One which ended in a way I was hoping it wouldn’t – but a good shock element certainly and one which fitted with the secrets of the past. The links of a small remote town and the issues of meeting up with and facing up to issues of the past were at the crux of Ice Princess and it was nice to meet Erica and Patrik and see their budding romance although the Bridget Jones references did jar with me slightly being in the middle of a crime novel. However, having said that, it was a great first read which introduced me to Camilla Läckberg’ s world and brought me to Fjällbacka – a small town on the West Coast of Sweden and a stunning if harsh environment during the winter months. This was the first book I read in Swedish and well let’s just say the vocabulary gathered from this was perhaps not the best way to start off lol. Just what did happen in the village all those years ago and why isn’t anyone talking? What are they afraid of? Some of the main locations in the novel – Tanumshede where the police station is – is off to the far north east of this map One resident Anders who is always on his computer seems to know something but he isn’t talking either. Meeting up with the local detective Patrik Hedstrom, also a childhood friend of Erica’s, she is able to gather and discover a lot of information for herself such as why the people of Fjällbacka seem so reluctant to offer information. Alex’s parents ask her to write about their daughter which involves her in the local investigation Whilst Erica is sorting that out, Alex, a school friend is found murdered – encased in an icy bath – the Ice Princess. She is coming back to sort out the childhood home – which her sister Anna wants to sell ( or rather her odious wife beating husband does).

Fjällbacka on the west coast of SwedenĪfter the sudden death of her parents, author Erica Falck returns to her childhood home in the small west coast community of Fjällbacka. Its name derives from the imposing rocky outcrop that the village encircles. Camilla’s books are set in Fjällbacka, the coastal village where Camilla was born and raised.

The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg