The Lost Woman

December 5, 2016
At the start of Danish author Blaedel’s disappointing sixth Louise Ricks novel to be published in the U.S. (after 2016’s The Killing Forest), a gunman outside a house in England takes aim through a window at a woman as she’s preparing dinner and shoots her dead. Back in Denmark, Eik Nordstrøm, Rick’s police partner (who’s also her lover), goes out with his dog to a store to buy cigarettes and vanishes—no phone call or text—leaving his dog tied outside the store. The murdered woman turns out to be a Dane, Sofie Parker, who went missing 18 years earlier. That Eik was involved in Sofie’s case may explain his disappearance. Flashbacks to 1996 chart Sofie’s efforts to persuade her mother, who suffers from an incurable illness, not to commit suicide. Blaedel explores the ethical implications of assisted suicide, making it clear where she stands on the issue, but she fails to inject enough urgency and drama into a tale whose plot contrivances demand a large suspension of disbelief from the reader.

Narrator Christine Lakin takes us across Europe and across time in this story of multiple murders, overlaid with a serious debate about assisted suicide. While Lakin successfully distinguishes male and female characters both old and young, she is challenged by differentiating characters from different countries. But, overall, her pacing and ability to convey tension will keep listeners engaged with the story. This is author Sara Blaedel's latest audiobook featuring Louise Rick, Danish detective in charge of the Special Search Agency. Lakin voices the emotionally complex Rick with credible intensity. It's not necessary to be familiar with the earlier books to pick up on the characters and their past entanglements. Once you finish this one, you'll be tempted to listen to the full series. E.Q. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine