The Midnight Witness

August 27, 2018
Early in Blaedel’s middling seventh Louise Rick mystery to be published in the U.S. (after The Lost Women), Louise’s best friend, crime reporter Camilla Lind, calls to tell her that Karoline Wissinge, a 23-year-old nurse, was found strangled in a Copenhagen park. A distraught, exhausted Louise already knows about this murder, having spent the night before with the victim’s parents. Camilla also tells her of the death of fellow journalist Frank Sørensen, whose body was found in a hotel parking lot. The two homicide cases provide the procedural backdrop for the emotional trials both women endure to function in worlds still dominated by men. Louise, the only woman on the police homicide team, rebels against office politics and her superior’s prioritization of Frank’s murder over Karoline’s. Camilla clashes with her male boss, who sidelines her and dictates her approach to stories. Readers will relate to the women’s travails, but Blaedel overdoes the social-cum-feminist commentary on Copenhagen’s urban crime scene as the predictable plot lurches to its telegraphed ending. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc.

September 15, 2018
After a stint hunting missing persons, Blaedel's no-nonsense heroine, Detective Louise Rick (The Lost Woman?, 2017), is now the only female detective in Copenhagen's homicide department and is forced to navigate the department's chauvinism while tackling two high-profile murders. Karoline Wissinge, a young nurse, was strangled in a Copenhagen park a year after her teenage brother died in a highly publicized car accident. The night of Wissinge's murder, veteran crime reporter Frank Sorensen was found dead in a hotel parking lot. At first, police assume Sorensen died of injuries from a drunken fall, but his autopsy unmasks the telltale signs of a hit. Camilla Lind, Rick's best friend and Cophenhagen's hungriest crime reporter, is digging for leads on both cases, driven by ambition and allegiance to her former mentor, Sorensen. Soon, it looks like both murders are linked to Denmark's reigning drug kingpin, and Camilla's muckraking threatens the investigations and her life. The Louise Rick novels are must-reads for fans of Scandinavia's female police detectives, such as Anne Holt's Hanne Wilhelmsen and Helene Tursten's Irene Huss.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2018

Denmark's internationally best-selling "Queen of Crime" sets Det. Louise Rick a challenging task: even as she's investigating a young woman's strangling, she gets caught up in the murder of a male journalist. With a 30,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2018

In the latest installment of the "Louise Rick/Camilla Lind" series (The Lost Woman), Copenhagen homicide detective Louise is assigned to investigate the strangulation death of a young woman found hidden under a bush in a park. That same day, Camilla, Louise's best friend and a newspaper crime reporter, calls to get information about the sudden death of a coworker. When the reporter's death is ruled a homicide, Louise is asked to use her connection with the newspaper to help move the case forward. Then a second journalist is murdered in the same manner, and the police and Camilla work to find the link between the two deaths. Though repeatedly warning Camilla to let the officers handle the investigations, Louise can't keep her from chasing the story that she thinks will advance her career. In the subplot, Louise must finally make a decision about her long-term relationship. VERDICT Blaedel delivers another solid story with a surprise twist ending. Recommended for fans of the series and for those who enjoy contemporary Scandinavian mysteries from Kjell Eriksson, Camilla Lackberg, and Mari Jungstedt. [See Prepub Alert 4/23/18.]--Jean King, West Hempstead P.L., NY

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2018

Denmark's internationally best-selling "Queen of Crime" sets Det. Louise Rick a challenging task: even as she's investigating a young woman's strangling, she gets caught up in the murder of a male journalist. With a 30,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.