Death of a Nightingale

From the Nordic noir duo who brought you The New York Times bestseller The Boy in the Suitcase comes a chilling new thriller with a mystery seventy-years in the making.Nina. Natasha. Olga. Three women united by one terrifying secret. But only one of them has killed to keep it.Natasha Doroshenko, a Ukrainian woman who has been convicted of the attempted murder of her Danish fiancé, escapes police custody on her way to an interrogation in Copenhagen's police headquarters. That night, the frozen, tortured body of Michael, the ex-fiancé, is found in a car, and the manhunt for Natasha escalates. It isn't the first time the young Ukrainian woman has lost a partner to violent ends: her first husband was also murdered, three years earlier in Kiev, and in the same manner: tortured to death in a car.Danish Red Cross nurse Nina Borg has been following Natasha's case for several years now, since Natasha first took refuge at a crisis center where Nina works. Nina, who had tried to help Natasha leave her abusive fiancé more than once, just can't see the young Ukrainian mother as a vicious killer. But in her effort to protect Natasha's daughter and discover the truth, Nina realizes there is much she didn't know about this woman and her past. The mystery has long and bloody roots, going back to a terrible famine that devastated Stalinist Ukraine in 1934, when a ten-year-old girl with the voice of a nightingale sang her family into shallow graves.ReviewPraise for The Boy in the Suitcase A New York Times Bestseller The New York Times Book Review Notable Crime Book of 2011 Strand Magazine Critics Award Nominee Indie Next List November 2011 Pick Barry Award Nominee for Best First Novel Harald Morgensen Award for Best Danish Thriller of the Year Glass Key Crime Fiction Award Nominee “Here’s something you don’t often see in Nordic noir fiction — a novel written by two women about the criminal mistreatment of women and children, compassionately told from a feminine perspective and featuring female characters you can believe in…. the first collaborative effort of Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis, and it packs an almighty punch.” — The New York Times Book Review, Notable Crime Book of 2011 “Fans of Nordic crime fiction, rejoice: Something is rotten in Denmark. But never fear, Red Cross nurse Nina Borg is on the case.... A wild ride.” — New York Post “Terrific.... What’s for sure is that, once you start reading, you can’t stop — it’s as if the poor kid’s life depends on your getting to the end as fast as possible.... looks like another winning entry in the emotionally lacerating Scandinavian mystery sweepstakes.” — The Washington Post “Written in that sparse, uniquely Scandinavian style sure to draw comparisons with a certain blockbuster trilogy (this is better), this story packs plenty of emotional suspense and interpersonal friction without veering into melodrama. Kaaberbol and Friis know when to reveal and when to pull back, presenting just enough back story about Sigita's upbringing and marriage, just enough about Nina's relationship with her family and friends, without ever interrupting the action. The disparate perspectives do as much to humanize all the action as they do to disorient — and I mean that in the best possible sense.” — Associated Press “A frightening and tautly told story of the lengths to which people will go for family and money.” — USA Today “A terrific central character and a great plot.... As the story builds, each storyline is woven in, and no character, including Nina Borg, is what we think.... A series to watch.” — Toronto Globe and Mail "Soho is known for high-quality crime fiction set around the globe, so it's no surprise that this gripping Danish thriller kept me turning pages while its poignant characters lodged in my heart. Denmark has never looked so sinister!" — Denise Hamilton, Edgar-winning author of the Eve Diamond series, The Last Embrace and *Damage Control* "Stunning. Hooked me from the beginning. The Danish bourgeoisie and the criminal underworld collide in a moving, fast-paced thriller with psychological depth." — Cara Black, bestselling author of *Murder in the Marais* "Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnette Friis have created a dark shimmering gem of a crime thriller in The Boy in the Suitcase. Using the reliable skills we’ve come to expect from their Nordic brethren—clean tight prose, recognizably human characters, a fierce social conscience and airtight plotting—they’ve fashioned as engaging a story as you’re going to read anytime soon. The pages blur you read them so quickly, and yet the wallop to your mind and heart is real and deep. There must be something in the water up there—for which we should all be profoundly grateful." — David Corbett, Edgar-nominated author of *Do They Know I’m Running? * “A must for Scandinavian crime fiction aficionados." — Library Journal, Starred Review “A great introduction to an award-winning team of Danish authors.” — November 2011 Indie Next List “Women characters get star turns in this book, with the most poignant being Sigita, the young single mother desperate to find her missing son. Realizing how acutely alone she is in this pursuit, Sigita summons a pugilistic tenacity in the face of the indifference of family and police to her son’s plight as well as her own.” — Boston Globe “Among the best crime novels of the year…. marks Kaaberbol and Friis as serious talents to be reckoned with, ready to be discovered by an American audience.” — Publishers Marketplace “Stieg Larsson fans will find a lot to like in The Boy in the Suitcase... [Nina Borg] will strike many, particularly female readers, as a more appealing version of Lisbeth Salander.” — Publishers Weekly “Of all the recent Scandinavian thrillers that have been rushed