Camilla Lackberg - The Girl in the Woods

A MISSING CHILD…
When a four-year-old girl disappears from in the woods just outside Fjällbacka, the community is horror-struck. Thirty years ago, a young girl went missing from the exact same spot, and was later discovered, murdered.
A MURDER…
Back then, two teenage girls were found guilty of the killing. Could it really be a coincidence that one of the girls – now a world-famous actress – has just returned to Fjällbacka? Detective Patrik Hedström starts investigating, with his fearless wife, Erica Falck, by his side.
A TRUTH BURIED LONG AGO…
But as Patrik and Erica dig deeper, the truth becomes ever murkier. For centuries ago, a woman burned at the stake for witchcraft cursed the Fjällbacka families who accused her, and now it seems the past may be coming back to haunt them…

Comment: This is the most recent installment in the Fjällbacka series, which features the couple Erica and Patrik as the main characters. My edition is a paperback copy, which was released very recently despite the hardcover had been out since last year.

In this story, the main focus is the investigation of the disappearance of a young girl, in the same spot where another girl thirty years ago had also gone missing. That girl was found dead and now many people fear the same thing could happen.

There are also some coincidences that Patrik doesn't trust such as the fact that after all those years, the two teenagers who admitted the rime but later retracted their statements are again in
Fjällbacka after not seeing each other in all that time. But if this is related to the girl missing, why doing soemthign that would point out the guilt to them once more?

Once again, the author leads the readers through quite a rollercoaster. There are many details to thnk about, to focus on, to connect to one another and although I like the style, it was a little tiring to keep up with so many things at once.

Basically, the multi POV tactic is refreshing and gives the reader the sense we follow everything and are aware of so many things but the only problem with this being a suspense is that the characters don't share all their thoughts and this doesn't seem realistic, considering how we see certain scenes when the truth comes out. Some secrecy in their words and movements just doesn't feel realistic. 

In this novel we have, by going through the POV of several people:

- the crime investigation 

- the issue of refugees from the Middle East countries

- bullying

- the domestic lives of many people

- the issues of complicated relationships

- comparisons to the old case of the missing girl 

- and also the POV of the woman in 1671

All these threads combine one another page after page and it's a lot to focus on. Of course the author does it very well, the story despite long (my copy has around 770 pages) flows and it's very easy to turn the pages to see what happens. 

I think the author was clever in choosing how to portray her characters and the ones we are used to see now - Erica, Patrik, Martin, Paula, Rita, Anna, Mellberg - aid in this sense that there is a community there, that even with complicated things in their personal lives, they are people one can trust.

Following the main issues dealt in this novel, we have the way each character embodies those situations. There's a lot to take in in this story and when I got to the end and realized how everything is connected, it's actually a sad thought that so many people suffer pointlessly because of things avoidable. Others not so much but it does make one think that many problems would be solved if people actually used their brains and communicated their feelings or opinions and respected others. 

It's interesting how the "secondary" plots were intertwined here. The investigation of the little girl's disappearance is the focus point of the suspense but there are some issues around that are very contemporary like the refugees are accepted or not in the countries where they escape to and the bullying. People can be cruel and I liked how the author didn't mince words or scenes to demonstrate in a fictional tale how real these subjects can be. In the end, they proved to be even more serious than what i expected. I mean, there are times where the clues seem to align, a word, a scene that points in the right direction and then we get distracted by other things. In the end, the surprise wasn't as much why but the how certain situations would happen.

This was a great suspense book, I like the community created between the central cast of characters and I'd return to these books for those characters alone, it's always good to see them interact and see their loves moving on. As for this book's plot, what other consequence could it have? It's another sign that contemporary societies aren't as amazing as many prefer to imagine.

Grade: 8/10

Mini Comments

The following books were the last three books I've read in 2016.
I'm just writing some sentences about each one, just to wrap things up when it comes to 2016 reads and sort of leave the past year of readings already dealt with.

