The killing forest

Sara Blædel

Book - 2016

"Sara Blaedel, author of the #1 international bestseller The Forgotten Girls--which was roundly praised as "gripping" with "uncompromising realism" (Washington Post) and "tautly suspenseful" (BookPage)--returns with the thrilling next book in her series featuring police investigator Louise Rick. THE KILLING FORESTFollowing an extended leave, Louise Rick returns to work at the Special Search Agency, an elite unit of the National Police Department. She's assigned a case involving a fifteen-year-old who vanished a week earlier. When Louise realizes that the missing teenager is the son of a butcher from Hvalsoe, she seizes the opportunity to combine the search for the teen with her personal investigation ...of her boyfriend's long-ago death. Louise's investigation takes her on a journey back through time. She reconnects with figures from her past, including Kim, the principal investigator at the Holbaek Police Department, her former in-laws, fanatic ancient religion believers, and her longtime close friend, journalist Camilla Lind. As she moves through the small town's cramped network of deadly connections, Louise unearths toxic truths left unspoken and dangerous secrets."--

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Subjects
Genres
Suspense fiction
Published
New York : Grand Central Publishing 2016.
Language
English
Danish
Main Author
Sara Blædel (author)
Other Authors
Mark Kline, 1952- (translator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
310 pages ; 24 cm
ISBN
9781455581542
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The disappearance of a 15-year-old boy leads to uncovering crimes committed by a band of men pledged to Asatro, an old Nordic religion. Detective Louise Rick, head of Denmark's Special Search Agency, is just back from extended leave, after a traumatic incident in which she was nearly raped; she finds the boy, Sune Frandsen, in her hometown of Hvalso, hiding in the forest after witnessing a young woman being gang raped and dying during Sune's initiation ritual into a sect. He is afraid even to go home, where his mother is dying of cancer, because he took the brotherhood's blood oath of secrecy. The case reawakens old memories for Louise, particularly of the apparent suicide of her first love decades earlier, as she finds the opportunity to answer old questions and put long-held guilt to rest. But even after the men involved are apprehended, vengeance escalates and touches Louise personally. Fortunately, Louise's relationship with colleague Eik Nordstrom, who has taken in an injured police dog, provides some light in Blaedel's typically dark crime fiction. Another suspenseful, skillfully wrought entry from Denmark's Queen of Crime.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2015 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A missing-persons case gets personal for Det. Insp. Louise Rick in Danish bestseller Blaedel's engrossing fifth series mystery to be published in the U.S. (after 2015's Forgotten Girls). Sune Frandsen, a 15-year-old boy, has disappeared in the woods near Hvalso, on the property of Camilla Lind, Louise's journalist friend. Louise's first great love, Klaus, who apparently hanged himself years earlier, belonged to a group of young men, including Sune's father, who practiced rituals inspired by old Norse religious beliefs. When a dead prostitute is found near the sacred oak where these men still meet, Louise becomes certain that Sune witnessed her murder and is in grave danger himself. She also suspects that Klaus's death wasn't a suicide and that the cultists had a hand in that as well. Now she just has to get someone to talk. Blaedel nicely balances the twisted relationships of the cult members with the true friendships of Louise, Camilla, and their circle. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

A case involving a missing 15-year-old boy named Sune lures Det. Louise Rick back to her hometown again despite the shocking events of her last case (The Forgotten Girls), which left her bruised and with even more questions about the devastating death of her boyfriend Klaus many years earlier. Hoping to delve into those lingering questions while in town, Louise begins searching for the boy. The investigation soon hints at more long-hidden secrets about Klaus's childhood friends who are still bonded through the ancient, ritualistic religion of Asatro, based on Norse mythology. Sune and a prostitute disappeared on the night of his initiation, but the Asatro practitioners are circumspect. Meanwhile, journalist Camilla Lind, Louise's longtime friend, thinks she has spotted Sune in the forest behind her backyard, but her efforts to help by leaving food and clothes out for him lead to someone terrorizing her family. As the suspects and their motivations become more personal, Louise must break their silence to uncover some deadly secrets. VERDICT Blaedel excels at portraying the darkest side of Denmark. Readers who enjoyed the previous mystery will especially appreciate this story as it finally provides some closure for Louise. [See Prepub Alert, 8/10/15.]-Melissa DeWild, BookOps, New York P.L. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.