Customer Reviews

Preacher (Patrik Hedstrom 2)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"The Preacher" is Swedish author Camilla Lackberg's second police procedural mystery, and I have to say that I preferred her first, "The Ice Princess". In this follow-up novel,also set in the Swedish coastal town of Fjallbacka, a female German tourist's body is found atop two skeletons which turn out to be the remains of two young women who went missing in 1979. Patrik Hedstrom, the policeman who helped crack the murder case in "The Ice Princess" returns in this second novel with a much more prominent role. He is now married to Erica, the author from the first novel who played a major role in solving the murder in "The Ice Princess". Though it isn't necessary to read "The Ice Princess" before this second novel, there is quite a bit of background information provided in the first novel about some of the recurring characters such as Erica, Patrik, and Erica's sister Anna. Patrik is put in charge of the investigation, and as the investigators dig deeper, they find that all clues point to the Hult family, comprising patriarch Gabriel, his wife Liane, children Linda and Jacob, and also Gabriel's estranged nephews Robert and Stefan and their mother Solveig. When another young girl goes missing, Patrik and his team find themselves racing against the clock to locate the girl, even as they find themselves faced with dead ends and false clues.

"The Preacher" is quite weak in comparison to "The Ice Princess" - firstly, I was disappointed that Erica does not play a major role in this investigation. Instead she is relegated to playing the expectant mom and wife who has to deal with pesky relatives invading her home during the hot summer months. In "The Ice Princess", Erica played a very important role in the murder investigation and I had come to genuinely like her character so it was underwhelming to see her character take a backseat to Patrik's role as chief investigator in this second installment. Though Patrik is a likable enough character, he lacks the charisma of other major characters in series such as Inspector Sejer in Karin Fossum's novels which are far superior than Ms. Lackberg's novels (the quality of writing, characterization, etc). The story itself could have benefited from better editing, it tends to plod at many points in the novel, and some story arcs could have been omitted. One in particular is the story about Anna, Erica's sister - her domestic problems continue in this second novel, but prove to be more of a distraction and annoyance than an engaging story arc. Final verdict - "The Preacher" is not as engaging as "The Ice Princess", and there are other Scandinavian mystery authors whose works I find more interesting, such as Karin Fossum, Johan Theorin, Arnaldur Indridasson, Henning Mankell, Steig Larssen, etc.

(3.5 stars) As readers of Camilla Lackberg's previous novel, The Ice Princess, have discovered, Fjallbacka, Sweden, a small fishing village in western Sweden, holds many secrets, some of them involving murder. Chief Investigator Patrik Englund is enjoying a much-needed vacation when he learns that a six-year-old has discovered a woman's naked and beaten body near a ravine. Underneath that body are the skeletons of two more women who disappeared in 1979. Autopsies prove that all three had been slowly tortured over the course of many days before merciful death interceded. Through flashbacks to 1979, when the first deaths occurred, the story develops into a murderous saga which may involve the Hult family, whose family patriarch, Ephraim Hult, was a highly successful evangelical preacher, and whose two sons Johannes and Gabriel had supernatural healing powers when they were children. Ephraim is now dead, and his sons are enemies as a result of Ephraim's will.

The author spends as much time on the lives and motivations of her characters as she does on plot development, and when yet another young girl disappears from town, Patrik and his crew (which also has their own frictions and rivalries) realize they may have a chance to find her before she dies of the same tortures which were inflicted on the previous young women. Dozens of complications, which are revealed through the family backgrounds, psychology, and interactions of the police officers, the victims, and the various members of the Hult family keep the tension high as Lackberg involves the whole community in a wide assortment of clues and red herrings.

Although the dialogue is often wooden and clichéd, the author's emphasis on characters and why they behave as they do give a depth to this novel that straight action-mysteries do not usually have. Flashbacks in italics inserted throughout the present day action reveal the thoughts of an imprisoned female victim from 1979, held in a cold dark place, as she tries to cope with another day of torture. Blackmail, revenge, an obsession with power, seething resentments spawned by injustice, and love and passion are all motivating forces which one sees here through the various characters. There are, however, many implausibilities in the plot. A number of characters, some of them repeating, add little to the story line except diversion. Erika's sister's problems, a big part of The Ice Princess, for example, continue here as a distraction, and the late addition of the character of Kennedy Karlsson, with his unusual background, seems to be a convenient way out of a messy plot issue.

It is easy, however, to see why Camilla Lackberg is the best selling author in Swedish history, outselling even Stieg Larsson in number of books sold: She has written nine #1 sellers in Sweden, good escape novels (of which the Ice Princess is #1 and this is #2) that keep the reader entertained, involved in the action, and willingly "suspending disbelief" throughout. Two more of her pop novels are already being translated for the US market (by Steven T. Murray, translator of the Stieg Larsson books and those by Henning Mankell), and one would hope that her later novels will show her increasing growth as a novelist. Mary Whipple

The Ice Princess: A Novel

"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.

