Copenhagen is the setting for the latest exploits of the travelling food critic Darcy Finnegan. Her passport should perhaps be considered a dangerous weapon, as everywhere the lady goes, she gets involved in solving crimes. DEATH IN DENMARK is on the cards, even though Darcy is supposed to be getting quietly married.

Darcy’s fiancé, Marcus Evans, works for Interpol, so he gets posted around the world, apparently randomly, and Darcy arranges to travel with him, along with her photographer friend, Lizzie. The duo of ladies staffs the travel blog The Wandering Foodie, so the more enticing meals they can find, the better. Wouldn’t you know it, on their first day in the Danish port city, while walking the dog Mozart and investigating an indoor food market, Darcy and Lizzie happen upon a tense scene. The exacting Danish customs inspector Freja Mikkelsen is issuing verbal warnings to several stallholders, whose businesses have run smoothly for years. Some documentation issues have arisen. This hardly seems enough to kill for, but the inspector is later found dead in her office, with signs of violence.

Marcus is called upon to assist in the case. He leaves wedding preparations to Darcy and Lizzie, but he might as well have left them to Mozart, for all I can see. With absolutely no reason to get involved, the ladies still talk their way into crime locations, a cold storage warehouse at the docks and a restaurant where one of the suspects is a chef. The reader is left wondering until the end whether there will be a wedding, while sightseeing at the canal, docks and restaurants. The weather is cold, and I remember more hot food being served at the Christmas market in the previous case. The word ‘structure’ is used on just about every page, and it’s often applied to cuisine. Mostly, the dining consists of open sandwiches on dark rye bread, often with smoked fish and pickles. There’s also a regular stop for spiced pastries. Both pickles and cinnamon affect Mozart’s sensitive nose, so he keeps sneezing.  

Enjoy the sights of Nyhavn, Tivoli Gardens and more with Greta Sinclair’s latest short novel DEATH IN DENMARK. The briny scents and odd odours stack up to prove that something is indeed rotten in the state of Denmark, and it probably culminated in a murder. Unlike many engaged couples, Darcy and Marcus sleep separately, so the story is suitable for teens as well as adults. This Culinary Cosy Murder Mystery series would be a great way to learn geography. While this crime story would not deter me from travel, I’d probably visit Denmark at a warmer time of year.