THE ICE PRINCESS by Camilla Lackberg

Translated from the Swedish, this is the first murder mystery in a series featuring writer Erica Falck and detective Patrik Hedstrom. Being the first novel, the author does a lot of scene setting with Erica returning to the small town she was brought up in to sort out her parents' estate following their recent deaths in a car accident.  She is a journalist,  in her mid-30s, tired, stressed, single again, and is both happy and relieved to be back in her old home, enjoying the peace and quiet of her old neighbourhood. Until her best friend from childhood, the beautiful, successful, happily married Alex is found dead in her bathtub, apparently by her own hand.

Being a journalist she  naturally has a very enquiring mind, and fairly quickly she sees that things don't quite stack up in the death by suicide scenario. She and Alex were only children when they were best friends, with Alex and her family suddenly disappearing when the girls were about 10 years old. This little mystery and a few other odd things about Alex and her life do not sit well with Erica. The local detective Patrik also remembers Alex from childhood, and when he and Erica team up, the layers of silence and terrible secrets are gradually revealed.

I kind of guessed what was going on, but the time lines always remained a little hazy, so the big reveal when it did come was still a shock. Which of course is exactly what you want in a good thriller/murder mystery. Plenty of clues and red herrings tossed around, but not enough to give too many Aha moments. I really liked this novel - with a well developed plot line, it just manages to nicely walk the line between 'dynamic crime-solving duo' and the delicate art of slowly peeling the layers behind the lives of those entwined with those who are killed - yes, there is another death! I would happily read the next in the series.