The Drowned Girl

Louise Rick #3

by Sara Blaedel

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERDetective Louise Rick must race against the clock to stop a violent killer targeting immigrants in this disturbing and timely thriller, perfect for readers of Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag, Tess Gerritsen, or Jo Nesbo. Previously published as Only One Life.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Nordic Noir, Denmark, Thriller, Audiobook

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 22, 2007

About the author

Sara Blaedel is the author of the #1 international bestselling series featuring Detective Louise Rick. Her books are published in thirty-seven countries. In 2014 Sara was voted Denmark’s most popular novelist for the fourth time. She is also a recipient of the Golden Laurel, Denmark’s most prestigious literary award.

In 2016 she published the first book "The Undertakers Daughter" in a new trilogy set in Racine, Wisconsin:

Already widowed by the age of forty, Ilka Nichols Jensen, a school portrait photographer, leads a modest, regimented, and uneventful life in Copenhagen. Until unexpected news rocks her quiet existence: Her father–who walked out suddenly and inexplicably on the family more than three decades ago–has died. And he’s left her something in his will: his funeral home. In Racine, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Karin Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in one day, which apparently means I have a lot of time on my hands. I LOVED it. The setting was fascinating and the characters were really new and interesting to me. I ran out and got all her other books in English, then wrote a letter to her publisher to translate more, because that's easier than learning to read Danish.

I met Sara at a crime festival in Denmark a few years ago. The festival was held in an old prison, but when we pulled into the parking lot, I literally thought we were at a high school. No kidding. Americans will understand this. Anyway, that is not the point of this story. Since Danish people are normally very shy, I was very pleased and surprised when Sara came over and introduced herself. She is always stylishly dressed and full of poise, which you'd think would make me hate her, but that is not the case. There was also a guy at the crime festival dressed in black and singing Johnny Cash songs ("I Walk the Line") in Danish. Just thought I'd add that because it's one of those things that happens and you think, "is this some kind of weird dream" but I filmed him with my iphone so it must be true.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The very idea of Honor Killings...that the recalcitrant actions of one person could lead another family member to commit murder......boggles the mind. Even though our society seems to have lost all concept of Shame and/or Honor...the thought of Murder for Honor makes me blench. Not to mention the fact that, according to this book, most Honor Killings are perpetrated my members of the Extended Family...those living outside the country where the Killing took place..

All of which is Nice & Good.......except , in the case of this book, Honor Killings are a matter of Police Procedural...and Journalistic Hubris


.....and so it goes

Louise Rick is caught up in another Honor Killing case, after being.sourced out to the town of Holbaek...where a Jordanian immigrant girl’s battered corpse is discovered...awash in a cold sea. Enter Dicta Moller....dead girl’s best friend (and aspiring Model....she’s got the Looks)..the Linchpin of this story.....

Be Warned: Teen Angst abides in this story (in a rather Wooden manner)....as does Rape-by-a Family-Member

After much back&forth.....with Samra’s family (the Jordanian girl)....and the whole Honor Killing thing....and Dicta (Teenage Slut).....I was left with a “let down” feeling...mainly because the whole tone of the Narrative is dry-as-dust (but, I’ll chalk that up to the translation)...or full of excess characters (Camilla-the-Journalist was present..to remind the reader of the previous novel....CALL ME PRINCESS..????)....and the fact that Samra's murder had nothing to do with Honor Killing...just Family Hubris.....and teenage ambition

The denouement wasn’t unexpected..just Slow on Arrival..

My second read by Sara Blaedel......it was better than CALL ME PRINCESS....but still too busy, in ways that didn’t keep the story moving.....

