Ice Princess by Camilla LackbergPromoted as another Steig Larsson, I was looking forward to reading this novel from a new Swedish author. While it stands on its own as a crime novel, it did not begin to match the intricacy, complexity or the character development that made Larsson's Millenium trilogy so compelling.
Lackberg's novels have become the #1 bestsellers in Sweden. Ice Princess was awarded the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere for best international crime novel. Ice Princess is the first in a series of what will be seven novels by Lackberg set in the Swedish coastal town of Fjallbacka, and featuring her female protaganist, Erica Falck.
Erica has to return home to Fjallbacka after the death of her parents. But things start getting more interesting when an estranged childhood friend is found dead in her bathtub with both wrists slashed. I don't think I would be giving anything away by telling that it is not a suicide. The secrets that lie behind her friend's murder is what will keep you guessing for awhile. Another childhood friend of Erica's, a police detective, Patrik Hedstrom, begins to investigate and naturally a relationship reignites.
But a subplot, involving her sister and brother-in-law, does hold some promise for future volumes. The personality of the brother-in-law could prove to be an interesting villain, if Lackberg chooses to follow that particular thread in future novels about Erica. While this debut novel may offer some promise and possibilities, don't go into this novel expecting anything as intricate or intriguing as Steig Larsson's novels.
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