I packed this in at 34%. I found it quite boring, repetitive and gloomy and was getting to the stage I wasn't enjoying it. Parts confused me as well. A LOT of differing characters were brought in and then you had the odd cryptic comment about having met before and then nothing else is said which leaves you hanging.....then the odd mention too of Erica having seen Alex as an adult but not how or why and I just found it irritating. It probably becomes more clear later on if you've the patience to wait but I was already 140 pages in and just getting more baffled by it !!!I found it quite tiresome the amount of times Erica bemoaned clearing out her parents' home. We were aware that's why she was there and we kept hearing about it ad nauseum. I was also pretty confused at the mention of "the prettiest hockey girlfriend on the west coast". I assume perhaps something got lost in translation and I even Googled the phrase and couldn't figure out where it fitted into this book !! The Patrik mentioned he wasn't looking at articles during work hours after he'd spent 6 hours doing JUST that !! I didn't get it and found it was annoying me way too much.We have another Nordic translation that went for Americanised spelling as well, not sure why they all do that. There weren't any dubious grammar and spelling issues, though, which was good.I usually love these Nordic writers and this is the first one I've packed in, I must say, but I won't be sticking with this particular series. This was a well written (and translated) book. The author created characters that were slowly revealed in the intertwined subplots. The care in developing each character increased the interest and identification with each one. The topics handled were shocking, horrifying in any community, but they were presented in a non-offensive way. That is, we know that what Alex and Anders experienced was one of the worst, but there is no detailed description of that. Thus, the interest and emotional involvement of the reader is evoked without the macabre overtaken the emotional toll on each person. So with Vera, Nelly, Julia, as well as Anna and Erica.Overall, an excellent book. I look forward to anything else she writes.
What do You think about La Princesa De Hielo (2009)?
A fun romp - typical of the Swedish murder mystery that has become its own genre.
—wrw29