These three books are placed on reading order, older at the bottom. I think it was a great way to end the year although none of them made it to best list  :)

Comment: The Ice Child is a book I was quite expectant to read because it's the newest installment in the Patrick Hedstrom and Ericka Falck series by author Camilla Lackberg. I find this one of the best thriller/mysteries series I've been following lately so I was happy to read it. 

In this book, we keep on following the lives of all the known characters, their personal challenges and troubles make the story feel closer to us a s a reader. As always, there's mystery, a young girl is found on a road but she dies soon after and the investigation leads the police and Ericka to a certain group of characters. They find out the girl had a secret but when they realize they were looking at that secret through the wrong perspective, that makes it easier to follow some leads. Ericka is working on a new book too and interestingly, that and the crime look they can be related...

I think this isn't the strongest book in the series. The domestic side of the story felt interesting like all the others, but the crime didn't seem as well structured as others and even the end, although understandable from a realistic POV, seemed rushed and let out some loose ends I would have preferred to see done differently. All in all, good but not the best.

Grade: 7/10

Comment: The Good Neighbor is an m/m story by Clare London, featuring Dylan, a young man who has to endure the advice and gossip of two great-aunts on everything. Dylan is a teacher, he is happy where he lives and of what he does but yes, he does feel rather lonely. His aunts try to entertain him with stories about Josie, a neighbor that they think would be perfect for him. She is away often but Dylan takes care of her house mostly because he has been having an affair with Josie's brother Neal, someone who isn't often in town. But now Neal is around for one of his few escapades to see Dylan and of course Dylan is eager to see him as well. But is this secret relationship enough or is Dylan ready to change his expectations?

I liked this story for the most part but yes, the aunts comments and attitudes seemed very obvious and without any real importance to the main plot, which was Neal and Dylan's issues when it comes to be together. This is a short story so things happen quickly but the pages would have been better used to show the guys' relationship better instead of making it look like a silly comedy.

Grade: 6/10

Comment: The Firebrand is the story of Lucy Hathaway, the third heroine from the

Chicago Fire trilogy by author Susan Wiggs. Lucy is a fighter for woman's rights, after the fire, where her family lost all the money, she manages to find credit at a bank and have her own bookshop, dedicated to women's literature and women's rights publications. Lucy also saved a child from the great fire and she is now a proud mother. Everything changes when she goes to the bank and finds a man she used to be attracted to and to whom she proposed an affair, before the fire, not knowing he was married. He is now divorced and has the scars from the fire and is also the manager of the bank that will end Lucy's business if she doesn't get more profits. But one picture will change everything...

I liked this story, it has many amazing elements and I really liked the romance and the beginning of the plot. I was really enjoying it all until a certain element was added to the plot, which wasn't necessary in my opinion and made things start to drag...the romance was cute but it could have been much more vibrant. The HEA was what one would expect despite some noticeable loose ends. 

Grade: 8/10

Camilla Lackberg / Dorothy Love

Sophie has spent a lifetime guarding her heart and a long-held secret. It will take all of her courage to speak the truth and embrace the future God has planned for her.
The year is 1886, and Sophie Robillard returns to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, after living in Texas for 15 years as the ward of Ada and Wyatt Caldwell. Now that the town's population has exploded, her intention is to reopen the long-defunct newspaper office that so captivated her when she was still an orphan. The rejection she experienced as a child because of her mixed parentage has left deep scars that she hopes can be healed by succeeding in this new venture.
Ethan Heyward was uprooted from his home as a boy following an unspeakable tragedy. Horace Blakely, a millionaire businessman, took Ethan under his wing and eventually put him in charge of the construction and opening of Blue Smoke resort in Hickory Ridge.
They meet when Sophie arrives at Blue Smoke to interview Ethan for her newspaper. As their attraction deepens, each hides a secret that, if revealed, could end their relationship.


