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Fjällbacka #1-2
The Ice Princess & The Preacher
The first two captivating Detective Patrick Hedstrom and Erica Falck psychological thrillers, available together for the first time.
The Ice Princess, Camilla Lackberg’s stunning debut, sees writer Erica Falck return to her hometown of Fjällbacka after the funeral of her parents. She’s shocked to find a community on the brink of tragedy. A childhood friend’s body has been found in an icy bath, her wrists slashed – but was it really suicide?
Meanwhile, local detective Patrik Hedström is following his own suspicions about the case. It’s only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about a small town with a deeply disturbing past…
We return to Fjällbacka in The Preacher where Erica and Patrik are now living together and expecting their first child. Twenty years ago of two young women disappeared while holidaying in the peaceful resort. Now their remains have been discovered, along with a fresh victim, sending the town into shock.
When another girl goes missing, Patrik’s attention focuses on the Hults, a feuding clan of misfits, religious fanatics and criminals. Which of this family’s dark secrets will provide the vital clue?
The Ice Princess, Camilla Lackberg’s stunning debut, sees writer Erica Falck return to her hometown of Fjällbacka after the funeral of her parents. She’s shocked to find a community on the brink of tragedy. A childhood friend’s body has been found in an icy bath, her wrists slashed – but was it really suicide?
Meanwhile, local detective Patrik Hedström is following his own suspicions about the case. It’s only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about a small town with a deeply disturbing past…
We return to Fjällbacka in The Preacher where Erica and Patrik are now living together and expecting their first child. Twenty years ago of two young women disappeared while holidaying in the peaceful resort. Now their remains have been discovered, along with a fresh victim, sending the town into shock.
When another girl goes missing, Patrik’s attention focuses on the Hults, a feuding clan of misfits, religious fanatics and criminals. Which of this family’s dark secrets will provide the vital clue?
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2011
24 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
About the author
Camilla Läckberg
122 books10.3k followersBefore she became one of Sweden’s most popular crime writers, Camilla Läckberg (b. 1974) worked as a marketing director and product manager for several years. Her first two crime novels, Isprinsessan (The Ice Princess) and Predikanten (The Preacher), received rave reviews from the Swedish press and quickly found a large readership. But her big breakthrough came when Stenhuggaren (The Stonecutter) was nominated for The Crime Novel of the Year award in 2005, and also when Olycksfågeln (The Stranger) and Tyskungen (The Hidden Child) were made lead titles in Bonnier’s Book Club.
Camilla’s books have gained even more popularity after being adapted into a TV-series, produced by SVT (Swedish Television).
In April 2017 her tenth book in the Fjällbacka-series, Häxan, was released – claimed to be her best novel so far! In 2019 Camilla received a diamond book for Häxan, since it has sold in over 300 000 copies in Sweden!
And in the spring of 2019 heralds the global launch of The Golden Cage, the first of two dark and suspenseful novels by Camilla Läckberg. After ten internationally bestselling novels and over 26 million copies sold, Läckberg’s next adventure will be a psychological suspense duology.
The Golden Cage was the most sold book in Sweden 2019.
Camilla’s books have gained even more popularity after being adapted into a TV-series, produced by SVT (Swedish Television).
In April 2017 her tenth book in the Fjällbacka-series, Häxan, was released – claimed to be her best novel so far! In 2019 Camilla received a diamond book for Häxan, since it has sold in over 300 000 copies in Sweden!
And in the spring of 2019 heralds the global launch of The Golden Cage, the first of two dark and suspenseful novels by Camilla Läckberg. After ten internationally bestselling novels and over 26 million copies sold, Läckberg’s next adventure will be a psychological suspense duology.
The Golden Cage was the most sold book in Sweden 2019.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 4, 2021
It’s a two-fer! My bookclub chose The Ice Princess for our next book, and since the library only had a two-in-one version, I decided to read two stories. So, enjoy two reviews in one post.
The Ice Princess
The first book in the series, The Ice Princess is about the murder of Alex, who was frozen till she was literally like an ice-princess. The police are doing their own investigating, but Erica, Alex’s ex-best friend, has been asked to write something about Alex. Normally, that would make her an investigator too, but honestly, Erica doesn’t seem to be the key investigator – that’s left to the police officers, including Patrick, who used to have a crush on Erica.
