Hachette, February 7, 2017.
Three Stars
The Lost Woman is part of a series of mystery novels about Detective Louise Rick and
her experiences on the Danish police force. Part of a recent rise in popularity
of Scandinavian thrillers, I found Blaedel’s prose to be thoughtful and
sophisticated in comparison to some other mystery writers. This book can be
read as a standalone novel, but it is clearly part of a larger story – the author
does her best to fill in Louise’s backstory, but it doesn’t always flow
naturally.
Louise and her police force partner Eik – who also
happens to be her romantic partner – have just moved in together, and things
seem to be going well. Just as Louise starts to relax and feel positive about
their life together, Eik begins acting strangely. He disappears suddenly, and
Louise finds out all kinds of secrets about him before she finally tracks him
down, drunk in an English prison.
When Louise travels to England and meets with the
police there, she learns that Eik has a connection to a shocking murder that
has just happened nearby – a housewife named Sophie was shot with a hunting
rifle through her kitchen window, while her husband and daughter watched. The
police have discovered that Sophie was actually a Danish resident, reported
missing eighteen years earlier – by Eik. The two were travelling together when
Sophie disappeared from their sailboat, and the incident has affected Eik
emotionally ever since. Her reappearance and death have now unsettled him
completely.
Naturally, Louise is hurt by Eik’s behaviour and his
continuing secrets, but they never really talk about their issues. Instead, she
throws herself into solving Sophie’s murder, and ends up forging a connection
with Sophie’s teenage daughter. The mystery of Sophie’s disappearance and death
take Louise down an interesting path and into the world of medically-assisted
suicide, and I found it to be a compassionate examination of the subject of
euthanasia. However, the plot was very meandering, and I didn’t totally believe
it.
The characters, especially Louise, are likeable and
real, with accessible emotional reactions. However, I found it completely
bizarre that Louise and Eik never really communicate about their actions – he left
the country without telling her and ended up in prison, and yet she doesn’t
feel compelled to ask him why. Their behaviour caused an unnecessary level of
melodrama that didn’t add to the plot.
The Lost Woman is a suspenseful novel, but not at all action-packed. It is an
intelligent, slow-paced thriller that explores an intriguing, topical subject. I
would definitely be open to reading another novel in the series before I decide
whether or not Blaedel’s novels are right for me.
I received this book from Hachette and NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment