The Ice Princess (novel)

The Ice Princess is a crime novel by Swedish author Camilla Läckberg.[1] As her debut novel, it was originally published in 2003 in Swedish, entitled Isprinsessan. The novel follows detective Patrik Hedström and writer Erica Falck investigating a suspicious suicide. A sequel, The Preacher was published in 2004 and subsequently translated to English in 2009.

The Ice Princess
AuthorCamilla Läckberg
Original titleIsprinsessan
TranslatorSteven T. Murray
CountrySweden
United States
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish language
SubjectPopular fiction
Contemporary thriller
GenreCrime thriller
PublisherHarper Collins
Publication date
2003
Published in English
April 1, 2008
Pages420 pages
ISBN0-00-726985-4
Followed byThe Preacher 

Plot

Erica Falck has returned to her family home in Fjällbacka after her parents died. While coping with the death of her parents, she is trying to work on a biography of Selma Lagerlöf, a Swedish author and the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Patrik Hedström, a detective, is assigned to investigate a case in which the victim, Erica's childhood friend Alex, is frozen in a bathtub. The investigation shows that the young woman's death occurred before she was placed in the tub, allowing the liquid to freeze around her as the temperature dropped far below freezing inside her apartment. Exactly when the furnace went out-of-order is a timely coincidence to the alleged suicide.

At the prompting of Alex's parents, Erica begins to investigate the death of their daughter. Her breakthrough comes when she meets a police officer who is also investigating the mystery; together the two uncover dark secrets within the town.[2] Erica and Patrick's fascination gives way to deep obsession as they struggle to determine the true circumstances surrounding the death.[3] Erica visualizes a memoir about Alex, one that will answer questions about their missing friendship.[4][5]

Themes

The difficulty of parent-child relationships is a recurring theme in The Ice Princess.[6] True to the genre of Scandinavian crime fiction (often called Nordic noir), a heavy emphasis is given to characterization and (especially in Lackberg's instance) the development of the small town where the crime occurs. The importance of the location is emphasized by the inclusion of a map of Fjällbacka, and the depictions of the landscape are both colorful and integral to the plot.[7]

gollark: WHO HATH PINGED ME
gollark: In my opinion, "world-ending" would mean "destroys a significant percentage of life on Earth", since destroying the actual *planet* is impractical.
gollark: "cuddling" < lasers
gollark: I don't know, I quite like Neptune.
gollark: I am FULLY on board with any plan to destroy the moon; it's one of the worst celestial bodies.

References
  1. Lackberg, Camilla. "The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg". Harpercollins.ca. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  2. "Product description".
  3. "Product description".
  4. "Camilla Lackberg - Der Leuchtturmwarter".
  5. "Camilla Lackberg Archives".
  6. Karen Meek (July 2008). "Review - The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg". Euro crime.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  7. "The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg, Steven T. Murray". Kirkus Reviews. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
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