I like this woman’s stories...just wish they had more life..in the translation

*****This was a Net Galley*****

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ReadAroundTheWorld #Denmark

This is the third story in the Louise Rick series and the third in the Homicide Trilogy by popular Danish crime fiction writer Sara Blaedel. It is another book featuring dedicated detective Louise Rick and her journalist friend Camilla Lind, this one looks into the murders of a teenage Muslim girl Samra, presumed to be an honour killing, followed by the death of her friend, an ambitious young model Dicta.
I still can’t quite work out Louise Rick, at times she comes across as very empathetic, at other times fairly robotic and removed, nevertheless I always appreciate a woman detective and lead. This story explores the relationship between culture and religion and also our prejudices and assumptions. There are disturbing elements as you would expect in a crime novel, but it does not dwell on this overly in an on-page detailed fashion. I would like to read more Louise Rick stories and get to know her character and also find out whether the blip of romance in this story will continue.

[Kim Kaso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a quibble with the publication of these books...the first one still has not been published in English, the publishers put out a later books as her first one. I like to read books in order as character develops and history of the main characters is established. This is common with Scandinavian mysteries, I have waited ages for enough books to be published to be able to follow this series as properly as I can, and just got an Anne Holt's Hannah Wilhelmsen book which allows me to read them in proper order, that took years. The first one I encountered had her in a wheel chair, but I discovered there was a whole stack of books with her as an able-bodied person prior to the event that put her in the wheel chair, & that felt like a real spoiler, so I put it on the stack & quietly bought the books & slotted them in their proper evolutionary spots until I got to her origin.

That being said, I enjoyed this book very much. It was dealing with the uneasy relationships Danish society has with its recent spate of immigrants from counties torn apart by war, many of them Muslim. The forward-thinking Danes are uncomfortable with what they think of as the restrictive nature of the lives of Muslim women, and the immediate response around a murder is to begin investigating it as an honor killing. Everyone has to check their prejudices and assumptions before the proper view is found to establish the motivation for the murder.

This was a good read, entertaining, thought-provoking, and well-paced. A good entry in the ongoing series. Strongly recommended for mystery fans.

[Marc Bougharios · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is released on December 24, 2018

This was my first novel my Bleadel and to me, the mystery factor didn't wow me very much.

It had very intriguing storyline which is what made me want to read it, but while I was reading, I started losing interest about halfway through the novel. That being said, it was still very good. Detective Louise Rick is such an interesting character and I loved her persistence and how she never gave up on the case. It's very rare that we got a female detective in books and that's one thing that I liked about this novel. The fact that Louise was given a sort of small love life in the novel is very different to see in a mystery since usually the plot is simply focused on the murder. It's nice of Bleadel to do that for Louise!

I loved the plot of the novel but the ending was a not very good one. The killer was revealed simply out of the blue and personally, I think that it was not a very good twist. The reasoning as to why it was done was somewhat shocking since secrets were revealed and all the puzzle pieces came together.

I do think that it could have been a little more mystery based and the killer could've been a little more of a shocker. I would love to see how the relationship with Louise and Mik will work out in future novels.

Thank you to Hachette Book Group Canada and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel.

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I can't say I liked this novel. Because I didn't. As it gets better as it progresses, it's still a one dimensional effort, showing very shallow research on its main selling point: honor killings. There is no narration make from the Arabic family whatsoever, that would've highlighted the struggle of living in Occident, coming from the Middle East, which is so heavily rooted into religion and tradition. Blaedel always stops her character at saying: "Well, this is a cultural difference and I don't understand, but I don't like it either."

By the end, Bladel at least proves she's a competent novelist and at least digs a little deeper into some characters, but it takes so much time to take off. Also, this won't fool any experienced mystery readers, as I had spotted the culprit before page 100. "Only One Life" had glimpses of interest (the Moller family's dymanic, the fashion subplot, etc.) but it fell flat for me.

[Alix Philos · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - finished this book in less than a week so totally worth the read! It was an eye opener for the different cultural perspectives and I really appreciated that point of view. Great story line over all but I still feel like it is missing something at the end

[Megan Tosti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have I mentioned how much I love Sara Blædel???