Easter 1974. A family vanishes from their home on an idyllic island off the Swedish coast. They have left everything behind – including their one-year-old daughter, Ebba.
Now, years later, Ebba has returned to the island. She and her husband have suffered the loss of their only child and are looking to make a fresh start. But within days, their house is the target of an arson attack.
Detective Patrik Hedstrom takes on the investigation, aided by his wife, crime writer Erica Falck, who has always been fascinated by the mystery of Ebba’s abandonment and the family’s tragic history.
When dried blood is found under the floorboards of the old house, it seems that the cold case involving the missing family is about to be brought back to life. And soon, Patrik and Erica are consumed by the hunt for a killer who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried…

Comment: Time is short and I've been busy, so these two books, which I liked, are only going to have a small comment. 
I liked Lackberg' book better, but it's an author that always comes to the level I expect of her. As usual her book was well constructed, mysterious and with enough domestic drama to sustain the other side of horror.
I also liked Love's story, so much better than the previous book in this Hickory Ridge series, and this time, there was a different feel to the plot, with a lesser "martyr" feel to it and less negative too. I think the author really tried to balance this one better.

Buried Angels is the story of a a young woman who returns with her husband to an island where she lived as a child, after they lost their baby boy. However, someone doesn't want her there because of the secrets that might come out of it. The plot follows the secrets of the island, of the people who lived there and the family story of the young woman. We also see ot protagonists, how their lives are at and someone makes a decision that will have consequences...
I liked the story, as usual the feel of things, the way things are presented is really well done and makes the reader feel immersed in such a state one can't just disconnect from the story. I love the domestic side of things too, I think it's what makes these books so good for me and both sides are amazing. The mystery is surprising as usual although not as imaginative as some of the previous ones. Still, a winner for me and I like the constant good work the author presents.
Grade: 8/10

Every Perfect Gift is the story of a young woman also returning to her hometown, but in her case the memories aren't all good because she is an orphan and wasn't treated well by everyone. She was kind of adapted and found happiness but now she's back where it all begun to keep up the local paper tradition. In the mean time she meets Ethan, the responsible for the hotel that is attracting so many people to Hickory Ridge and they start seeing each other socially and because of work. But not everyone is happy with Sophie's work at the paper and less so of what she writes about. But good friends and a good heart will carry Sophie to her goals.
I liked this one, it had a more positive feel to it than the previous story. I think the author addressed well most of the issues of the book, although Sophie's parentage was a bit too loose dealt, I mean, I don't think the way things happened and were "solved" was the most successful one. I, for one, didn't feel happy with how things were done, but well...apart from that, most things happened at the right pace and there's a HEA so...all things considered, a good enough story.
Grade: 7/10

Camilla Lackberg - The Lost Boy

Mats Sverin was Fjällbacka's financial director on a regeneration project worth millions. When he is found murdered, Detective Patrik Hedström must find answers. It seems Mats was a man who everybody liked yet nobody really knew—a man with something to hide...Is it just a coincidence that his high school sweetheart, Nathalie, has returned to the area? What does she know about who Mats really was?
However, Nathalie has her own secret. Something has made her and her five-year-old son flee to their remote family home on the 'Ghost Isle'. And that is where she'll stay and shield her son from the evils of the world. But, as the murder investigation draws a blank, the police have to dig deeper—and before long, everyone's lives will be dragged into the light ...

Comment: This is the 7th book in the Patrick Hedstrom and Erica Falck series by Camilla Lackberg, where we follow the lives of the police officers as well as the crimes they try to solve. I was very eager to read this one because it's one of those you know for sure it will be amazing and more than enjoyable.

This time the main crime revolves around Matts Sverin, a man in charge of the finances of a new enterprise in the city. Then he is killed and the police starts to investigate the who and why. At first there are no clues, but later on too many clues come up and the problem is the links to connect the right reason and guilty people. At the same time, there are the personal challenges everyone has to deal with that affect their state of mind and their relationships to others.

The best thing I love about these books is how normal the main characters are, and that includes the police officers that are the main players in the novels from the beginning. Not one of them is over the top dramatic and making stupid decisions because thy think they can take it. I really hate it when characters, especially police officers, try to everything their own way. Thankfully, the domestic part of these books are wonderfully written and are the biggest attraction for me.

