to which no one person is exempt. Erica is drawn into the tragedy and mystery surrounding the life and death of her estranged friend. Along with Patrik Hedstrom, a police detective assigned to the case, Erica finds out more about the quiet close-knit seaside community than she ever wanted to know.

The Review:

There was so much going on in this thriller. A prodigious amount of colorful characters: from the eccentric elderly Mrs. Petren, who uses thousands of Santas and a state of the art coffee machine to ensure a steady stream of guests; to the aging socialite Nelly Lorentz, who is somehow involved in Alex's death; to Alex's sister, Julia, who is grieving in a very unusual way.

Lackberg touches on a number of issues--domestic violence, child abuse, negligence, mental illness, and adultery--without devolving into the typical moralistic fare. Every detail of human nature is spot on, except the voice of the victim of domestic violence; in this case, it seems Lackberg consulted case studies and assigned the voice of the psychologist to the victim herself.

In addition to that, there was an awkwardness to some of the sentences; I don't know whether that was caused by the translator or the author herself. It's nothing especially jarring, just an awareness of the bump in the flow.

In addition to that, one of my chief complaints is that the deceased character seems to be the one most filled with life. Alex is well defined, which distinguishes from most of the other characters. Even Erica's voice didn't seem quite her own (as much as the author's) until about 100 pages in, when the writing noticeably improves and the story becomes more gripping.I've heard that Lackberg's writing improves with each new book, so I'm interested to see how the next one goes.

This story was engrossing, the characters profound, and the atmosphere well drawn.

The Opinion:

Aside from those negatives, The Ice Princess is a fast, light read that will keep you racing through the pages to find answers that will make your jaw drop. Seriously.

3.75 out of 5 stars

Ever since reading Stieg Larsson, I've been in search of crime writers with dark, peculiar characters. I discovered Arnaldur Indridason and Henning Mankell. Fortunately, I've just discovered Camilla Lackberg. The Ice Princess is a well written mystery I could not put down. Lackberg has a gift for describing local people in the small town of Fjallbacka, Sweden. Her book goes in all directions, making the reader wonder how it will come together. I stayed up many sleepless nights trying to connect the clues. The ending was extremely fulfilling. I suggest trying Camilla Lackberg . . . you will not be disappointed!

Losing her parents was trauma enough for 35-year-old writer Erica Falck, but returning to her hometown of Fjallbacka only to learn of the death of her childhood friend, Alex, proved to be almost too much. Alex was found with her wrists slashed, frozen in an icy bath. Her demise was presumed a suicide. Although they had been close as children Erica and Alex had been estranged for almost a quarter of a decade - she is puzzled by the death of her once beautiful friend.

Alex's family asks Erica to write a remembrance of Alex, which she readily agrees to do. However, when an autopsy shows that Alex did not take her own life but was murdered and furthermore she was pregnant previous assumptions are tossed out the window.

Erica joins forces with detective Patrik Hedstrom to investigate the case. Eventually dark secrets are revealed, which may well destroy the fabric of that once peaceful small community.

Lackberg's novels have continually topped bestseller lists in Sweden and THE ICE PRINCESS was named Best International Crime Novel of the Year. Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

While the plot of this book is a B/B-, the writing fails on so many levels that I had to drop my review to 2 stars. Pick a few of your favorite overused mystery novel cliches/memes: Nagging hunches that can't be pinned down. Protagonist finding a critical puzzle piece but the author deliberately making the reader wait to find out what it was. Dime store psychology. the Ice Princess has them all.

Most skilled modern mystery writers have dispensed with the hackneyed vague-feeling-I'm-missing-something-but-can't-put-my-finger-on-it trope. Not So Ms. Lackberg. Sentences like "his subconscious was demanding attention...Patrick was obviously missing something here; he just couldn't see it" litter the entire book to the point where I was almost laughing out loud by the time I hit the 30th instance.

Throughout the book, the protagonist of the moment (and Lackberg switches perspectives constantly) find a critical clue but the author withholds the key info. Examples include: Something is stolen from a room, the protagonist figures out what it is, the author doesn't tell us. The protagonist makes a phone call, ID's a critical person and hangs up the phone, shocked, but the author makes us wait to find out who it is. Protagonist reveals the contents of a mysterious note through clever investigation, solves a key part of the mystery; Author makes us wait for the reveal. Even the ultimate mystery: From "the ice princess": "Now he was quite sure that he know who murdered X". My response: "great, who? Oh, you're going to make us wait another 5 pages just to annoy us, of course, why change now?".

