Camilla Läckberg

"Maybe, one day, we might be identifying Agatha Christie as 'the British Camilla Läckberg.'" -- The Washington Post

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I haven't read any Agatha Christie, was she a horrible writer as well? Or did The Washington Post just "phone in" the review / praise since someone at the Post clearly didn't read this book.

If I could write 10,000 synonyms for "whining" – whine, whiner, whined, complain, complaining, whinge, whinging, etc. – and multiplied that by 4-5 generations then that would show more be the ultimate summary of this book. (Or maybe I am just looking at it the wrong way around, maybe the writing IS genius because no other writer could pull off 500 pages of nonstop bitching.)

On top of the endless self-pitying, there is not one single likeable character in the entire book. This long, monotonous story was neither clever nor engaging, and I would call it downright formulaic; nothing I haven't read dozens of times before.

However, I did learn something. Now I know why so much crime fiction comes out of Scandinavia; if I had to live in a dark wasteland filled with empty, meaningless lives and mean, vengeful souls like Sweden, I would be murdering people left and right too. show less

When a young child disappears in Stockholm and is subsequently found murdered links are made to a previous case. For Detective Mina Dabiri however the there is more than meets the eye, an unusual method of dying and clues left at the scene. She contacts Vincent, a successful mentalist that she has worked with before, and the department contacts Nova, a new age guru and expert on cults. As the bodies increase the team is against the clock to prevent more children dying but the case is hitting show more pretty close to home for Mina in more ways than one.
I absolutely loved this book. It is quite long and very complex but the spare writing and short chapters structure the narrative perfectly. Each character has quirky traits or backstory and these are explored within the context of a wonderfully twisty plot. This book delivers on so many levels. show less

I really love how Läckberg brings to life this part of Sweden and its (sometimes "special") type of people. Normally, I would be annoyed if there were so many different threads in one mystery-novel, but here it gives such a flavor to the environment that it's a joy to read. I'm wondering how the English translation reads, since the some quirks in the language is truly reflecting how people talk in the Fjällbacka area, but I think that even if you miss the flavor or nuances of the language, show more it's still a great mystery with a very genuine and truthful (flaws and all) love story added in. The only issue I had is that sometimes a character will figure something out, but won't tell the reader which is a bit annoying, but hopefully just a symptom of a first novel. show less

Kommissar Martin Molin kommt eher widerwillig mit seiner neuen Freundin zum Weihnachtsfest ihrer Familie mit. Schon bald ist klar, die einzelnen Mitglieder dieser Familie sind sich alles andere als einander zugetan. Das betagte Oberhaupt Ruben möchte sein Erbe regeln, verachtet aber bis auf einen Enkel seine Verwandten. Als er während des Essens stirbt, ist schnell klar: Es war Mord. Und es kann nur jemand aus der Familie gewesen sein.
Die Geschichte ist nett erzählt, aber schwer show more klischeebeladen. Jede und jeder hat seine Geheimnisse, die nun nach und nach ans Licht kommen und letztendlich gibt es wohl niemanden bis auf einen, die/der kein Motiv hatte, den Mord zu begehen. Keine allzu überraschenden Wendungen, irgendwie hat man diese Geschichte auf die ein oder andere Art schon mehrfach gesehen/gehört/gelesen. Und wäre da nicht das Ende, wäre es ein absolut durchschnittlicher Krimi, wie es ihn zu Dutzenden gibt. So aber reißt das Finale dann doch Einiges wieder raus, auch wenn es schon ein bisschen konstruiert wirkt.
Nina Petri ist eine souveräne und angenehme Vorleserin, sodass es insgesamt eine leichte zweieinhalbstündige Zwischendurchunterhaltung ist, für die jedoch als Hörbuch der normale Preis definitiv zu hoch ausfällt. show less