The Stonecutter

By: Camilla Läckberg

Narrated by: David Thorn

Length: 16 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

The remote resort town of Fjällbacka has seen more than its share of tragedies, but a little girl found in a fisherman's net may be the worst yet - especially when the postmortem reveals that this was a methodical murder, not an accidental drowning.

Local detective Patrik Hedstrom has just become a father, and it’s his grim task to discover who could have killed a child both he and his partner Erica knew well. He realizes that the solution lies with finding a motive for this terrible crime. Although Hedstrom is no stranger to the criminal mind, he couldn’t possibly predict how this case will reach into Fjällbacka’s darkest heart, spanning generations and ripping aside its idyllic façade, perhaps forever.

©2012 Camilla Lackberg (Pegasus Books Edition). Translation © 2009 Steven T. Murray. Recorded by arrangement with Pegasus Books. (P)2012 HighBridge Company

Critic Reviews

"A perfectly plotted and paced mystery bolstered by strong, realistic characters makes this a must-read for all followers of Scandinavian crime fiction." ( Booklist)

"[Camilla Lackberg] strips conventional veneers from her achingly complex characters." ( Publishers Weekly)

“ The Stonecutter, by Camilla Läckberg . . . continues her excellent series . . . The main narrative is cleverly interspersed with flashbacks from the past, the relevance of which becomes apparent as the novel progresses. Läckberg is particularly good at portraying the claustrophobia of a small community in which everyone knows everyone else and the police may well be friends with killers.” (Marcel Berlins, The Times)

Extremely enjoyable

This book was a surprise. The narration was well done. I was engrossed and entertained through out. l especially like the writing style of the author. This is well work the time. I highly recommend this to my fellow audio book listeners.

Superb!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Stonecutter to be better than the print version?

The narrator was excellent,so I would say I got more from the listening experience.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Ms. Lackberg wove an ingenious plot from strands of the past and present to create a riveting story. The suspense and uncertainty built inexorably.

Which character – as performed by David Thorn – was your favorite?

Patric was the unifying character throughout, but each player was extremely well done.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes - it was difficult to pace myself.

Any additional comments?

I absolutely want to listen to more from this author. She is first rate, a thrilling new Scandinavian mystery writer.

Wow!! What a treasure!

This is the best mystery/suspense I have read all year. Great plot and characters so well defined, I had no trouble keeping up with who was who. I had eyed this book for quite.a while and bought it when Audible put it on sale. Thanks Audible, I owe you one!

Unrelentlessly Cynical...but a great read!

This book turns detective fiction upside down. The detectives are mere mortals, while the villains are the strongest characters. The author exposes the inner thoughts of all the characters. In a deliciously cynical way these thoughts reveal many of the characters to be sailing on the same ship...The Ship of Fools.

Undeveloped characters and way too many.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. Way too long; too many extraneous characters. Simplistic writing. Maybe it was the translation from Swedish to English, but the charcters were more like caricatures.

What could Camilla Läckberg have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Cut it in half, and leave the good parts.

Have you listened to any of David Thorn’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Do you think The Stonecutter needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Definitely not.

Great listen!

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

I'd recommend this book just to listen to the narrator. Easy story telling intonation. Great fun!

What about David Thorn’s performance did you like?

Loved it!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

My favorite book in January

A very good psychological thriller.

The remote resort town of Fjällbacka, Sweden, is the scene for the latest murder investigation led by Detective Patrik Hedstrom. A little girl’s body is pulled up in a lobster pot. The detective is shocked when he sees her because he knows her. He and his companion just had a baby, and she was in pre-birth maternity classes with the child’s mother, and the two had become close friends. When the post mortem is completed it is determined that little Sarah drowned, and not in the sea. Her lungs had regular tap water, such as from a bathtub. Additionally, there were ashes in her mouth and in her lungs. As thisi police procedural continues, ashes are thrown on other babies with an attempt to put those ashes in their mouths, but they were saved. And there is evidence of other murders that have been committed. This is a high suspense psychological thriller with two women trying to get used to having just had babies, and the interference by their mother and mother-in-law respectively. But Patrik can see that there’s something not quite right about Sarah’s family, and it’s possible that someone in her own family planned and carried out the murder. We have two parallel plots going on, which of course become entertwined, with murders in both plots. And it’s my kind of story because we, the readers, know more than the police when it’s over. The best one I’ve read by this author

I thought it would never end.

I read mysteries for three things: strong plot, complex character development, and evocation of place. This book fails on all three fronts. While it is an interesting exploration of the myriad ways that women crack and break under the stress of rigid patriarchal systems, the parallel plot lines--one from the past and the main one in the present--are not equal. The characters from the past are flat and stereotypical, while those in the present are better developed but unbelievably dense! Even our hero, the erstwhile detective Patric, "forgets" things that are essential to good police work and misses something in an interview he listens to again and again that the reader catches immediately. Worst to my thinking, is the failure to make Fjällbacka come alive, as Lackberg did with much better success in The Ice Princess. Except for a couple of brief scenes, this story could have happened anywhere (which may be Lackberg's point, but still, Fjällbacka is too colorful and interesting not to play a role in the story).

The reader is frankly terrible. Thorn would be fine if he would just read in a normal voice, but he gives all the characters fake British accents, randomly assigning Cockneyesque, Scottish, and even vaguely Australianesque accents to distinguish among the characters, which polishes off the tendency of the book (especially the storyline from the past) to caricature. The mystery is interesting enough to read as part of the growing body of Swedish mysteries (I finished it, grudgingly), but I would recommend reading this one in print, so you can skim over the slower parts and do your own "voices."

Keeps getting better

Any additional comments?

This is a great book. I really love the author's style of weaving stories together to resolve the plot and I really enjoy the characters too. After seeing this on an NPR best of 2012 list I decided to listen to the series and I can't wait for her latest novels to be translated!

A Wonderful Page Turner

I loved this book. What a complex cast of characters. The ability to have one mystery span decades was brilliant. It was nearly impossible to see the connections till almost the end. the collateral damage to lives and families in mean time was fascinating. I was amazed that the author was able to all of the different stories into one.