Danish journalist Heloise Kaldan is in the middle of a nightmare. One of her sources has been caught lying, and she could lose her job over it. Then she receives the first in a series of cryptic and unsettling letters from a woman named Anna Kiel.
Wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing of a young lawyer three years earlier, Anna hasn’t been seen by anyone since she left the crime scene covered in blood. The police think she’s fled the country until homicide detective Erik Scháfer comes up with a lead after the reporter who originally wrote about the case is found murdered in his apartment. Has Anna Kiel struck again, or is there more than one killer at large? And why does every clue point directly to Heloise Kaldan?
Meanwhile, the letters keep coming, and they hint at a connection between Anna and Heloise. As Heloise starts digging deeper, she realizes that to tell Anna’s story she will have to revisit the darkest parts of her own past–confronting someone she swore she’d never see again.
The Corpse Flower is the first in the #1 bestselling Danish crime series, the Kaldan and Scháfer mysteries.
My thoughts: this was really, really good, I’m glad it’s now available in English as I would otherwise have missed out on this utterly gripping, thrilling book. It’s an intelligent and compelling thriller that sees journalist Heloise Kaldan investigating the whereabouts of a murderer on the run – Anna Kiel, who has been writing her slightly cryptic letters.
As the story unfolds we learn more about the circumstances around the murder Anna committed, and Heloise is placed in considerable danger from a shadowy figure who wants her to stop digging. Which of course makes her want to dig more. Along with detective Schàfer, Heloise finally starts to get some answers, answers that will rock society and take up the front page as a series of arrests are made. But will Anna be brought to justice? And will the man who had Heloise attacked be stopped?
The writing was excellent, I could not put this down. I really hope the rest of the series also gets translated and published here as it’s cracking stuff.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 