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

this one was more boring then the last one :(

[〰️Beth〰️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely read mysteries but I challenged myself to read a few this month.

While looking for reads I might like I stumbled upon this book by Sara Blaedel. Ok I will admit part of the draw was that a blurb said Ms Blaedel was the Queen of Nordic Noir... oh mystery here I come.

This was the third in her Louise Rick series but the fact the story revolves around a Jordanian immigrant girl’s death in a small Danish town had me more interested in the story than worrying about not starting at the beginning of a series.

I don’t like giving spoilers but this book touched on so many topics that are relevant in the world today. People trying to understand each other’s cultural and religious differences and the women’s movement.

Though not a tue story as I read I thought back over news stories I had seen over the past few years and realized how things in this book could happen especially when you are looking at a situation where many apply broad brush strokes over how they perceive differences in immigrant behavior and beliefs to their own.

Overall this was a fantastic read. I will admit there were a few small plot points, especially in the beginning that I had no reference to since I picked up in book three. Those were easy enough to overlook as the story progressed.

As I said I am not a fan of the mystery genre but I could not put this down and read it In one sitting.

Living in the U.S. I found a hard copy of this used online and you can bet I will be looking for the first two books in the story very soon. Sara Blaedel has made me a believer in Nordic Noir!

[Shelley Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars
The Drowned Girl by Sara Blaedel, is the 3rd book in the Louise Rick crime fiction series. This story is a really interesting, but also tragic and heartbreaking story of prejudice, horrific cultural traditions, violence and family ties.

A young girl is drowned in a clearly intentional manner. It’s assumed to be a Muslim honor killing, but when her close, non-Muslim friend also ends up dead, it confuses the issue and complicates matters. The two are surely linked, though they are vastly different in nature and heritage. This story is timely, moving and complex, as these types of cases often are, and was a quick, disturbing, but captivating mystery.

[Elina Mäkitalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oikeastaan tämä on 4 1/2.

Kirja piti otteessaan koko ajan. Kerronta oli sujuvaa ja jouhevaa ja tapahtumia oli jonkin verran, sopivasti. Aihe oli rankka mutta mielenkiintoinen. Tämä on kai jokin sarja ja ei ole ensimmäinen osa mutta ei mielestäni haitannut lukemista eli ei tarvitse lukea niin sanotusti järjestyksessä. Tämä oli ensimmäinen tämän kirjailijan kirja ja vakuutti kyllä lukemaan muitakin kirjoja. En oikeastaan tiedä mistä puolikkaan tähden vähentäminen johtuu.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Denmark has been in the news fairly often lately for conflicts between ethnic Danes and the immigrant Muslim population. This police procedural puts this cultural tension in sharp relief, providing an engaging way to glean insights into the “clash of civilizations” now occurring in the West and particularly in Europe.

Louise Rick, a 37-year-old Inspector with the Copenhagen homicide investigation unit, receives a temporary reassignment to the elite Mobile Task Force. A young Muslim girl has been murdered near Holbaek, an hour or so from Copenhagen. An “honor killing” is suspected.

[Honor killings occur in some cultures in which a family member has done something perceived to bring shame and dishonor upon the entire extended family. The “objectionable” behavior can include, among other things, any perceived sexual misconduct including getting raped; associating with others outside the community and adopting their values; or even disobedience. This can cause the whole family to become outcasts if the behavior is not “avenged.” Some women in these tightly-knit cultures prefer that the honor killings take place rather than having to endure the loneliness and humiliation of exclusion. And many of the women, having never been exposed to different systems of thought, cannot transcend the socialization that encourages them to believe the abuse or murder is justified.

As the author indicates in an excerpt from a U.N. report of March 2010, “The United Nations Population Fund estimates that perhaps as many as five thousand women and girls a year are killed by members of their own families. Many women’s groups in the Middle East and Southwest Asia suspect the number of victims is about four times greater.”]

