Stone Cutter (Patrik Hedstrom 3) [Hardcover]

Camilla Lackberg (Author)

Book Description

Series: Patrik Hedstrom 3 | Publication Date: March 4, 2010

For the first time in English, the third psychological thriller from No 1 bestselling Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg. The remote resort of Fjallbacka has seen its share of tragedy, though perhaps none worse than that of the little girl found in a fisherman's net. But the post-mortem reveals that this is no accidental drowning! Local detective Patrik Hedstrom has just become a father. It is his grim task to discover who could be behind the methodical murder of a child both he and his partner, Erica, knew well. He knows the solution lies with finding a motive for this terrible crime. What he does not know is how this case will reach into the dark heart of Fjallbacka and tear aside its idyllic facade, perhaps forever.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for 'The Ice Princess': 'Another top-class Scandinavian crime writer reaches the British market' The Times 'A welcome new voice in crime fiction' Woman & Home 'Has a brooding quality redolent of its barren Swedish landscapes! intriguing and not a little disturbing' Irish Times 'Chilly, deceptive and lucid, just like the icy environment it describes' Literary Review '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

About the Author

Born in 1974, Camilla Lackberg graduated from Gothenburg University of Economics, before moving to Stockholm where she worked for a few years as an economist. However, a course in creative crime writing became the trigger to a drastic change of career. Her first four novels all became Swedish No 1 bestsellers. She lives in a suburb of Stockholm.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (March 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007305931
• ISBN-13: 978-0007305933
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Scandinavian

More About the Author

Born in 1974, Camilla Läckberg graduated from Gothenburg University of Economics, before moving to Stockholm where she worked for a few years as an economist. However, a course in creative writing triggered a drastic change of career. Her first six novels all became Swedish No. 1 bestsellers. She lives in a suburb of Stockholm.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Densely packed plotting for third in series, July 11, 2010

By 

Librarian (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Stonecutter (Patrik Hedstrom 3) (Kindle Edition)

"The Stonecutter" begins when a fisherman pulls young red-haired Sara's lifeless body out of the water along the coast of Fjallbacka, Sweden. At first, it appears the headstrong daughter of Charlotte and Niclas, who have just recently moved to Fjallbacka, has accidentally drowned. But the autopsy reveals that the water in Sara's lungs is not seawater, but bath water. Now Detective Patrik Hedstrom must conduct a murder investigation among warring neighbors and less-than-happy couples, as well as navigate the political backwaters of the Tanemshede Police Department, a substation of Goteberg, where his incompetent boss, Chief Mellberg, longs to return. In addition, Patrik is the new father of a baby girl and his wife is close friends with the victim's mother, Charlotte. It's all a bit overwhelming for the exhausted detective who finds the investigation has become far more personal than his previous cases.

This third title, an English translation from Swedish author Camilla Lackberg's Fjallbacka mystery series, presents a far more dense narrative landscape than the previous two novels, "The Ice Princess" and "The Preacher." The structure consists of alternating time periods that shift between a story in the past and the present-day account of the murder investigation, but the tie between the two narratives is not revealed until the end. There are also multiple side stories dealing with the lives and relationships of the various characters. Collectively, it all makes for a somewhat cluttered plot. But Lackberg knits it all together in the end. Although the killer's motivation may seem a bit preposterous, "The Stonecutter" is still a good whodunit police procedural with interesting characters, both new and familiar, in a cozy setting with more than enough mystery to go around.

This review is based on the HarperCollins digital edition.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Swedish Psycho-Killers Strike Again, August 3, 2010

By 

Joel Graber (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stone Cutter (Patrik Hedstrom 3) (Hardcover)

Camilla Lackberg has conjured a Peyton Place of psycho-killers in and around her hometown of Fjällbacka, une petite ville de Suède, de la commune de Tanum, an old fishing village, now resort village, winter population 812, 165 km from Oslo, in her own trilogy now getting full publication in the states following Larsson's multi-part masterwork so well-received. The reader almost feels the luxuriance of Berlin Alexanderplatz in this series, or perhaps something by Bergman for TV in the 60s -- that other 60s -- with Lackberg's continually evolving characters.

Not exactly literary, and as a police procedural this reviewer, who acquired the book from Amazon.co.uk, defers to the genre experts, but a terrific read on the subway, all the way down the street and up the elevator.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Slow, stale and exhausting read, November 22, 2011

By 

Shy - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stone Cutter (Patrik Hedstrom, Book 3) (Paperback)

The Stonecutter turned out to be such a tiresome read for me. It feels like the author tried to cover so many grounds in her book till she losed focus and failed to emphasis more on the thing that suppose to matter most: the mystery and the routes to solve it.

The only thing that can be found in a bundle here is the neverending emotional outburst mostly from the female characters. To read about their endless self-pity where they blame others for difficulties that they have to face is utterly exhausting. And to have this train of thoughts repeated number of times in the book is simply too much for me.

But what pained me most is the way Läckberg consistently created characters that have a brain the size of a pea and then built some absurd subplots involving them that don't seem to add anything at all to the story. It irks me that she put this seemingly ridiculous storyline upfront while neglecting to be precised and in detail about the proper police works that involved in solving the crime. How this book could be mentioned as at par with the other Scandinavian mysteries is really beyond me.

In the nutshell, I found The Stonecutter to be excruciatingly dull, slow and exhausting read. It is an ordinary whodunit book that have zero suspenseful chapters and by the end, I don't think I really care who actually the perp is anymore. One of the worst books I've ever read. Enough said.