The Ice Princess Book

TONS OF SPOILERS TO SAVE YOU THE EFFORT OF READING THIS HORRIBLE BOOK: Could this be worse? We have one family that runs a town and the 100% evil, snooty aristocratic mother with TWO sociopathic sons (one natural, one adopted). The natural one rapes both boy AND girl children. The adopted one sets fires and commits fratricide before the age of 12. There's a 100% piggy grope-y police chief without redeeming qualities. There's a 100% piggy, grope-y brother-in-law without redeeming qualities (he practically twirls his non-existent mustache). The murder victim is one of the most beautiful women who has ever walked the earth, and she's not only secretly pregnant, but had been secretly pregnant before (and is that her earlier spawn lurking around her parents' house, sulking, perhaps? What a surprise!)

The focus of action shifts without explanation from the first main character (a decently sketch-out Brigit Jones-like woman) to a second main character (a decently sketched-out young detective, who has always been in love with the first main character). Several times at the end of a chapter, one of these folks finds a Clue, reads it, is surprised, and puts it in their pocket without sharing with the reader. The detective is credited as being very clever for finding the impression of a note that's been torn off a pad (yeah, good going, Sherlock). The author conveniently finds a will crumpled up in the evil family's trash can (what, shredders haven't made it to Sweden yet?). All the participants in an earlier murder conveniently keep little bookmarks inscribed with the initials of their childhood "gang" name in plain sight for the author and detective to find.

At some point, I decided to keep reading only to see what fresh stereotype or abomination waited on the next page.

On top of all the bad characterizations and dopey plotting, bad writing abounds. You can't blame the translation, because the guy translates Henning Mankell, and Mankell's gorgeous writing comes through in English just fine.

The only pluses were the two surprisingly likable and 3-dimensional main characters, and the vivid setting off- season at a seaside resort town. Plus a lot of careful, interesting and varying descriptions of the coffee people brewed. If the author could write a mystery the way she writes about coffee, this might have been a decent book.