Louise’s best friend Camilla is a reporter, and tries to diffuse the smoldering anti-immigrant mood surrounding the murder story by writing about non-immigrant groups using shame to control their members, especially females. She also reports on the number of girls in these groups who take their own lives as a response to the ostracism and humiliation inflicted upon them.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the investigation, there is a budding romance between two of the characters, and here Blaedel is exceptional at capturing the emotions that accompany new relationships, as in this example:

"’Let’s stop here,’ she said, releasing her firm hold on him, but nonetheless willingly allowing herself to be pushed along as he guided her backward, both hands on her hips, away from the Irish coffee toward the house. As they walked slowly so she wouldn’t stumble, her eyes bore into his to determine how big a catastrophe this was. What did he think of her? Had she pressured him into this? Did he feel like he couldn’t turn her down? How crushing a failure would it be when he said this was all a mistake? That they should have stopped before they even started. … “

In fact, the author’s dialogue is very good when any emotional scene is involved. The scene in which Louise brought bad news to the parents of a second girl killed had me in tears.

Discussion: This turned out to be quite an enjoyable book, but it had to grow on me. Two things took me a while to get used to: (1) It has a largish cast of characters having both Danish and Jordanian names (this adjustment difficulty obviously being my problem rather than the author’s); and (2) It has a somewhat stilted narrative style, which I think could well be a function of translation. At the same time, the parts with dialogue have a much better flow. Certainly it is true that each culture and its language may have a wholly different syntax. Moreover, the arrangement of linguistic elements may be one way for dialogue and another for narration. The fact that the properties of the language may seem alien to us is not necessarily a reflection upon the skill of an author or translator.

At any rate, once I got accustomed to these constituents of the story, it became very engaging.

Evaluation: This book provides the usual suspense, humor, and romantic interludes that characterize squads of dedicated police professionals (at least in fiction!). The thought-provoking look at the tensions between two different cultures and the spotlight on gender politics adds a great deal of interest to the story. I definitely want to read more books by this author.

Rating: 3.5/5

[Sandra Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a long time to read this. Some good parts but kind of a little boring. Not my favorite that’s for sure. I would be willing to try maybe another book by this author though.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 2 out of 5]

First Line: She could just make out the blue flashes between the densely grown tree trunks, but she couldn't see how many police vehicles were at the scene.

Inspector Louise Rick is called in to help local Danish police with a drowning that's anything but ordinary. Samra, a young immigrant girl, has been found in Holbraek Fjord, a large slab of concrete tied around her waist and mysterious circular marks on the back of her neck.

Samra's life was short and sad, with a father who'd already been charged with assaulting her and her mother. There's no doubt in her mother's mind that her husband would be capable of killing Samra if he believed she had brought dishonor to the family. But Sada insists that her daughter had done nothing dishonorable, even though the girl was supposedly being sent home to Jordan.

Samra's best friend believes her death to be an honor killing. Within days this young girl is also dead, and Samra's younger sister is missing. Louise Rick and her journalist friend, Camilla Lind, have their work cut out for them in solving this case. Is it yet another honor killing in the immigrant community, or is it something else entirely?

This is the third book in the Rick/Lind mystery series and the second to be published in the United States. Author Sara Blaedel is often referred to as the Queen of Danish Crime, but-- to be honest-- I could not warm up to this book or its characters. Almost from the first page, I felt as though I'd missed my bus and kept chasing after it as it disappeared down the street.

Blaedel gives the reader a lot of facts about honor killings before the book even begins. It's a horrible problem that I was made aware of here in Phoenix in 2009 when four boys (aged 9, 10, 13, and 14) lured a developmentally disabled 8-year-old girl into a shed on the pretense of getting some gum. They then held her down and took turns raping her. What was the reaction of the father of the raped girl? The man told the case worker and a police officer, "Take her. I don't want her." As horrible as that is to anyone who wasn't raised with that cultural behavior, at least the man told those two to take her away. She'd brought shame to his family. He could've killed her.

So as far as the topic of honor killings go, this is an informative book to read. However, so little background on the two main characters was given-- and enough references made to things that happened in previous books-- that I constantly felt frustrated. The plot also hinges on the reader believing in one certain outcome, and since I guessed early on that something else was going on, the false trail seemed clumsily done.

My enjoyment of this book might have been greater had I read the previous book in the series, but series books should be able to stand on their own without help from the ones published earlier. The reader should want to read the older books in order to enhance their experience, not feel as though they have to read them in order to understand the characters and what's going on. As much as I wanted to like this book, I'm going to have to quote the late, great W.C. Fields: "On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia."

[Ashy Khaira · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story started off interesting enough with the murder of a 15 year old girl and the way she was murdered almost seemed as it if was an honor killing done by the family.BUt not everything is at it seems.Halfway through the book started to become a bit draggy,it started with a bang and then went at an extremely slow pace that it was a little hard to get to the end of the book.An okayosh read

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a slow paced police procedural that frequently dealt with the private lives of the investigators more than the crimes they were trying to solve. The murder of a teenage girl of Jordanian descent is suspected of being an "honour killing". Then, however, her best friend - a white Danish girl - is also murdered with similar strange marks found on her body.
There's no doubt the novel is well-researched and well-intended and it does deal with the thorny issue of the clash between Islamic and European cultures in a sensitive manner. However, as a crime thriller it fell down with a lack of momentum or focus.

[Redbird · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the beginning, the author wants the reader to know that the novel is based on the concept of honor killings (a horrible name for a horrific crime.) So when a girl is killed, the police think it’s an honor killing and look to the family to place blame.

The detectives seem to do an inadequate job, making it harder to find the story suspenseful and credible. Detective Rick makes one incredibly stupid blunder that the author doesn’t seem to think is a blunder, just a choice, that really blew up all credibility for me.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Officer Louise Rick travels an hour out of Copenhagen to a small town to help the Unit One Mobile Task Force investigate the horrific murder of a young girl. She was found submerged in the bay by a local fisherman. Suicide is out of the question as she was tethered to a concrete block. Was this an act of random violence? Was she killed by someone she knew? Or was this an honor killing?

The dead teen is Muslim. Her parents live by the rules of their religion, which makes the investigation much more difficult due to their lack of cooperation due to fear and tradition. Unfortunately, information comes to light that may point to a private side of the young victim. Her parents may have found out about her secret which could have brought dishonor to their family.

Enter crime reporter Camilla, close friend of Louise. She jumps into the story and latches onto the honor killing theory. Her editor wants more of this angle, but the deeper Camilla dives into the lives of the Muslim families, the more she wants to help them by finding the truth. But her articles are stirring up a hornet’s nest of preconceived notions that will result in a bigger divide between Danish and Muslims. Will this lead to more violence?

Not only is this a solid mystery, but the thread of prejudice that affects the different groups of people is woven throughout the plot. This multilayered story makes the reader pause to think about listening more and learning more about others they may fear or dislike without foundation.

Some books that are translated from a different language are difficult to read. The Drowned Girl is not one of those books. The flow and read was perfect. Even though this is the first novel I’ve read by Blaedel, it is not the first mystery featuring Louise Rick, but I never felt as though I didn’t know enough about the characters to fully understand the story. Actually, it was quite the opposite. Not only were the main characters shown doing their jobs, but personal lives, hopes and dreams are woven throughout to bring them to life and enrich the story.

This intriguing mystery is entertaining and thought provoking. The plot kept me guessing until the last chapters. Just when I thought I knew who the killer was, my theory would be debunked in the next chapter. This is a perfect multilayered book. If you like depth of characters and the tough topics in Jodi Picoult books, you will love Blaedel’s writing style.

