PREDIKANTEN – THE PREACHER

By Camilla Läckberg

During an unusually hot July, detective Patrik Hedström and Erica Falck are enjoying a rare week at home together, nervous and excited about the imminent birth of their first baby. Across town, however, a six-year-old boy makes a gruesome discovery that will ravage their little tourist community and catapult Patrik into the center of a terrifying murder case.

The boy has stumbled upon the brutally murdered body of a young woman, and Patrik is immediately called to lead the investigation. Things get even worse when his team uncovers, buried beneath the victim, the skeletons of two campers whose disappearance had baffled police for decades. The three victims’ injuries seem to be the work of the same killer, but that is impossible: the main suspect in the original kidnappings committed suicide twenty-four years ago. 

When yet another young girl disappears and panic begins to spread, Patrik leads a desperate manhunt to track down a ruthless serial killer before he strikes again.

First published by Forum, Sweden, 2004.
317 pages.

Sweden, Forum
Sweden, Månpocket (paperback)
Sweden, Bonnier Audio (audio book)
Sweden, E-lib (e-book)
Sweden/The Netherlands, Grote Letter (Swedish large print)
Sweden, LL-förlaget
Albania, Dudaj
Arabic, Storytel
Brazil, Planeta
Bulgaria, Colibri
Bulgaria, Storytel
Canada, HarperCollins Canada
Catalonia, Ara Llibres
China, Storytel
Czech Republic, Motto/Albatros
Croatia, VBZ
Denmark, People’s Press
Estonia, Fookus Meedia
Finland, Otava
France, Actes Sud
Germany, G. Kiepenheuer/Ullstein
Greece, Metaixmio
Hungary, Animus
Iceland, Sogur
Italy, Marsilio Editori
Japan, Shuei Sha
Latvia, Jumava
Lithuania, Tyto Alba
The Netherlands, House of Books
Norway, Gyldendal
Poland, J Santorski/Czarna Owca
Portugal, Asa Leya
Romania, Editura Trei
Russia, Eksmo
Serbia, Nordiq
Slovakia, Slovart
Slovenia, Ucila International
Spain, Maeva
Spain, Circulo de Lectores (paperback)
Turkey, Dogan Egmont
UK, HarperCollins
US, Pegasus
Vietnamn, Nha Nam Publishing

Nominated for the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award by the Swedish Crime Academy in 2004

Sweden, SVT (TV rights)

With The Preacher, Läckberg not only takes a giant step forwards – it is one of the best Swedish crime novels of the year. Läckberg has a completely new approach, mainly in that the motive for murder is as original as it is surprising – and actually believable from a psychological point of view. On that particular point her second novel maintains international class. The Preacher is an unusually powerful mystery and I am impressed with the maturity and self-assurance that Läckberg already displays. One more novel of this quality and she will be counted among the top ranks of female Swedish crime authors.
Johan Wopenka, Jury

This is Camilla´s second book and she already seems to be a fully-fledged crime writer, at least on a par with Liza Marklund. It is excellent excitement and above all, excellent character portrayals in which the policemen also have families and domestic situations. A real mystery gem.
Vecko-Revyn

The Preacher is a superb detective novel, an intelligent book about people and relationships ­ and hopefully the start of a very promising new Swedish detective novel series.
Bo Lundin, Sydsvenska Dagbladet

A mystery becomes all the more terrifying when your own life is on the line. The Preacher follows detective Patrick Hedstrom as he discovers the pattern in the series of murders in a small fishing community of Fjallbacka, which has been haunted by a string of unsolved murders for two generations. As he digs deeper in to the mystery in hopes of connecting the dots, he finds that this quiet community holds a lot more than one would think at first glance. Filled with unique characters, a fast moving plot and plenty of original ideas and twists, The Preacher is a masterpiece of Scandinavian crime fiction, very highly recommended reading.
The Midwest Book Review

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