by Sara Blaedel
Louise knew that something like five out of the total of sixteen to seventeen hundred missing person reports that came in every year could be accounted to crime—probably more, given that Rønholt and his team lacked the means to devote themselves to each case fully.
The Search Department spent most of its time entering personal details into a nationwide register and then assisting in identifying persons found dead. Moreover, there was a certain amount of collaboration with Interpol concerning foreign citizens found in Denmark and Danes found abroad.
Rønholt paused and looked at her again.
“How do you feel about Michael Stig as new team leader after Willumsen?” he asked, changing track all of a sudden.
He offered her a peppermint and put the packet down on the desk as he studied her.
“To be honest, not good,” she answered frankly. “I hadn’t seen it coming. But he’s the only one of us with a management qualification, so if we’re not going to pull someone in from outside I suppose it has to be him.”
“Now that we’ve solved this cold case, I’ve been given the go-ahead to set up a little unit,” said Rønholt, picking up his thread from before. “An investigator and a specialist advisory officer in charge.”
Louise leaned forward.
“We’re conceiving it as a special inquiry service to investigate cold cases,” he explained. “Missing persons.”
“Who’s going to be leading it?” Louise asked, reaching for another peppermint. All of a sudden her mouth felt dry.
“You are,” Rønholt replied, fixing his eyes on her. “If we can drag you away from Homicide, that is.”
They could. Especially now. She knew just looking at Suhr that he was aware she would not be happy with Michael Stig. And yet the decision had been made. He could have advertised the position and involved the rest of the team in the process. But it was already done, which led Louise to suspect that her colleague had already been ushered into the wings a long time ago, ready to take over from Willumsen when the time came. And that time was now.
“Who would the other person be?” she asked, sensing the butterflies in her stomach. She was flattered, of course, but at the same time hesitant and unsure of herself.
A whole new department under her responsibility. Staying with Department A meant keeping a much-coveted and presumably rather secure position as homicide investigator. But then there was Jonas. She couldn’t go on working like this, never being home at the right time when he needed her.
“Who you choose would be your decision entirely,” Rønholt answered. “And you’d be bringing your present salary with you, plus all the add-ons that go with heading up a unit.”
She said nothing, but simply sat there staring into space, her thoughts churning in her mind. Specialist advisory officer. Rønholt had clearly thought the matter through. With that title she got her own department without needing the management qualifications.
“Think about it until Monday,” he said. “But I’ll need an answer by then.”
Louise nodded slowly and got to her feet.
“So we’d just be two in this department?”
Ragner Rønholt nodded. “Yes,” he said, a more serious look appearing on his face. “With a six-month probation period.”
“Meaning?”
He shrugged apologetically. “Meaning you’d have six months to prove the unit’s worth.”
“And after that?”
“After that we see if there’s a basis for continuation.”
“And if there isn’t, would I still have my job in Homicide?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t promise you that.”
Louise picked up her coat and thought of Jonas. It would be a lot easier for her to spend time with him in the new job.
“When were you thinking I’d start?” she asked, wriggling into her coat.
“Whenever you want, as long as we get set up before the admin boys change their mind.”
She stood for a moment, looking at the tidy orchids in his windowsill.
“I’ll take it,” she said, turning her head toward him again. “If I can start Monday and kick off with a week’s vacation.”
Her new boss frowned in surprise.
“I need a week off to be with a boy I’ve neglected,” she explained.
“I’m sure it can be arranged,” he nodded, politely stepping forward to open the door for her. “I’ll make sure the offices are ready.”
He jabbed a thumb down the corridor. “You’ll be in the Rathole.”
Louise stopped in her tracks.
“Sounds worse than it is,” he reassured her. “It comes with its own kitchen area just downstairs. No one’s used the place for ages, but names do have a habit of sticking, don’t they?”
Right now she didn’t mind where he put her as long as it was nowhere near Michael Stig.
She was already on her way along the corridor when Rønholt called her back.
“Actually, we could just as well do the formalities now, if you’ve nothing against it?”
He held up two sheets of paper, both of which he handed to her.
She took them with a smile, skimming their contents quickly.
SEARCH DEPARTMENT, SPECIAL SEARCH AGENCY. SPECIALIST ADVISORY OFFICER LOUISE RICK it said at the top.
“You already had these done, didn’t you?” she exclaimed with a look of surprise. “Have you spoken to Suhr as well?”
“I took the liberty of preparing matters in advance,” he admitted with a shrug. “Just so that we could get started if you happened to say yes.”
