The Ice Princess

Camilla is the so-called Queen of Nordic Noir. I got way into her books during the pandemic, which is to say I read every single one of them right after the other while I had a fever. The great thing about the Scandinavians is that they describe truly horrible happenings matter-of-factly.

I love Camilla’s books because she also adds another tension – my favorite kind of tension – the “when will the protagonists kiss?”. I will endure the most gruesome crime scenes because I’m invested in a relationship, and her series pays this off over and over.

Camilla Läckberg's writing was a revelation to me because it was with this book that I fell in love with Nordic Noir.

But what I found out living here, in Sweden, is that Camilla, who is greatly admired in France and in the UK, is often criticized in her home country despite her tremendous success. Businesswoman, writer, and mother of four, Camilla is an exceptional woman, but she does not fit in with the prevailing Swedish “Lagom” in a country where celebrating success is sometimes regarded as a deadly sin.

This book marked the start of her incredible career.

This is Läckberg’s debut novel, where she showcased her new twist on the mystery genre: a murder that happens in the present day with ties to historical events in the past. Läckberg is in many ways Sweden’s Agatha Christie, as these books are as set in the sleepy village of Fjällbacka in coastal Sweden. In later years, Läckberg has proven that she can also write thrillers, and these books have indications of that as the pacing is ramped up somewhat towards the end. But this is mostly a cozy mystery, written by one of the best in the business.