The Preacher

By: Camilla Läckberg

Narrated by: David Thorn

In the fishing community of Fjällbacka, life is remote, peaceful—and for some, tragically short. Foul play was always suspected in the disappearance 20 years ago of two young holidaymakers in the area. Now a young boy out playing has confirmed this grim truth. Their remains, discovered with those of a fresh victim, send the town into shock. Local detective Patrik Hedstrom, expecting a baby with his girlfriend Erica, can only imagine what it is like to lose a child. When a second young girl goes missing, Hedstrom’s attention focuses on the Hults, a feuding clan of misfits, religious fanatics and criminals. The suspect list is long but time is short—which of this family’s dark secrets will provide the vital clue?

©2010 Original material © 2010 Camilla Lackberg. Translation © 2009 Steven T. Murray. Recorded by arrangement with Pegasus Books. (P)2011 (p) 2011 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

“Läckberg’s many-layered story features plot twists and turns galore. Especially effective are her flashbacks . . . Highly recommended for readers who like mysteries set in foreign countries.” ( Library Journal)

“[Läckberg] is an expert at mixing scenes of domestic cosiness with blood-curdling horror! A must for white-knuckle junkies.” ( Guardian)

“A welcome addition to the swelling ranks of Scandinavian crime writers!” ( Irish Independent)

Great story, somewhat diminished by the development of central characters and that narrator!

This is another good story, with interesting twists and turns... However, it is somewhat diminished by the almost patronizing treatment of the the Padraig and Irika...

As for the narrator, he is so annoying! Who says "mamma" or "papa" anymore? And it isn't "orf" it's "off".

Despite those annoyances, I'm on to book 3!

KRD

Love it!!

Would you listen to The Preacher again? Why?

Possibly, I love the story and the narrator

What other book might you compare The Preacher to and why?

One of Stieg Larsens

What about David Thorn???s performance did you like?

his inflections

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the visits to Portrick's house and his poor wife

Great Plot, Narration Needs Work

Where does The Preacher rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I think it's a good book. I was disappointed that Erica wasn't a bigger part of the book since she was pretty front and center in The Ice Princess.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

To a certain extent, the main storyline involving the murders was best. The secondary storylines were a bit silly and beyond belief.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of David Thorn?

Anyone who can pull off a better Scandinavian accent. David Thorn's reading of Patrick makes him sound unintelligent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Don't want to be a spoiler here but the death of the girls in the book was needless and very sad.

2nd Book is Good, 1st Book was Excellent

I enjoy Camilla Lackberg's writing a great deal. She reminds me of a Swedish Kate Atkinson ("Case Histories") with the well developed characters, witty dialog, domestic back-stories that combine with an intriguing mystery. It is so hard to believe that this is only Lackberg's second book. At her young age, she is so accomplished with good story telling and pacing for a mystery. I was hooked from the first listen.

The story starts out with a young boy finding a young woman's cadaver -- with 2 older skeletons underneath the body. All are connected with more to come. I will be honest that the mystery, while intriguing, was not as riveting as the first book. But can you blame anyone on expecting the same when the first book in a mystery series is excellent. Everything she writes will now be compared to "The Ice Princess". I am so pleased that Erica and Patrick continue in the series. I loved every scene with both of them.

The narrator seems a strange choice for these books. I am learning to like him, but it seems like a very English proper voice with strange interpretations of how many of the other characters sound.

Looking forward to listening to book # 3 sometime in the near future.

Solid Mystery

This is a good book if not a great one. However...the inconsistency of the recoding is very disruptive.

Love this series

I am really enjoying this series that takes place in Sweden. I feel like I know the main detective and his and his wife's family-the writer gives such vivid descriptions of what they are thinking. The story lines are good and I also like the narrator.

Good, But Not as Good as the First

This is the second book I've listened to by Swedish mystery writer Camilla Lackberg. While not quite as good as her first (The Ice Princess), it was still entertaining. I would read another by her, but would enjoy having more of police detective's Hedstrom's relationship with his wife, the writer Erica Falck, in the next one. She played a much bigger role in the first novel; in fact the series could have been based on her rather than Patrik. So I was a bit surprised at the much smaller role she played in Lackberg's second outing.

Good storyline

Enjoyed the story, the ending could have been better. the book kept your attention, the narrator's performance was excellent and very humorous. the only disappointing part the book with the ending.

Another great Lackberg mystery

I loved the narration as well as the story. Although the story is gruesome as can be expected, the characterizations of all concerned are so well done, she makes me care very much about all of them. With twists and turns til the end, I had a hard time taking a break!

Take a pause

I like the story, characters, and even liked the reader's voice overall. However, there is a problem with his reading I have not encountered before. He does not give even the slightest pause as the "scene" changes in the book. It can shift from one setting and group of characters to a completely new one without the reader even taking a breath so things can get confusing as you slowly realize the scene has changed. It is made worse because he doesn't vary voices much. So it is even harder to realize the scene has shifted. On the plus size he does a decent job with Swedish pronunciation.....with the exception of Göteborg