The Ice Princess

By: Camilla Lackberg

Narrated by: Robin Bowerman

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

The psychological thriller debut of No 1 bestselling Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg.

Returning to her hometown after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning. Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice-cold bath, it seems, at first, that she has taken her own life.

Erica conceives a memoir about the beautiful but remote Alex, one that will help to overcome her writer's block as well as answer questions about their own past. While her interest grows to an obsession, local detective Patrik Hedstrom is following his own suspicions about the case. But it is only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about this small town with a deeply disturbing past…

©2011 Camilla Lackberg (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishing Limited

Critic Reviews

Praise for ‘The Ice Princess':‘Heart-stopping and heart-warming, ‘The Ice Princess' is a masterclass in Scandinavian crime writing' Val McDermid‘Camilla Läckberg 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 RobinsonEuropean reviews for ‘The Ice Princess':‘The plot is simply superb, in an almost Agatha Christie-style. The cast of characters emerge with clarity and feel quite genuine… secrets come out in the 331-page book that bring about more things than murder. I read it in one go. A book that you can't put down' Sala Allehanda‘Camilla Läckberg is a Crime Queen' Bild am Sontag‘Strong portrayals and ice-cold suspense from Sweden's new Agatha Christie' My Life‘Ingenious' Metropol'This is unputdownable. Läckberg keeps the thrills coming until the very end' Viva'Camilla Läckberg was voted Swedish Writer of the Year for 2005. Bring on the next one!' Crimezone.nl‘An amazingly mature, well thought-out and exciting criminal novel…Leckberg stands out as the best first-time offender of the year' Jury

Totally worthwhile

I really enjoyed this. It was my first audio book and it has totally got me hooked.
The narration was brilliant.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable story

The language is straightforward and so it is not too complicated and easy to follow when multi-tasking. I enjoyed the characters which are well drawn and the main protagonists are very relateable. I think this would be enjoyed by anyone who likes the classic crime genre - rather than the more violent and graphic style.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Dull.

I don’t know if it was the translation but it was like be lectured by a 1950s school teacher who was determined to keep repeating the point. The language is dull -the reader sounds like he’s reading a book to a child (no acting at all). I guessed the story....not the ordered but everything else.

the ice princess.

spoilt a good book by a reader who doesn't believe in full stops or even commas. very disconcerting when lines.run into one another so that one is confused about who is being spoken about. after two.thirds.of the book I could keep up!

What's the hurry?

Reasonable story but more of the usual romance and relationship problems than a who done it, and nothing constructive happens until the last pages. I found the language a little twee, a bit like the old movies. What really got to me was why does the narrator gallop into the next chapter without taking a breath? It takes a moment or two to realise that, without a break, we have moved into a different situation. A small gap to indicate a change of direction would have helped. I have read 2 of her books and, if I am looking for a light read, I will try another.

Very good, surprise killer!

I enjoyed this novel - fairly complex, but held my interest. Good characters and very well crafted plot.

My only gripe is that the narrator barely drew breath when changing characters, so I was a bit flummoxed for a few seconds - then realised the character had changed. This didn't spoil my enjoyment, but it happened several times.

Great story

This is a new author for me but really enjoyed. Lots of side steps on the way but all coming together at the end. Narrator was easy to listen to.

Take a breath man!!

Not a bad story but the narrators affectation of not pausing for even a millisecond between what must surely be paragraphs in the book is disorienting and irritating.

A great story spoilt a little by the reading.

Hearing the Scandinavian names but not reading them makes it more difficult to follow the narrative smoothly, but the lack of "space" between sections within the chapters caught this listener out too many times. We need a longer pause between scenes to match the extra space that appears in the written text.

Great book, enjoyable read despite mispronunciation of a few local words and places.

Enjoyed the twists and turns, and great to get a sense of the real Sweden.