And the dime store psychology is so strained. Wife who still loves abusive husband. Attractive middle aged protagonist concerned about weight. Best friend who used to be boyfriend. Shrewish old wife to whom the saintly and dutiful husband has remained loyal for 50 years. I could go on and on.

Highly recommend avoiding this one.

This is one of the worst written books I have read in some time. It started out promisingly enough but quickly degenerated. It was full of cliches and attempts at humor that should shame the author. The whole book cried out for editing. It should not be mentioned in the same breath with the masters of Scandinavian mysteries. I am glad I borrowed it from the library and didn't waste any money on it.

I really, really wanted to like this book. Suspense thrillers are my favorite and I was very excited to read a crime mystery by a woman as highly regarded as Camilla Läckberg. Maybe I expected too much, but The Ice Princess just wasn't as astounding as I had hoped it would be.

It did have a decent plot with a few shocking, unexpected twists. Most of the characters were well developed and realistic -- none of them were perfect, just like the rest of us. However, Ms. Läckberg constantly added way too many personal, and unnecessary, details about their lives, which was distracting from the story.

This is the first novel written by Ms. Läckberg and, at times, you can really tell that she's a novice. The text seemed amateurish. It had a very slow but mostly steady pace. Unfortunately, I had to occasionally force myself to keep reading, which shouldn't happen with a suspense thriller.

I'm sure that as Camilla sharpens her skills as a writer (which apparently she has already done, considering her six best-sellers) her work will become more enticing. I know she's a hit in Europe, but in my opinion The Ice Princess just doesn't compare to others I read.

Audie Award nominee David Thorn delivers an appropriately chilling reading of Lackberg's compelling story. His well modulated voice carries the listener from the lead character's initial shock to the inexorable revealing of dreadful secrets. An accomplished voice performer Thorn has a goodly number of children's book and classics to his credit.

Losing her parents was trauma enough for 35-year-old writer Erica Falck, but returning to her hometown of Fjallbacka only to learn of the death of her childhood friend, Alex, proved to be almost too much. Alex was found with her wrists slashed, frozen in an icy bath. Her demise was presumed a suicide. Although they had been close as children Erica and Alex had been estranged for almost a quarter of a decade - she is puzzled by the death of her once beautiful friend.

Alex's family asks Erica to write a remembrance of Alex, which she readily agrees to do. However, when an autopsy shows that Alex did not take her own life but was murdered and furthermore she was pregnant previous assumptions are tossed out the window.

Erica joins forces with detective Patrik Hedstrom to investigate the case. Eventually dark secrets are revealed, which may well destroy the fabric of that once peaceful small community.

Lackberg's novels have continually topped bestseller lists in Sweden and THE ICE PRINCESS was named Best International Crime Novel of the Year. Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

Ugh.
I am an ardent reader, and, even when I get a dud, I stick with it to the bitter end.
(Example of this: last one was Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, which was pretty bad; every day reading that thing I just read faster and faster.)
But I am not sticking with this one.
I, like probably a lot of readers who just finished off the Larsson books, and are in mourning, want more Swedish crime fiction. I read one by Ake Edwardson and two by Henning Mankell. So I thought I'd try this out. Saw it in the bookstore, and then thought, I'll take it out of the library first. Good thing! Glad I wasted no money on this airport-kiosk paperback trash.
It was translated by the same translator of the Larsson trilogy, Steven Murray (he uses pseudonym on books, tho: Reg Keeland). BTW, there's an interesting paragraph about the editing of the translation of the Millennium trilogy in the recent New Yorker article: [...]--perhaps the editor Christopher MacLehose should have had a crack at editing this dog--it might have fared better. Even a good copyeditor could have done a lot of tightening and clean up.
The writing is just horrible, one paragraph has six sentences starting with "Erica ..." then "She ..."; repeat sequence twice. It really reads like it wasn't edited properly.
This author perhaps should have stuck to her day job as an economist.
Or maybe it reads better in Swedish, I don't know.
I'll stick with the rest of the Wallander books by Henning Mankell (best of his so far I've read: The Return of the Dancing Master).