Doctor Death

Starred review from December 15, 2014
Set mainly in 1894 in provincial Varbourg, France, Kaaberbøl’s excellent first in a new historical series introduces Dr. Albert Karno and his scalpel-sharp 20-year-old daughter, Madeleine, who must figure out who murdered lovely 17-year-old Cecile Montaine. Days later, Father Abigore, the Montaine family priest, is murdered as well, and his body is stolen during a violent attack on the hearse transporting it. The investigation pushes passionate aspiring physician Madeleine well beyond conventional expectations for a proper young woman. She goes to Heidelberg to seek the aid of a dashing academic, and later to the forest-ringed Bernardine convent where Cecile was attending school until her disappearance. Deftly exploring such themes as the struggles between mind and body, science and spirit—without detracting from a gripping plot—the novel transcends its period to contemplate the eternal. Kaaberbøl is the coauthor with Agnete Friis of the Nina Borg series (Death of a Nightingale, etc.). Agent: Lars Ringhof, Lars Ringhof Agency (Denmark).

April 27, 2015
Danish novelist Kaaberbøl’s historical mystery, set in the French village of Varbourg in 1894, is the first of a proposed series featuring 19-year-old Madeleine Karno, who lives with and assists her father, the coroner. Madeleine yearns to become a pathologist just like her father and ends up assisting the town commissioner in an intriguing investigation. It begins with two unconnected deaths—a young girl who may have died from natural cause and a priest who has been fatally bludgeoned. Though Madeleine narrates the story, actress Barber has wisely chosen to avoid a theatrical French intonation, except for the proper pronunciation of names and places. Her natural, youthful, precise British accent works quite well, especially when reflecting the efficient, self-controlled character’s subtly varying emotions. Madeleine’s father sounds properly stern and paternal, and the commissioner speaks with kindness. The abbess character is cold and aloof; the novices in her charge vary from silly to sinister; and there are a couple of vicious killers who, thanks to Barber, use their words like weapons. An Atria hardcover.

January 1, 2015

It is 1894, and in the French provincial town of Varbourg, Madeleine and her father, Dr. Karno, use forensic science to help the city commissioner solve a particularly troubling murder, the death of 17-year-old Cecile Montaine. As the mystery unwinds, it becomes clear there are several other players involved in this crime, and that perhaps other deaths around the city can be tied to the same killer. Madeleine is an absorbing protagonist, as she deals with the challenge of trying to work as a female amateur investigator in the male-dominated medical profession. Focusing on the miracles of science that allow her to learn about the victims, Madeleine's point of view adds a softer lens on the deaths and violence depicted. VERDICT The coauthor of the "Nina Borg" series (The Boy in the Suitcase) goes solo with this engrossing mystery that deals with the darker side of life in 19th-century Europe. With its complex characters, this is sure to please fans of historical mysteries. [See Prepub Alert, 9/1/14.]--Elizabeth Nelson, McHenry Cty. Coll. Lib., Crystal Lake, IL

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