The Midnight Witness

Early in Blaedel’s middling seventh Louise Rick mystery to be published in the U.S. (after The Lost Women), Louise’s best friend, crime reporter Camilla Lind, calls to tell her that Karoline Wissinge, a 23-year-old nurse, was found strangled in a Copenhagen park. A distraught, exhausted Louise already knows about this murder, having spent the night before with the victim’s parents. Camilla also tells her of the death of fellow journalist Frank Sørensen, whose body was found in a hotel parking lot. The two homicide cases provide the procedural backdrop for the emotional trials both women endure to function in worlds still dominated by men. Louise, the only woman on the police homicide team, rebels against office politics and her superior’s prioritization of Frank’s murder over Karoline’s. Camilla clashes with her male boss, who sidelines her and dictates her approach to stories. Readers will relate to the women’s travails, but Blaedel overdoes the social-cum-feminist commentary on Copenhagen’s urban crime scene as the predictable plot lurches to its telegraphed ending. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc. (Oct.)