The crime in the book has a solution I didn't see coming. Well usually I never guess who the murder is, much less the exact reasons why. In this case, there are several issues being dealt with, which we find out throughout the story. I think it's ingenious how the author picks several society problems and uses them to create her stories, and all in a way that is perfectly acceptable for the reader to think about those things but not being 100% certain which one is the right reason in each case.

The story has a secondary story line, from the past, always in the beginning of new chapters, sort of, always in italic to be different. These stories are part of all the books and they create some sort of connection to the main, contemporary story. In this book's case, the older story line has power, a slow development and is there to add mystery, for there are ghosts and reference to them on an island. I liked the secondary story and the role it plays. Still, I think the way it developed was a bit forced and could have reached the same intent done differently. Just my opinion.

There is a situation that leaves one bothered how the human psique can completely turn around the reality and force someone to see what's not there. I found this sub plot quite disturbing in terms of how the situation could happen but I admit the solution was appropriate although I did cry over some passages because of it. Truly, life extremes have their own lessons and impact...

In the end, I was once more marveled by the author's talent and imagination to create such a story. I already got the next book and can't wait to read it. I recommend this author and her books to all crime readers out there. This book was great and had many ideas and situations to wonder about and speculate and want to know more of but all done in a clever, witty way. Great!

Grade: 8/10

Camilla Lackberg - The Drowning

Christian Thydell's dream has come true: his debut novel, The Mermaid, is published to rave reviews. So why is he as distant and unhappy as ever? When crime writer Erica Falck, who discovered Christian's talents, learns he has been receiving anonymous threats, she investigates not just the messages but also the author's mysterious past. Meanwhile, one of Christian's closest friends is missing. Erica's husband, Detective Patrik Hedstrom, has his worst suspicions confirmed as the mind-games aimed at Christian and those around him become a disturbing reality. But, with the victims themselves concealing evidence, the investigation is going nowhere. Is their silence driven by fear or guilt? And what is the secret they would rather die to protect than live to see revealed? International bestseller Camilla Lackberg delivers a chilling and suspenseful mystery that will grip the reader right until its staggering final twist.

Comment: This is the sixth book by Camilla Lackberg where the heroes are Patrick and Erica. This couple has been involved in some mystery adventures with crime in the mix. The previous book ended with a happy surprise and I was curious to see how further along in this one we'd see that included in the plot.

This book is centered in Christian Thydell, a librarian and writer, often helper of Erica in her researches. Christian wrote a successful book but something isn't well in his private life. At the same time, a body is found in the ice and is the man reported missing, someone beloved in the community. Are these things related  and if so, who would want to hurt that man and why is Christian Thydell suddenly weird and what is he keeping secret?

I am completely amazed by this writer's talent. I've told every time I talk about this author how well she mixes and balances the crime and the domestic sides of her novels. There's always a mystery and crime investigation but her books are much more than this because we see the personal side of many characters, especially the ones not involved in the mystery. So, we have two blocks, both serious in their own level, to oppose each other and making it more easy on the reader. Not many authors manage this well. Anyway, this time the author has kept this and I love how both sides seem to come together and although the crime parts are obviously more explored, I feel so happy to see she isn't letting go of the other parts and they keep being an important aspect of her books. Very good.

But what really got me this time was how engineered this plot was! I wasn't expecting the solution to this crime to be that one! I was really surprised, not for the identity of the guilty one, I rarely try hard to find out who is, I prefer to carry on and be swept away every time, but this book really is amazing because not only the guilty one is a surprise but the reasons behind the whole thing are such a surprise too, I never imagined that or thought it could be! I don't have words, I was completely caught by surprise and from beginning to end I couldn't let this book go, I only stopped when I was forced to.

The crime is very focused on the psychological side, but in a way all of them are. Still, I think the author did an interesting job because she didn't dump all the information about the subject which even someone not very knowledgeable about it can understand there's a lot ore about it to explain. But we have the necessary and the reader can make their own ideas about things, I thought this to be a smart move on her part and I think it's one of the reasons she is so successful.
The characters don't act weirdly and the ones we root for are still a big part of the action and we see them playing their part as usual. The end can be quite the suspense but I'm not afraid of what is to come, but really eager to know what happens. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book!

