THE NIGHT WOMEN

A journey to a new life or a prison of despair and death? A shocking murder on Copenhagen’s idyllic streets and an abandoned child reveal a perverse criminal underworld that crosses international borders.

A young woman’s body is found on the street with her throat slit, and the media is clamoring for the grisly details. Detective Louise Rick is investigating the gruesome murder when her friend Camilla Lind calls. Louise assumes it is because Camilla, a crime reporter, wants to be the first to hear of any juicy new developments. Instead, her distraught friend reveals that her ten year-old son found an abandoned baby on his way to school.

As Louise digs deeper into the murder and the mysterious foundling, every clue uncovered points to organized human trafficking from Eastern Europe, run by ruthless gangsters who won’t hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way…

This gripping, heartwrenching, extraordinary new suspense novel from Sara Blaedel will keep you turning pages as fast as you can straight through to the electrifying finale.

Series:

Louise Rick

Can be read as a standalone

Book Type:

Scandinavian Crime Fiction

Review: The Night Women

THE NIGHT WOMEN—formerly known as FAREWELL TO FREEDOM in Sara Blaedel’s Louise Rick series—is being released in the United States and is an engrossing journey into the dark side of Copenhagen’s streets.

As always, Blaedel’s story didn’t disappoint. I love this series, which touts a skillful mix of police procedural and compelling characters. Louise is the perfect heroine at the center of these chilling thrillers—she’s a savvy detective, a loyal friend and a relatable lead. Since I started the series with THE KILLING FOREST, it was great to read some back story to Louise’s life and the events that would forever alter it.

In this case, Louise and team are confronted with a couple of disturbing cases. First, a young woman’s body is found on the street, her throat slit. Then, a baby girl is found abandoned in a church by her best friend’s son.

As they delve into both cases, they realize they’re dealing with a cruel and merciless criminal underworld, where human trafficking means ruthless gangsters are lining their pockets night after night. These guys will do anything, kill anyone, to keep their business running profitably.

But then, more victims emerge and the web they find themselves in gets more tangled and far more dangerous than they could imagine.

It was fun to get a lot more page time with Camilla Lind, Louise’s best friend, learning about their friendship and her own motivations and struggles. The case itself was riveting—albeit heartbreaking in reality—with surprising twists along the way.

Wonderfully paced and addictive, this book (and this series) is the perfect Nordic Noir pick for those new to the genre, and another must-read for us avid readers of Scandinavian crime fiction.

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