The Ice Princess (novel)

The Ice Princess

Author	Camilla Läckberg
Original title	Isprinsessan
Translator	Steven T. Murray
Country	Sweden United States United Kingdom
Language	English language
Subject	Popular fiction Contemporary thriller
Genre	Crime thriller
Publisher	Harper Collins
Publication date	2003
Published in English	April 1, 2008
Pages	420 pages
ISBN	0-00-726985-4
Followed by	The Preacher

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 Patrick Hedström and writer Erica Falck investigating a suspicious suicide. A sequel, The Preacher was published in 2004 and subsequently translated to English in 2009.

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.

Patrick 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 obsession in The Ice Princess.^[6] True to the genre of Scandinavian crime fiction, 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]

References