Sara Blaedel is a prolific Danish author, who now resides in New York. She is the recipient of several awards including the Golden Laurel, Denmark’s most prestigious literary award.

 DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from the publisher/author in connection with Killer Nashville in return for my review. Copyright © 2018 Laura Hartman

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with interesting topic that is very popular among people, especially in Europe where we are not so much familiarised with Islamic culture and their amenities. I'm usually very interested in other cultures, their differences and the way they act and behave. It fascinates me how much religion can affect people and the way of their living. Something that is normal to me, to other groups of people is not.
I feel very sorry for poor Samra, she had a tough life, trying to adapt to Danish culture and still live as it is expected by her religion.
In the end it wasn't an honor killing but it creeps me out knowing that this kind of behaviour is acceptable at some places in the world. That is totally unacceptable!
Dicta was too likeable character, and she deserved better life, but she was too naive and impatient. Ending with her mother was so shocking and unexpected!!

Louise Rick series are getting better and better and I can't wait to continue beucuse I'm still waiting for book, that will get me to five stars!

[De Rijdende Boekenwurm · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Slechts één leven' is het derde deel van de Louise Rick-serie. Dit keer word er een moslim meisje in het water gevonden met een stuk beton om haar middel. Er wordt gedacht aan eerwraak, maar haar moeder beweert van niet. Louise wordt uitgeleend aan de mobiele taskforce en gaat op zoek naar de dader.

In Slechts één leven duikt Louise Rick in een zaak waarin eerwraak, familie-eer en culturele spanningen centraal staan. Terwijl de waarheid langzaam boven water komt, wordt duidelijk hoe kwetsbaar jonge vrouwen kunnen zijn binnen gesloten gemeenschappen. Thema’s als loyaliteit, rouw, institutioneel falen en verborgen geheimen maken dit tot een indringende Scandinavische thriller met actuele maatschappelijke lading.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in a Danish village as refugees from Jordan causes problems when a 15 year old high school student is discovered dead in a local lake. The police and many residents suspect an honor killing and proceed accordingly with their investigation and public opinion. The dis-owning of teen-age girls becomes a serious topic for women and tends to be down played among Jehovah witnesses and many other main stream religions.

[Henriette]

Jeg tror rent faktisk jeg er ved at varme op til Blædels bøger nu - følte mig bestemt mindre irriteret med karaktererne og handlingen i denne. Det giver jo også mening at hun ville være mere rutineret i at skrive sin historie på den tredje bog end den første. Så nu glæder jeg mig nærmest til at fortsætte med den næste.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong entry in this series. Very entertaining and easy read.

I appreciate that the protagonist, Louise Rick, is competent and doesn't have much for 'inner demons'. I read a lot of Nordic/Scandinavian crime and it gets a bit tiring when every cop is a recovering addict or dirty or just miserable

[Mariana McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome read with a really great plot line. Definitely goes into societal issues as well that I think can be really important to discuss. At times the storyline can be difficult to follow, but overall a solid read!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book!! I have found a new author!!! Oh YAY!! Mystery set in Denmark with good characters and a great story line. Can't wait to read more of hers.

[Alejandra Arévalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yay! Ya en este tercer libro siento que mejoró muchísimo. Este sí me gustó.

[Kristin (Always With a Book) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review posted on blog.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series by Sara Blaedel. The plot deals with “honour killings”, in this instance a Jordanian family living in Denmark. Only one life refers to the belief, that the life of just one girl doesn’t matter, when the honour of the extended family is at stake.
It is a well thought out, fascinating story.

[Patricia Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

first time to read a book by this author. interesting facts about Muslims and Danish people. also thought that there was a lot of eating pastries, cake, herring..and much drinking of beer. liked how determined Louise was to solve the murder. felt sorry for Dicta's and Samra's parents. each parent trying to cope in different ways. so glad for a happy ending. Maybe Mik will take Louise to Paris someday.