This book was perfect for me. I really didn't find any fault, anything to change or to point to another direction. This is perfection for me and I really recommend it to everyone because even if others don't see it as I do, I still think it's a good thriller and an interesting read, wonderful to read all day long while is raining/snowing/windy outside. Enjoy!
Grade: 10/10

Camilla Lackberg - The Hidden Child

Crime writer Erica Falck is shocked to discover a Nazi medal among her late mother’s possessions. Haunted by a childhood of neglect, she resolves to dig deep into her family’s past and finally uncover the reasons why. Her enquiries lead her to the home of a retired history teacher. He was among her mother’s circle of friends during the Second World War but her questions are met with bizarre and evasive answers. Two days later he meets a violent death. Detective patrik Hedström, Erica’s husband, is on paternity leave but soon becomes embroiled in the murder investigation. Who would kill so ruthlessly to bury secrets so old? Reluctantly Erica must read her mother’s wartime diaries. But within the pages is a painful revelation about Erica’s past. Could what little knowledge she has be enough to endanger her husband and newborn baby? The dark past is coming to light, and no one will escape the truth of how they came to be . . . 

Comment: Since Ive read the first book by this author I immediately became a fan. I find her writing so refreshing and amazing, I can always count on time well spent with a book by her.

This 5th book with the main characters Erika Falck e Patrick Hedstrom starts not very long after the happening is the 4th book, which led Erika to find out a medal in her mother's possessions. It was a Nazi medal and that will make Erika start an investigation which will help her and the police to make something once wrong now right. At the same time, the lives of those involved will also be on the spotlight...

I really like the author's novels. I find it so amazing how someone can write things apparently so distant as everyday life and crime plots and mix them and make them work. I've said so before, but I keep being amazed by how special and real it seems when the author writes about the character's lives, and not only the protagonists, and their struggles and little daily adventures while developing a crime investigation and the details behind and around the motifs and actions of the killer/s. 

In this book we see Patrick coming up with the fact he's on leave and being with his daughter Maja and being away from work while Erika works. And it's not easy to juggle things and the issues Erika has by feeling bad about not being with Maja as much as before while at the same time breathing more because she doesn't have that responsibility all the time...it may sound something a good mother wouldn't do, but the domestic scenes in these books are extremely to the point and I love them. Plus, there's Mellberg, and his character is one of the funniest and more interesting. He's not only the comic relief, he does play a very important role in easing things and making the book not as violent or horrifying as that.

The crime is also very interesting to follow. Of course there comes a time where the suspects seem obvious but nothing is ever as simple as just knowing. I think for many crime writers the point is to keep the bad guy a question mark until the end, and although this author doesn't say it to the reader, I find it more intriguing the whys of things and she makes a great job of combining a very structured reason with the killer's identity, whether this is a huge surprise or not. I think it is always, but sometimes it can be easier to find out.
There are two investigations happening in this novel, Erika's mother past and her medal and the murder of an old man in his house. I thin the way we start seeing each crime and how it connects at a certain point was very well done and it added a good pace to the story. It was very interesting to follow this.

I enjoy reading these books so much..it's s good when we read something we know it's going to be good and entertaining. The author can write things in a way some people might say it's simplistic, it's not full of metaphors or poetic sayings, but I do love her objectivity and how well she plays the domestic vs thriller dichotomy in her stories, it's really her strongest point.
I recommend the series to everyone, and I hope many more appreciate it too.

Camilla Lackberg / Alison Sinclair

A local woman is killed in a tragic car crash, but it isn't a clear-cut drunk driving case. The victim's blood contains high alcohol levels, but she rarely drank a drop. Meanwhile, a reality TV show begins shooting in the town, and as cameras shadow the stars' every move, tempers start to flare. When a drunken party ends with an unpopular contestant's murder, all eyes turn to the cast and crew could there be a murderer among them? The ratings spike as the country tunes in to a real life murder mystery. Detective Patrik Hedstrom finds himself increasingly unable to focus on the strange circumstances of the first case, but what if that holds the key to a series of other unsolved cases across Sweden? Under the unforgiving media spotlight, Patrik tackles his toughest investigation yet.