This is an appallingly badly edited book-- a disgrace,actually. Anyone buying the Kindle version deserves refund. Words are run together in almost every sentence, or left out entirely. The translation is very crude, but the biggest problem is the incredibly flawed text. This is a botched book in every sense-- it's not even readable. Don't purchase this travesty!

I liked the Ice Princess, but this sequel is just bad. The good guys are all doormats; I wanted to shake them. And the plot is the most convoluted and ridiculous one I've read in a long time.

Add to that the unbelievably poor editing of the Kindle edition. Words dropped, run together. I highlighted over 300 before my fingers got tired.

I bought this book after reading a fairly glowing review in the Washington Post. Midway through The Preacher, I looked up the review again, thinking it could not have been as positive as I remembered but - no, the reviewer was in fact quite taken by this author. I thought the plot was good but the quality of the writing -- and perhaps this was affected by the translation - was weak and a poor vehicle for the better storyline. And for pity's sake, did anyone bother to edit? Practically every other page revealed sentences with words dropped. I read this on Kindle and wondered if the hard copy was as replete with these text errors as the digital edition.

I read Ice Princess in Norwegian. Read the Preacher in English. Read the Stonecutter in Norwegian. Every book is probably 20% too long. An editor would not be so buried in the act of writing to notice that the same rhetorical figure appears five times in 15 pages, like in 'the Preacher'. One is reminded of the phrase, "great writing comes from rewriting". Similarly, some character imagines him/herself pouring food over the head of a person s/he scorns/dislikes/despises three times in all. We need a different revenge scenario than a one-sided food fight. A real editor might pick up on this too.

Even the translation needs an editor. It rattles between the American and the English vernacular, often in the same sentence. It is unbelievably annoying inasmuch as it hews very closely to the original text, such that every Scandinavism shouts out from behind the English prose. The leaden 'f' words are forced and other profane tropes are glaringly unidiomatic. Now I know that Norwegian is not Swedish. However, I read Swedish as well and the difference is not so large. In Norwegian, the author lards her prose with Americanisms. I have to assume that this is what she does in the Swedish original. In fact, she does this to such a degree that it is not really Norwegian [or Swedish] at all. It is all American phrases using Norwegian/Swedish words.

This author is no wordsmith. Mankell uses the very words themselves to create a feeling, an atmosphere, a reflection of the character's mind. Jo Nesbo is a clever verse maker; his songs for his rock group 'De Derre' are witty and thoughtful. Läckberg writes flat, colorless sentences, copied from American TV and middlebrow magazines. The translation is cut and paste, blocky rock hopping.

I understand why she is getting so much press. Mankell sent Wallander to Alzheimers' limbo. Stig Larsson is dead. Jo Nesbo is Norwegian. They need a follow-up author and they are MAKING her the one. And not by dint of skill or inspiration.

Three stars because I HAVE read worse - in English, Norwegian, Swedish and German. Camilla, honey, with the money from the American editions, please hire a private editor if your publisher won't pay for one.

I enjoyed reading the Ice Princess thought sometimes long winded. When I started reading The Preacher I was shocked by the quality of the translation, It is primary school English combined with a lack of feeling for the book. Therefore it is hard to say if it is the translators fault that the storyline is uneven and unfinished or if Lackbers original lacked so much substance that the translator had a hard time reading through the novel. Lackberg is trying hard to establish several characters in her book with their own drama. This may create a longer novel but the main character Patrik Hedestroem becomes a second grade detective and the experienced crime reader will find so many holes in the plot that he /she will think twice before purchasing another Lackberg novel.

I ordered this book through Amazon and it was delivered on time and in great condition. I really enjoyed reading it, it was well written and kept me intrigued to the end. I would happily read another by Ms. Lackberg. I have been focusing on Scandanavian Crime Fiction this year and think it is truly wonderful. It shows a difference in attitudes and customs and thinking and instructs much more that just working toward solving crimes.

Lackberg's "The Ice Princess" is a book that I rated at five stars because I loved the interplay between all of the different stories that were going on in the town of Fjellbacka that coincided with the main murder mystery plot. It was a really well rounded cop-solves-a-murder story that felt like a real-life account and had well-rounded and developed characters and a plot that moved along at just the right place.

"The Preacher" tries really hard to hit the same mark, and simply falls short. In this, Patrik and Erika are back, but unlike last time Erika has absolutely no connection to the murder being solved whatsoever, and so her entire plotline as the expectant mother adds nothing the much more engaging investigation going on. She feels tacked on, and has no relevance to the case, unlike last time when she was an active participant in the investigation, and worked closely with her now-husband. In this, she takes up a lot of pages, but really doesn't add anything.

And the thing about it is, if you were to simply take her out of the equation entirely, "the Preacher" wouldn't really be half bad. Unfortunately, Camille is trying to make a series out of something that really should have been done and over with after "Ice Princess" because of the serious problems in this book. The stories simply don't work with a great excess of characters who aren't related to the primary plot.