A Death in Denmark: The First Gabriel Præst Novel

This superb series launch from Malladi (The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You) introduces PI Gabriel Præst, who was fired from the Copenhagen police’s financial fraud division after he shared confidential information with a journalist because his corruption probe into the chief of National Police was stymied. Præst gets a hot potato of a case when his former lover, a defense attorney, asks him to exonerate a family friend, Yousef Ahmed. Ahmed was convicted of killing Sanne Melgaard, the anti-immigrant attorney general of Denmark, slitting her throat and stabbing her 15 times. Ahmed blamed Melgaard for deporting his son, Raheem, an Iraqi seeking asylum in Denmark, an act that led to ISIS torturing and executing Raheem. Ahmed admits he went to the victim’s home to confront her, but denies he murdered her. Præst’s pursuit of the truth takes some unexpected directions on the way to the satisfying conclusion. A killer plot matches an unusual lead sleuth, and secrets from Denmark’s WWII past enhance the story line. Katja Ivar admirers will be eager for the series’ next installment. Agent: Rayhane Sanders, Massie & McQuilkin. (Mar.)