  
Magic dies with the mage, or so the Darkborn believe. That's why Lady Telmaine Hearne has been condemned to death for sorcery. She's escaped but is now bound with her mageborn allies for the Borders and war. Meanwhile, her husband, Balthasar, has learned of his family connection to the Shadowborn-and is fighting for survival and sanity as magic turns him against everything he holds dear.

*  *  * 

Comment: These were the first two books I've read this month.

Gallows Bird is the 4th story in the crime series by the author, she continues the major storyline from the first book, with the same usual cast of characters. I like this because slowly we get to see many characters follow their lives and paths and it gives the reader a certain sense of continuity, which I love in a series. In this book, another crime must be solved and it includes several current themes in the world, like the price of fame, the need to be famous, reality shows among other things. I was shocked by some things plot related, although at some point some things start to look clear to the reader. I wished a certain subject was wrong but it wasn't and it still amazes me how some psychological differences can be so easy and for people, when most our lives we learn to see them as wrong and impossible.This was a great book and I can't wait to get my hands on the following ones.

Shadowborn is the end if the trilogy started with Darkborn and followed by Lightborn. 

The end of the trilogy was the tidying up for all the plots and sub plots in curse. We see changes are coming to the world and it will depend on everyone, from all the different races, to accomplish that. I liked the general things happening and what it meant to the society. What I wanted was a more firm end, I mean, the author herself has said she deliberated left things open ended, but to me it was too much. And I mean in the personal level, where I see too many things done unsatisfying. I even emailed the author about my questions but no answer yet. I know this trilogy isn't a romance but I've seen it through a romance filter and some things weren't clear enough for me in that respect. In the end, I have to confess that ruined the story a bit because I was so sure I'd see certain things and when it wasn't obvious or clear, I ended up disappointed. Still, a great fantasy read, an amazing idea and world development and intrigue to last a week.

Camilla Lackberg - The Stone Cutter

The remote resort of Fjallbacka has seen its share of tragedy, though perhaps none worse than that of the little girl found in a fisherman's net. But the post-mortem reveals that this is no accidental drowning! Local detective Patrik Hedstrom has just become a father. It is his grim task to discover who could be behind the methodical murder of a child both he and his partner, Erica, knew well. He knows the solution lies with finding a motive for this terrible crime. What he does not know is how this case will reach into the dark heart of Fjallbacka and tear aside its idyllic facade, perhaps forever.

Comment: This is the third book in the Patrick Hedstrom series by Swedish author Camilla Lackberg.

I've read somewhere someone saying the best thing about this books is how the police members aren't hard men living with the bottle and cursing their nagging wives at home. The cops have their lives, not perfect ones, but normal and that this is the refreshing take in the story. I have to agree, it's wonderful to see characters living such a common routine, dealing with the same problems everyone does, without the drama of drinking and spouse abuse. It's exactly the mix between the everyday live and the horror of crimes that makes this author so popular.

In this novel, the police has to deal with the murder of a little girl. they thought she might have drowned at first but after the ME discovered bath water and ashes in her lungs, it soon became obvious she had to be murdered. During the investigation we are presented to various characters, and all of them have a thing or two that make them connected to the crime. I'm still marveled at the author's imagination when she came up with so many things to create her character's profiles. In fact, the little details are very well inserted and I have to confess my clues about who might be the murder weren't very accurate. Then some things happen more than half way through the book and things add up. The how I never imagined, but the who and the why became rather clear at some point.
At the same time we see the development of the story we have one or two pages of another story starting back in the 20's. It's the story of a stonecutter and the woman he fell in love with. But it doesn't end well, and when I finished the book I have to confess the thing that moved me the most, the detail that still lingers in my head stronger than all others, is the fate of that stonecutter and his children. I won't explain, but it moved me so much...
In fact, the fate of more than one character touched me because people sometimes don't deserve what happens to them.