One thing that stood out to me was the number of POVs that this story was told from. We don’t just get Erica and Patrick, we also get Patrick’s superior, Erica’s sister, and various other people involved in the case. It does give us a feeling like we’re getting a lot of information about the case, but I never did quite get how Patrick knew who to press to solve it in the end. Still, I really liked how the story took time to explore other avenues. Not all of it tied back to the case, but enough did that it felt like one cohesive whole.
So on the cover of the book that I’ve borrowed, it says “expert at mixing scenes of domestic cosiness with blood-curdling horror.” I’ve got the horror part, but not the domestic cosiness yet – maybe it’s because I prepped myself for a Nordic (?) mystery, but I got a lot of cool and ice. Perhaps the next book will prove different – I’m looking forward to that!
The Preacher
So I don’t know if it’s because I got used to the world of the book but I enjoyed this a lot more than The Ice Princess (which I already enjoyed). It takes place about a year after the events of The Ice Princess, in the heat of the Swedish summer. A dead body has been found, and two skeletons with it. When another girl goes missing, the police force must race against time to get to the truth.
Perhaps it was the season of this book, or perhaps it’s because Patrick and Erica are in an established relationship and having a baby, but I found this book a lot cosier than the first book. The scenes where family and acquantences come to impose of them because they live in a popular holiday spot were pretty funny and was very effectively juxtaposed with tragedy of Anna (Erica’s sister)’s situation. The Anna and her relationship subplot is turning into something that could tie the series together and give me a reason to read the next book.
As for the mystery, I found it a lot more exciting. I think this may be because the book had more chapters and so felt longer, which gave the book a lot of time to turn up the tension and then solve it. To me, this was a lot more satisfying than The Ice Princess and I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story. I also really liked how this mystery allowed us to peer into the workings of the police station.
Overall, I enjoyed these two mysteries. I’ve not really explored the Nordic mysteries, but this is making a good case for me to look further into this mystery sub-genre.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
The Ice Princess
The first book in the series, The Ice Princess is about the murder of Alex, who was frozen till she was literally like an ice-princess. The police are doing their own investigating, but Erica, Alex’s ex-best friend, has been asked to write something about Alex. Normally, that would make her an investigator too, but honestly, Erica doesn’t seem to be the key investigator – that’s left to the police officers, including Patrick, who used to have a crush on Erica.
One thing that stood out to me was the number of POVs that this story was told from. We don’t just get Erica and Patrick, we also get Patrick’s superior, Erica’s sister, and various other people involved in the case. It does give us a feeling like we’re getting a lot of information about the case, but I never did quite get how Patrick knew who to press to solve it in the end. Still, I really liked how the story took time to explore other avenues. Not all of it tied back to the case, but enough did that it felt like one cohesive whole.
So on the cover of the book that I’ve borrowed, it says “expert at mixing scenes of domestic cosiness with blood-curdling horror.” I’ve got the horror part, but not the domestic cosiness yet – maybe it’s because I prepped myself for a Nordic (?) mystery, but I got a lot of cool and ice. Perhaps the next book will prove different – I’m looking forward to that!
The Preacher
So I don’t know if it’s because I got used to the world of the book but I enjoyed this a lot more than The Ice Princess (which I already enjoyed). It takes place about a year after the events of The Ice Princess, in the heat of the Swedish summer. A dead body has been found, and two skeletons with it. When another girl goes missing, the police force must race against time to get to the truth.
Perhaps it was the season of this book, or perhaps it’s because Patrick and Erica are in an established relationship and having a baby, but I found this book a lot cosier than the first book. The scenes where family and acquantences come to impose of them because they live in a popular holiday spot were pretty funny and was very effectively juxtaposed with tragedy of Anna (Erica’s sister)’s situation. The Anna and her relationship subplot is turning into something that could tie the series together and give me a reason to read the next book.
As for the mystery, I found it a lot more exciting. I think this may be because the book had more chapters and so felt longer, which gave the book a lot of time to turn up the tension and then solve it. To me, this was a lot more satisfying than The Ice Princess and I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story. I also really liked how this mystery allowed us to peer into the workings of the police station.
Overall, I enjoyed these two mysteries. I’ve not really explored the Nordic mysteries, but this is making a good case for me to look further into this mystery sub-genre.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
March 8, 2011
My latest Obsession is Swedish crime novels and they are wonderful.
May 26, 2013
I only read "The Ice Princess", not "The Preacher" (which did not appeal to me) but "The Ice Princess" has everything that I like about a good mystery: A great heroine who happens to be a frustrated writer and journalist, but is couragious and persistent, a good love story, a lot of secrets that are revealed gradually and a small town in a foreign country that makes the place exotic enough.