Louise dropped the job description into her bag and accepted the hand he extended toward her, sealing their agreement.
“You knew all along I would,” she laughed, and shook her head at his presumption.
Acknowledgments
A big thank-you to everyone who so kindly gave up their time to help me research this book.
The Stolen Angel is fiction and stems wholly from my imagination. Its characters are in no way based on existing persons. However, most of what I have written about the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is correct, although as far as I know there was never a glass icon of the archangel Gabriel in the side aisle.
In this book, as in my previous ones, it has been crucial for me to do thorough research in order to make my story appear trustworthy and realistic. Thanks to my friends at Copenhagen’s Police Headquarters, without whose help the framework around Louise Rick wouldn’t hold. And a completely, unbelievably huge, thanks to Tom Christensen, Flying Squad, who has been with me from before the first line was written, and generously contributed with talk and details as the book was in progress. Tremendous thanks for your time and your empathy in the story.
Heartfelt thanks, yet again, go, as always, to my friend, forensic expert, Steen Holger Hansen, who is there to help out when a plot needs to be spun together. Without you there would be no book.
Great thanks also go to the journalist Lotte Thorsen, who is amazingly skilled with words.
A million thanks to my savvy, tireless, and wonderful American editor, Lindsey Rose, and to the spectacular team at Grand Central. It is a thrill, an honor, and an enormous joy to work with you all. I appreciate every single effort you’ve made on my behalf, and being part of this esteemed family. I’m very happy to be with you.
Thank you so very much to my supremely visionary American agent, Victoria Sanders, who has moved heaven and Earth for me, and to your fabulous and super-smart associates, the lovely and talented Bernadette Baker-Baughman and Jessica Spivey, whose great work, all around the world, leaves me filled with gratitude and aware of just how fortunate I am.
Thank you to the brilliant Benee Knauer, who knows what I am thinking and what I mean, and how to capture it perfectly. It means so much to know you are there; to have you behind and beside me.
I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the American crime-writing community, and to my dear American readers. I cannot sufficiently convey ho
w much your warm welcome has continued to mean to me; you have made my dream come true. I love this country so much that I have made a new home here. I’m loving it!
My warmest thanks must go to my son, Adam, whom I love with all my heart, and who has traveled every step of the way with me on this indescribable journey.
—Sara Blaedel
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About the Author
Sara Blaedel’s suspense novels have enjoyed incredible success around the world: fantastic acclaim, multiple awards, and runaway number one bestselling success internationally. In her native Denmark, Sara was voted most popular novelist for the fourth time in 2014. She is also a recipient of the Golden Laurel, Denmark’s most prestigious literary award. Her books are published in thirty-seven countries. Her series featuring police detective Louise Rick is adored the world over, and Sara is excited for the launch of her new Undertaker’s Daughter suspense series in the United States next year.
Sara Blaedel’s interest in story writing, and especially crime fiction, was nurtured from a young age. The daughter of a renowned Danish journalist and an actress whose career included roles in theater, radio, TV, and movies, Sara grew up surrounded by a constant flow of professional writers and performers visiting the Blaedel home. Despite a struggle with dyslexia, Sara found in books a world in which to escape when her introverted nature demanded an exit from the hustle and bustle of life.
She tried a number of careers, from a restaurant apprenticeship to graphic design, before she started a publishing company called Sara B, where she published Danish translations of American crime fiction.
Publishing ultimately led Sara to journalism, and she covered a wide range of stories, from criminal trials to the premiere of Star Wars: Episode I. It was during this time—and while skiing in Norway—that Sara started brewing the ideas for her first novel. In 2004 Louise and Camilla were introduced in Grønt Støv (Green Dust), and Sara won the Danish Academy for Crime Fiction’s debut prize.
Today Sara lives in New York City, and when she isn’t busy committing brutal murders on the page, she is an ambassador with Save the Children and serves on the jury of a documentary film competition.
EXTRAORDINARY PRAISE FOR
SARA BLAEDEL
AND THE LOUISE RICK SERIES
“Blaedel is one of the best I’ve come across.”
—Michael Connelly
“Crime-writer superstar Sara Blaedel’s great skill is in weaving a heartbreaking social history into an edge-of-your-chair thriller while at the same time creating a detective who’s as emotionally rich and real as a close friend.”
—Oprah.com
“She’s a remarkable crime writer who time and again delivers a solid, engaging story that any reader in the world can enjoy.”
