Saturday, September 17, 2011

Call Me Princess by Sara Blaedel

A serial rapist is stalking the women of Copenhagen.  Detective Louise Rick is assigned to the case of the first known victim.  The rapist finds his victims online and spends several weeks emailing them, creating an illusion that they know him.  He is charming on the first date, protective of the woman and hesitant to move too quickly.  When the woman finally invites him to her home, he makes his move, binding her before brutally raping her and leaving her for others to find.

The police know that it is unlikely that someone with such a developed plan of attack is a first-timer and they start to look for more victims.  It doesn't take long to find them.  There are also indications that even with the story becoming public, the rapist is continuing his hunt for new victims. 

Sara Blaedel has written an interesting police procedural.  Readers are taken behind the scenes of the investigation, where they see all the details and red tape that characterize a major case.  Blaedel has also created a fully-imagined character in Detective Louise Rick.  The reader not only has a first-hand look at her working methods and her reactions to various events in the case, but a chance to see how her working life and daily life intertwine.  This is Blaedel's first book to be available in the United States, and readers will be clamouring for others as they discover this major talent from Denmark.

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