I later read "The Stone Cutter" by Camilla Läckberg which I did not like as much. It seemed to be more contrived and not so fresh as The Ice Princess.
I later read "The Stone Cutter" by Camilla Läckberg which I did not like as much. It seemed to be more contrived and not so fresh as The Ice Princess.
May 8, 2025
ch bin ja ein Fan skandinavischer Krimis und probiere in dem Genre gerne neue Autoren aus. Dieser Doppelband hält gleich zwei Krimis bereit und die große Frage ist, lohnte es sich? Da die Inhaltsangaben sehr lang werden würden, findet ihr diese auf dem zweiten Bild.
Im Mittelpunkt beider Krimis stehen die Journalistin Erika Falck und der Polizist Patrick Hedström, die bei der Aufklärung der Morde unterstützen. Bei dieser Krimireihe spielen die Beziehungen der Figuren untereinander mindestens eine genauso wichtige Rolle wie der Mordfall an sich. Im ersten Fall, “Die Eisprinzessin schläft”, gelang es der Autorin auch gut, ein gewisses Gleichgewicht zu wahren. Ich war neugierig, die Ermittler kennenzulernen und natürlich wollte ich wissen, wer diesen bizarren Mord begangen hat. Im zweiten Krimi, “Der Prediger von Fjällbacka”, hingegen war für mich der Krimi nicht ausgewogen. Mich erinnerte die Handlung etwas an Romeo und Julia bei den Flodders, teilweise verlor ich mich auch ganz in den Beziehungen der Personen. Hilfreich war auch nicht, dass mitunter die Namen sich ähnelten. Dabei waren tolle Spannungselemente enthalten. Ein weiteres Manko war, dass eine für mich zentrale Figur auf einmal eine Randfigur wurde und auf dem Abstellgleis landete.
Da mir der erste Band sehr gut gefiel - und ich eh bereits den dritten Band im Regal stehen habe - werde ich dem nächsten Buch noch eine Chance geben. Manchmal sind die Teile einer Serie einfach nicht gleich stark oder treffen nicht ganz meinen Geschmack.
Im Mittelpunkt beider Krimis stehen die Journalistin Erika Falck und der Polizist Patrick Hedström, die bei der Aufklärung der Morde unterstützen. Bei dieser Krimireihe spielen die Beziehungen der Figuren untereinander mindestens eine genauso wichtige Rolle wie der Mordfall an sich. Im ersten Fall, “Die Eisprinzessin schläft”, gelang es der Autorin auch gut, ein gewisses Gleichgewicht zu wahren. Ich war neugierig, die Ermittler kennenzulernen und natürlich wollte ich wissen, wer diesen bizarren Mord begangen hat. Im zweiten Krimi, “Der Prediger von Fjällbacka”, hingegen war für mich der Krimi nicht ausgewogen. Mich erinnerte die Handlung etwas an Romeo und Julia bei den Flodders, teilweise verlor ich mich auch ganz in den Beziehungen der Personen. Hilfreich war auch nicht, dass mitunter die Namen sich ähnelten. Dabei waren tolle Spannungselemente enthalten. Ein weiteres Manko war, dass eine für mich zentrale Figur auf einmal eine Randfigur wurde und auf dem Abstellgleis landete.
Da mir der erste Band sehr gut gefiel - und ich eh bereits den dritten Band im Regal stehen habe - werde ich dem nächsten Buch noch eine Chance geben. Manchmal sind die Teile einer Serie einfach nicht gleich stark oder treffen nicht ganz meinen Geschmack.
November 11, 2012
I read The Ice Princess a few years ago. In the last month I've read The Preacher and the next three Ericka Falke and Patrik Hedstrom mysteries. (Reading murder mysteries and nothing more serious happens at the end of term when the marking is piling up and there is little headspace for anything else.)
This series is full of family secrets, both in the families of Ericka and Patrik, and in families in which murders are taking place in a small town. Gripping, entertaining tales as the secrets come to light. The harrowing secrets are contrasted with Ericka and Patrik's romance, baby, marriage and increasing happy domestic life.
This series is full of family secrets, both in the families of Ericka and Patrik, and in families in which murders are taking place in a small town. Gripping, entertaining tales as the secrets come to light. The harrowing secrets are contrasted with Ericka and Patrik's romance, baby, marriage and increasing happy domestic life.
July 21, 2014
Such a page-turner! An exhilarating read. In this second sequel from Patrick & Erika, "The Preacher" you never know how the story will turn out. Highly recommended!
I first read the 3rd book, "The Stone-cutter" which I totally devoured in a day, then I continued to read "The Ice Princess". I couldn´t stop comparing the characters' similarities between both books although they are two different stories. It is almost predictable what is going to happen!
The Preacher is a completely different story!
I first read the 3rd book, "The Stone-cutter" which I totally devoured in a day, then I continued to read "The Ice Princess". I couldn´t stop comparing the characters' similarities between both books although they are two different stories. It is almost predictable what is going to happen!
The Preacher is a completely different story!
August 12, 2014
Lackberg follows the Scandinavian heritage of crime writers and she does it masterfully. The Ice Princess is a great story, with well polished characters and a very interesting plot. There are two main characters: a team, like In Larsson's Millenium, but more casual and real than his Superman and Wonder Woman. The second book, The Preacher, is also good, but more complex, and takes Jessica out of the charts to play a secondary role that seemed a bit disappointing to me. I look forward to read the third book of this series, The Stone Cutter.
November 12, 2011
The Preacher is a good follow-on to The Ice Princess, although it seemed slightly more clunky - could be a result of the translation, which seemed a little less fluid than of Lackberg's first novel.
The storyline was gripping enough to keep me glued, but the plot was dense to the point that on occaision I had to turn back and re-read the odd paragraph to make sense of it!
Overall, a decent read, and I'll certainly pick up the next Hedstrom novel.
The storyline was gripping enough to keep me glued, but the plot was dense to the point that on occaision I had to turn back and re-read the odd paragraph to make sense of it!
Overall, a decent read, and I'll certainly pick up the next Hedstrom novel.
May 30, 2013
Read only The Preacher. #2 in the Patrik Hedstrom rural Swedish police detective mystery series. The body of a recently murdered young woman is found. As the body is being removed, two skeletons are discovered below and turn out to be two young women who disappeared 20 years earlier. Hedstrom is assigned the case to discover what happened and who is responsible.
The story switches back and forth between various characters and work on solving the mystery.
The story switches back and forth between various characters and work on solving the mystery.
August 6, 2014
I am reading these in reverse order and this review relates only to The Preacher. The Ice Princess sits on the shelf waiting to be read. However, the author does not disappoint with her story of a number of murders spread over 25 years and the story of a family feud. I have to say that there is a deal of signposting of the outcome which isn't that difficult to spot. However there is a nice twist at the end. And the book is delightfully written.
September 4, 2012
When compared to other crime books I have read, this was better. I like to listen to crime audiobooks while I do other stuff. I find that many books in this genre often have a quite annoying main character. The main characters in this book doesn't spend the their time complaining about their personal life, they focus on the crime they are meant to solve.
September 23, 2012
I read this book after reading the Dragon Tatoo series because I became intrigued with Sweden as a setting. Lackberg reeled me in quickly! There were some slow spots. Main characters jumped off the page as being realistic and whole. I appreciated the late introduction of key characters in the solving of the crime. Though I haven't read The Preacher yet, I plan on it!
January 13, 2015
Wow... I really seem to love reading Swedish crime novels. Definite page turner, keeps the reader engaged and guessing. I think I'll have to buy all her other books now. I found her narrative technique to be a lot better than Gillian Flynn, since I'd read Dark Places before this. I'd rate her above Flynn. Thoroughly devoured the book
July 2, 2013
I only read The Ice Princess. I enjoyed the book very much, but only after I got passed the first third of the book. the beginning dragged and I will say I almost gave up. Glad I didn't. The story was very intriguing and kept my interest. I will be looking to read more of this author.
August 2, 2014
A good holiday read. Clever plotting kept me engrossed to the end in both books, although two- dimensional characterisation and some pedestrian, cliche-ridden writing made me sigh at times.
August 6, 2014
Good read. I enjoy how she continues the characters stories.
September 12, 2014
The Preacher is great, am about to pick up The Ice Princess.
December 26, 2014
Excellent stuff - just not giving out many five stars these days!
September 7, 2016
Olny reading the "Ice Princess" - bookclub read.
January 13, 2017
Intriguing murder mystery with a twist. Make sure you read The Ice Princess first before The Preacher.
June 22, 2014
Incredible books. Great start to this series.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews