The Preacher

Publisher's Summary

In the fishing community of Fjällbacka, life is remote, peaceful—and for some, tragically short. Foul play was always suspected in the disappearance 20 years ago of two young holidaymakers in the area. Now a young boy out playing has confirmed this grim truth. Their remains, discovered with those of a fresh victim, send the town into shock. Local detective Patrik Hedstrom, expecting a baby with his girlfriend Erica, can only imagine what it is like to lose a child. When a second young girl goes missing, Hedstrom’s attention focuses on the Hults, a feuding clan of misfits, religious fanatics and criminals. The suspect list is long but time is short—which of this family’s dark secrets will provide the vital clue?

©2010 Original material © 2010 Camilla Lackberg. Translation © 2009 Steven T. Murray. Recorded by arrangement with Pegasus Books. (P)2011 (p) 2011 HighBridge Company

Critic Reviews

“Läckberg’s many-layered story features plot twists and turns galore. Especially effective are her flashbacks . . . Highly recommended for readers who like mysteries set in foreign countries.” ( Library Journal)

“[Läckberg] is an expert at mixing scenes of domestic cosiness with blood-curdling horror! A must for white-knuckle junkies.” ( Guardian)

“A welcome addition to the swelling ranks of Scandinavian crime writers!” ( Irish Independent)

2nd Book is Good, 1st Book was Excellent

I enjoy Camilla Lackberg's writing a great deal. She reminds me of a Swedish Kate Atkinson ("Case Histories") with the well developed characters, witty dialog, domestic back-stories that combine with an intriguing mystery. It is so hard to believe that this is only Lackberg's second book. At her young age, she is so accomplished with good story telling and pacing for a mystery. I was hooked from the first listen.

The story starts out with a young boy finding a young woman's cadaver -- with 2 older skeletons underneath the body. All are connected with more to come. I will be honest that the mystery, while intriguing, was not as riveting as the first book. But can you blame anyone on expecting the same when the first book in a mystery series is excellent. Everything she writes will now be compared to "The Ice Princess". I am so pleased that Erica and Patrick continue in the series. I loved every scene with both of them.

The narrator seems a strange choice for these books. I am learning to like him, but it seems like a very English proper voice with strange interpretations of how many of the other characters sound.

Looking forward to listening to book # 3 sometime in the near future.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Silly voices

Would you try another book from Camilla Läckberg and/or David Thorn?

I really like Camilla Láckberg's stories but could hardly get through this one because of the dreadful narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoy these Scandinavian settings and the mixture of personal and domestic details with the police work.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator must have trained at the University of Silly Voices. Even when he wasn't doing a comedy old man, childish sounding woman, northern England accent etc, his 'normal' voice was annoying with affected and old-fashioned pronunciations such as 'orf' for 'off' and pronouncing the 'h' in words such as 'when' and 'where'. I will definitely avoid any books narrated by him in the future.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great book. I bought her previous book right away.

I'll be on the lookout for more books by this author - especially if they are narrated by David Thorn. Definitely worth buying and listening to. It held my interest and intrigued me throughout. Interesting characters and a plot that was certainly not run of the mill. Highly recommend (I just rarely give 5 stars to anything).

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Put Me To Sleep

Would you try another book from Camilla Läckberg and/or David Thorn?

I like the story but the narration was dull. The voices seemed very forced and unnatural. Luckily I also bought the Kindle book (they aren't synced) and could read the book. The audio is a waste in my opinion.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The Swedish setting was interesting. Some of the subplots slowed the story to a snail's pace.

Would you be willing to try another one of David Thorn’s performances?

Absolutely not. This is the worst audio I've ever listened to. I selected it for listening while on a 14-hour road trip. Bad choice.

What character would you cut from The Preacher?

The visitors to Erica's home.

Any additional comments?

Try "The Ice Princess"--also from this author.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Just OK -- average story, rather weak narration

I don't mind so much that the narrator gives almost every Swede a British accent, but David Thorn isn't very good with adjusting voices for the characters, which sometimes made it hard to tell them apart.

As for the story -- well, the mystery itself was just average (using the old hack of an illness to explain things), but I did enjoy the characters much more than I did when they were introduced in the first book (The Ice Princess)......they seem much more fleshed out and real, as do the characters around them, both at work and at home. I enjoyed the "non-mystery" stories of visiting family, mail order brides, and office politics far more than I did the crime and mystery itself.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Love this series

I am really enjoying this series that takes place in Sweden. I feel like I know the main detective and his and his wife's family-the writer gives such vivid descriptions of what they are thinking. The story lines are good and I also like the narrator.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Camille Lackbergs great Swedish crime books

David Thorn is obviously a very experienced narrated. But I would like to hear a narrator who has a Scandinavian background .Someone who can pronounce the names better and give the characters in Camilla Lachbergs books pleasant voices, several of them have lower class accents. In Scandinavia policemen are well educated and middle to upper middle class.
I've just finished The Preacher and last week I really enjoyed The Ice Princess. As well as being great easy going crime stories they also tell you about living in a village in coastal Scandinavia .
I've listened to some great Scandinavian crime books lately including Asa Larsson who writes from the north of Sweden .

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great book like Wallander series.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I really enjoyed this book and the series she has written. Very fine story telling.

What other book might you compare The Preacher to and why?

Wallendar series

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Solid Mystery

This is a good book if not a great one. However...the inconsistency of the recoding is very disruptive.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Another great Lackberg mystery

I loved the narration as well as the story. Although the story is gruesome as can be expected, the characterizations of all concerned are so well done, she makes me care very much about all of them. With twists and turns til the end, I had a hard time taking a break!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful