Review: The Ice Princess

The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review of ICE PRINCESS by Camilla Lackberg
[Patrick Hedstrom #1]
This first in a series by acclaimed and prolific Swedish author Camilla Lackberg carries that particular flavour I've found common in Scandianavian noir and crime fiction. Perhaps it's living in a part of the world where winter is always a serious business, sometimes life or death, and where darkness comes early and lingers. In any event, I've noticed among many Scandinavian authors that there is a sort of subtle aloofness, a remoteness often common to the characters [of course, this is also true in the wonderful The Wasp Factory by Iain M. Banks, not a Scandinavian author, but a novel that falls into this flavour nonetheless, very clearly so].

From the initial bathtub death scene, the reader is impelled into the story line, following along as noted biographer Erica Falck becomes convinced to undercover the life and secrets of her late childhood best friend, Alexandra. The translation into English is excellent, and provides a pleasant and entertaining journey into the heart of a very puzzling mystery. Did she? Or didn't she? If not she, then Who?

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