The Ice Princess: A Novel Paperback – March 29, 2011

Erica Falck had returned to her small Swedish childhood home to clean out her parents home after their tragic deaths, only to discover her childhood friend Alex dead in her bathtub, apparently a victim of suicide. Alex had abruptly moved away at age ten, so there is a huge gap in what Erica knows about Alex. But that is hardly the half of it. Much had occurred in that small town since Erica herself had moved away, some of which seems at least indirectly related to Alex.Fortunately, Erica discovers that a childhood friend Patrik Hedstrom is with the local police department and is willing to dig beneath the surface of Alex’s death. Erica, as an author of biographies, has excellent interviewing skills. Between them both they interview any number of people with possible connections to the case, even going back twenty-five years when Alex left town. Slowly, related and incidents and actions are uncovered.The book is an interesting read. Erica and Patrik are compelling characters. One could say that some extraneous details are included, but they add to the background, not to mention the growing relationship of Erica and Patrik. More to come.

THE ICE PRINCESS REVIEWFirst, a confession. I'm not enthusiastic about reviewing translated prose. Am I critiquing the author's writing or the translator's interpretation of it? Is it fair to judge a book using a stand-in writer as the actual author? The answers have always been difficult for me to determine. In this case, I think I've found the resolution.THE ICE PRINCESS is written by Swedish author Camilla Läckberg and translated by Steven T. Murray. I checked on Murray to find out if he is a respected translator. It turns out that he is eminent in his field, having provided translation for 21 Swedish works, 6 Danish and 2 German/Spanish. Perhaps his best known translation (using the pseudonym of Reg Keeland) is THE GIRL WHO trilogy, the late Steig Larsson's global best selling thriller. So I'm going out on a limb and declaring that my review will be directed at Camilla Läckberg, the author.I think the Princess is an excellent book but I have a few misgivings. This was Läckberg's first novel and I sensed a lack of originality that new writers often display. The characterizations, dialogue, plot constructions, and relationships were slightly formulaic. I know from reading a Läckberg interview that she is a voracious reader of crime novels and I found traces of writing techniques used by other crime fiction writers which sometimes is indicative of a fledgling's desperate search and failure to find fresh themes and new crime scene techniques. It wasn't a glaring shortcoming but, in my opinion, it was there.To be fair, I haven't read any of the author's books written since this one, originally published in 2003, so I can't establish if she has modified her writing style. But, judging from the success of her newer books, my criticism might be somewhat untimely. I hope, however, that she has pared back the wordiness, eliminated the unnecessary asides, and avoided straying from the theme. I'll be looking at her newer works to see if she has managed to do that.There's no question about the skills of the author. She has an enthusiastic and clear writing style. The structure was solid, the plot was clever, and the final disclosure of the mystery was wonderfully prepared and presented. I had no trouble in reading the book, enjoying it, and was eager to see how it all evolved. The setting in a frigid seacoast Swedish village was realistically portrayed and added to the atmosphere of the novel. Some of the characters were admirable and others were bottom feeders, a successful formula for any good book.I tend to be picky about my crime novels and which ones I read. There are so many out there and, frankly, some shouldn't be. Fortunately, Camilla Läckberg's book is one that shines and, except for my uneasiness about its wordiness, is very enjoyable. I highly recommend it.Schuyler T WallaceAuthor of TIN LIZARD TALES

I put off writing my review of "The Ice Princess" by Camilla Läckberg for several days because I couldn't make up my mind whether or not I like it. The basic premise is intriguing enough: Erica Falck, a writer of biographies, back in her small hometown of Fjällbacka, Sweden, discovers the frozen dead body of a childhood girlfriend, Alex.Coincidentally, she is reunited with another friend from her youth, now an investigator with the local police department. And wouldn't you know it, Erica and Patrik soon become involved romantically. As Erica forges ahead with her own investigation and follows the official investigation through Patrik's eyes (at least as much as he is able to reveal to her), she begins to wonder just how well she really knew Alex. I like that Lackberg concerned herself with more than just the police investigation.On the other hand, perhaps she spends just a tad too much time with the developing heavy passion between Erica and Patrik and Erica's fretting over whether or not she looks good enough for her new love interest... even to the point of telling us what kind of support underwear (to make her look thinner) Erica wears on their first dinner date.And then, near the end, there is some business with an older couple that seems to drop right out of the sky and which serves no real purpose.In the end, I feel "The Ice Princess" is either a murder mystery disguised as a romance novel or a romance novel disguised as a murder mystery. But it's definitely not one or the other. I might come back to read more from Läckberg -- I recall that I didn't like Mari Jungstedt's first novel very much either but absolutely loved her subsequent stories -- but for now there are already many other authors in line ahead of her.

Camilla Lackberg has been compared to Stag Larsson. Lackberg is an excellent writer in her own right. I find her less intense and not as dark as Larsson. This is a very interesting, multi-layered, who-done-it, that has several things going on, with a tiny bit of humor thrown in a couple of times. She spins a great mystery, that keeps you on your toes and guessing and challenges your "sleuth" ability. Proudly, I was able to figure out a couple of things before they were "revealed" but not everything. There is one, kind-of, loose end that I won't discuss here in order to not ruin the book for others but it does not interfere with the book as a whole or interfere with the outcome of the murder mystery. Possibly, this one item will be addressed in further books as she does continue with her characters. Lackberg has written 7 books that have been translated into English and I intend to keep all of them on my "to read" list. She is that good. Highly recommend.

Me está gustando mucho. La autora es genial. Los personajes muy bien caracterizados y mantiene vivo el suspense hasta el final. El lenguaje muy cuidado a pesar de estar traducido al inglés. Suena bastante natural y es muy rico en descripción. He leído algún libro suyo en castellano y, aunq tb están bastante logradas las traducciones, si q veía inconsistencias en los tiempos verbales.

Whoever is fan of crime thriller will definitely like it.Definitely a page turner and suspense will last till the end of the book.

Great and gripping novel. Once you start reading and once you pick it up. It is hard to put down.

Good characters and character development. Good plot. It’s a real page turner and I ended up putting other things aside to make it a priority. It’s great to find a new Swedish writer who writes so well!

Buen libro, la historia está bien llevada, los personajes muy bien descritos, te mantiene entretenido hasta el final, espero leer los siguientes