The Girl in the Ice

The discovery of a corpse in Greenland kicks off the hunt for a mass murderer in the dull second Konrad Simonsen thriller (after 2013’s The Hanging) from the Hammer brother-sister writing duo. The icy grave preserved Danish nurse Maryann Nygaard’s body for 25 years after her death in 1983; the MO suggests to Simonsen, a chief inspector in Copenhagen’s Homicide Division, that Maryann was killed by the same person who murdered Catherine Thomsen in 1997. Simon, who worked Catherine’s case, still feels responsible that her father, falsely accused, committed suicide. The new investigation focuses on Andreas Falkenborg, who, from the moment he’s introduced, is so obviously the culprit that much of the novel’s suspense dissipates. He has all the hallmarks of a deranged killer, from a troubled childhood to a penchant for stalking women, and the authors throw unnecessary barriers in front of Simonsen and his team in order to extend the chase, which turns into a tiresome cat and mouse game. Agent: Sofie Voller, Gyldendal (Denmark). (Nov.)