—Karin Slaughter
“One can count on emotional engagement, spine-tingling suspense, and taut storytelling from Sara Blaedel. Her smart and sensitive character, investigator Louise Rick, will leave readers enthralled and entertained.”
—Sandra Brown
“I loved spending time with the tough, smart, and all-too-human heroine Louise Rick—and I can’t wait to see her again.”
—Lisa Unger
“If you like crime fiction that is genuinely scary, then Sara Blaedel should be the next writer you read.”
—Mark Billingham
“Sara Blaedel is at the top of her game. Louise Rick is a character who will have readers coming back for more.”
—Camilla Läckberg
THE LOST WOMAN
“Leads to…that gray territory where compassion can become a crime and kindness can lead to coldblooded murder.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Blaedel solidifies once more why her novels are as much finely drawn character studies as tightly plotted procedurals, always landing with a punch to the gut and the heart.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Long-held secrets and surprising connections rock Inspector Louise Rick’s world in Blaedel’s latest crime thriller. Confused and hurt, Louise persists in investigating a complex murder despite the mounting personal ramifications. The limits of loyalty and trust, and the complexities of grief, are central to this taut thriller’s resolution. A rich cast of supporting characters balances the bleakness of the crimes.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
“Sara Blaedel is a literary force of nature…Blaedel strikes a fine and delicate balance between the personal and the professional in The Lost Woman, as she has done with the other books in this wonderful series…Those who can’t get enough of finely tuned mysteries…will find this book and this author particularly riveting.”
—Bookreporter.com
“Blaedel, Denmark’s most popular author, is known for her dark mysteries, and she examines the controversial social issue at the heart of this novel, but ends on a surprisingly light note. Another winner from Blaedel.”
—Booklist
“Engrossing.”
—Toronto Star
THE KILLING FOREST
“Another suspenseful, skillfully wrought entry from Denmark’s Queen of Crime.”
—Booklist
“Engrossing…Blaedel nicely balances the twisted relationships of the cult members with the true friendships of Louise, Camilla, and their circle.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Blaedel delivers another thrilling novel…Twists and turns will have readers on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Will push you to the edge of your seat [then] knock you right off…A smashing success.”
—Bookreporter.com
“Blaedel excels at portraying the darkest side of Denmark.”
—Library Journal
THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS
Winner of the 2015 RT Reviewer’s Choice Award
“Crackling with suspense, atmosphere, and drama, The Forgotten Girls is simply stellar crime fiction.”
—Lisa Unger
“Chilling…[a] swiftly moving plot and engaging core characters.”
—Publishers Weekly
“This is a standout book that will only solidify the author’s well-respected standing in crime fiction. Blaedel drops clues that will leave readers guessing right up to the reveal. Each new lead opens an array of possibilities, and putting the book down became a feat this reviewer was unable to achieve. Based on the history of treating the disabled, the story is both horrifying and all-too-real. Even the villains have nuanced and sympathetic motives.”
—RT Times Top Pick, Reviewer’s Choice Award Winner
“Already an international bestseller, this outing by Denmark’s Queen of Crime offers trademark Scandinavian crime fiction with a tough detective and a very grim mystery. Blaedel is incredibly talented at keeping one reading…Recommend to fans of Camilla Läckberg and Liza Marklund.”
—Library Journal
“The Forgotten Girls has it all. At its heart, it is a puzzling, intricate mystery whose solution packs a horrific double-punch…Once you start, you will have no choice but to finish it.”
—Bookreporter.com
“Tautly suspenseful and sociologically fascinating, The Forgotten Girls demonstrates yet again that the finest contemporary suspense fiction emanates from Europe’s snowbound North.”
—BookPage
“Sara Blaedel’s The Forgotten Girls is an emotionally complex police-procedural thriller set in Denmark. With a gripping premise, fast-paced narrative and well-developed characters, The Forgotten Girls is an incredible read.”
—FreshFiction.com
“Tightly knit.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The Forgotten Girls is without a doubt the best the author has delivered so far…strikingly well done…The chances are good th
at The Forgotten Girls will become your favorite crime novel for a long time to come.”
—Børsen (Denmark)
“[The Forgotten Girls] is gripping when it depicts some horrific crimes…[An] uncompromising realism…distinguishes this novel at its best.”
—Washington Post
Also by Sara Blaedel
THE LOUISE RICK SERIES
The Missing Persons Trilogy
The Forgotten Girls
The Killing Forest
The Lost Woman
The Camilla Trilogy
The Night Women
The Running Girl
The Stolen Angel
THE UNDERTAKER SERIES
The Undertaker’s Daughter
