Denmark criminal investigator Louise Rick has recently
taken over the Special Search Agency, a subdivision of
Denmark's Search Department. She immediately becomes
involved in having to identify the body of a woman found
dead in the woods.
Eventually, Louise and her new partner Eik Nordstrom learn
that the woman had been a mental patient at a local asylum
that is now being run as a therapy center. The most
disconcerting revelation are records showing that the woman
died, along with her mentally ill twin sister, decades
earlier. As Louise and Eik investigate deeper, they become
involved in a twisted case of mental and physical abuse,
murder, rape and perverted family secrets. Along the way,
Louise must come to terms with her own difficult past and
how it interconnects with this investigation.
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.
References to aspects of Louise's previous experiences were
a bit confusing for me, but that certainly did not detract
from the riveting plot. I am assuming they were covered in
previous books, since this is an ongoing series, and I have
not read earlier installments. Since Sara Blaedel is
an exemplary writer, and Louise is such an interesting
character, I plan to read other books in this series.
In a forest in Denmark, a ranger discovers the fresh
corpse
of an unidentified woman. A large scar on one side of her
face should make the identification easy, but nobody has
reported her missing. After four days, Louise Rick—the new
commander of the Missing Persons Department—is still
without answers.
But when she releases a photo to the media, an older woman
phones to say that she recognizes the woman as Lisemette,
a
child she once cared for in the state mental institution
many years ago. Lisemette, like the other children in the
institution, was abandoned by her family and branded a
"forgotten girl." But Louise soon discovers something more
disturbing: Lisemette had a twin, and both girls were
issued death certificates over 30 years ago. As the
investigation brings Louise closer to her childhood home,
she uncovers more crimes that were committed—and hidden—in
the forest, and finds a terrible link to her own past that
has been carefully concealed.