So we have a very compelling story, full of quirky characters. We follow the lives of the main characters, with a sentence or a paragraph here and there to keep us updated and also more constructed scenes with them and with what happens to them. So, not only the crime solving happens, but also we see the continuation of the main character's personal lives. It's very interesting and leaves us curious to what might happen in the next book.
Can't wait for it.

Camilla Lackberg - The Preacher

In the fishing community of Fjallbacka, life is remote, peaceful -- and for some, tragically short. Foul play was always suspected in the disappearance twenty 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, relgious fanatics and criminals. The suspect list is long but time is short -- which of this family's dark secrets will provide the vital clue?

Comment: The second book in the series by this Swedish author. The first one was a very enjoyable read and now I've read the second one.
The action takes place several months after the end of the first book. In that one, Erica, the main character reconnected with Patrick, a friend from school and they started dating. Now, Erica's pregnant and it's almost her due time to have the baby. It's summer and some relatives want to spend they vacations at Erica and Patrick's house, because it's so close to the beach. This means poor Erica has to cook and clean and no one seems to care that she has such a hard time just walking because of her belly.
At the same time, Patrick has to deal with a murder scenes and all that comes with it. A young girl is found dead on top of the remains of two others and the crimes don't seem to be related but in the end the connection is stronger than we think. On top of it, it's the connection to the Preacher's family and the secrets that family has are everywhere.

About the crimes: there's a whole cast of characters that are linked to the crimes and some of them seem very mysterious and act strangely. Slowly we get more clues about who is involved and why the murders occurred in the first place. I was very intrigued by it and the way the author inserts clues here and there like it's no big deal made me even more eager to know more. The end is quite a surprise and the last scene is very memorizing, in my opinion.
About the main character's lives: Erica is heavily pregnant and the relatives we see around her don't help and think she's there to serve them and this annoyed me a bit, I mean, it's fine you want to spend some time with family but considering her condition it was expected a little more help at least. I like how the author mixes up family scenes and the murder scenes, it gives a more relaxes feel to the story, like it's not that dark.
The secondary characters are interesting, specially Mellberg, once again his adventures are hilarious. Others annoy me and I hope to see them get their due in time.

I think the author's strongest point is exactly the way she puts everything in her book, and even little scenes from characters we met in the first book, like Erica's sister so we can know what's happening to them. It gives a more compact feeling to the story.
I'll keep reading her books and th next one is this month.

Camilla Lackberg - The Ice Princess

Returning to her hometown of Fjallbacka 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 that she has taken her own life. Erica conceives a book about the beautiful but remote Alex, one that will answer questions about their own shared past. While her interest grows into 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 a small town with a deeply disturbing past.

Comment: A friend offered this book to me on Christmas. I had already made the decision to buy it, so it was a very nice surprise to get it sooner. The story is a thriller, a elaborated story about the relationships and ties a group of characters has in a city in Sweden.
The story mixes up personal details on the lives of practically every character and if I recall correctly, almost everyone who is important for the story has a POV somewhere in the book. At first I thought this was a bit confusing because it means I had to take notice of many people at once and this gets tiring after a while, but the story is so fast paced that it's done in a subtle way. The characters are interesting and they all have some kind of personal issue that makes the story more alive instead of static. The character I liked the most was Inspector Mellberg, he is such a funny character in a more heavier set that I couldn't help laugh about his antics, he's totally stereotyped but great to read about.
The tone of the book tends to be darker than usual but I don't know if it's instinctive comparison on my part to other authors, but it didn't feel like that to me. I managed to feel a bit distanced from it, in a certain way. I don't think this was a bad thing because the mystery was well done, but it's something I noticed. Then, perhaps, it's the fact it's a trademark of Swedish writers as I felt a bit of the same while I was reading Stieg Larsson's trilogy.
In the end the book was great yes, I want to follow the "adventures" of the main couple, protagonists of the following books. Next month I'll buy them and eventually will read them too.