into translation for fans of Stieg Larsson, here’s one whose pair of strong heroines taking on a monstrous conspiracy of men behaving badly is actually reminiscent of the Millennium Trilogy.... A debut that’s a model of finely tuned suspense.” — Kirkus Reviews “This past-paced, suspenseful thriller intertwines several stories, gradually revealing the motivations of multiple characters and building tremendous suspense. The novel should be recommended to anyone who enjoys Asa Larsson’s Rebecka Martinsson series and, especially, Christian Jungersen’s The Exception (2007), another Danish thriller focused on a group of female characters.” — Booklist “The Boy in the Suitcase ratchets along at a breathless pace, skillfully switching points of view in a tightly choreographed arrangement.” — Daily Beast "This is a thrilling and most urgent novel reflecting a terrifying reality." — Maj Sjowall, bestselling co-author of the Martin Beck series "Warning! If you open this book, your life will be on stand-by." — Elle (Denmark) "Extraordinary.... A crime novel where everything is perfectly done." — The Weekend Newspaper (Denmark) “The Boy in the Suitcase, cements Scandinavia’s reputation as a new hunting ground for tautly-plotted, well-written mysteries…. a fast-paced thriller written in tight and sparse prose that seems to be the hallmark of Scandinavian mystery authors. A compelling read that you’ll find hard to put down.” — Mystery Cime Librarian "The first in a series of mysteries from Denmark is a highly emotional story of secrets and bad decisions. It is also about women: desperate, scared women; women who refuse to look at choices they’ve made; and most of all, a very determined, brave woman who has to get involved in the lives of others. It starts with a series of short chapters from the viewpoints of seemingly unconnected characters. The writing is sparse, never telling the readers more than they must know at the moment and the action and emotion are continuous. The surprise ending is perfect. You won’t be able to put this down." — Romantic Times “The Boy in the Suitcase is an exceptional crime fiction debut that shines a light on a tragic and real social issue. It manages to address this problem with a seriousness and social conscience that add significant weight to the story. It is an engaging, suspenseful, and excellently written crime fiction novel with complex and well-drawn characters which has been a bestseller throughout Scandinavia. The Boy in the Suitcase is definitely worth a read!” — Scandinavian Books' Nordic Book Blog “The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis is another exemplary Scandinavian mystery with a seriously driven heroine, and a most unusual plot and premise, that will keep you guessing until the very end.” — BookLoons, Recommended Read “A fast paced thriller that keeps the reader interested and invested from the moment Nina discovers the life stolen away inside that suitcase…. Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis have written a story about motherhood, immigration, crime and punishment and redemption that needs no comparison.” — Literate Housewife Praise for *Invisible Murder* "Kaaberbøl and Friis return with a riveting follow-up to their 2011 debut, The Boy in the Suitcase....Nina and Sandor are flawed but appealing characters, and their stories smoothly connect in the buildup to a pulse-pounding finale. With its intricate plot and revealing glimpses into Roma life, this assured thriller cements its authors’ places near the top of the Scandinavian crime fiction pantheon." — Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW “The Danish authors Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis have written another disturbing exposé of social injustice in Invisible Murder.” — New York Times Book Review "Superb." — The Globe and Mail "Kaaberbøl and Friis describe this broken and terrifying world with the measured cadence of a network news anchor. From their report, civilization had a good run, but its lights are winking out.” — The Baton Rouge Advocate “Tense and twisty.” — The Sacramento Bee “Dark, suspenseful.” — The Daily American “This pair’s debut, The Boy in the Suitcase, grabbed me, and so did Invisible Murder.” — The Charlotte Observer “Kaaberbøl and Friis have created not only one of the best new crime series, but also one of the most unusual, in terms of the characters, the plots, and the way the crimes are integrated into the story.” — International Noir Fiction “Highly recommended for readers who want a novel that isn’t afraid to look unflinchingly, but not despairingly, at the world’s greatest social problems.” — Criminal Element “An exciting, well-written and -translated thriller with a clever twist ending.” — Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine "The authors do an excellent job with showing the radical divisions within Denmark. The book is suspenseful, the characters are often fascinating, and the plot is complex." — Ted Hertel, *Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine* "Invisible Murder will blow your mind.... It races towards an epic finish, an ending that leaves the reader both shocked and wonderfully satisfied. In the crowded world of Nordic crime, Invisible Murder rises above as a don’t-miss title." — BookReporter “Nina Borg is climbing higher and higher on my list of favorite crime fiction characters.” — Kittling Books "Invisible Murder, the sequel to The Boy in the Suitcase, is a gripping thriller which sets the various narrative threads running before entwining them in a nail-biting race against time climax." — EuroCrime “A fascinating insight into current Danish culture.” — Thinking About BooksAbout the AuthorLene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis are the Danish duo behind the Nina Borg series. Friis is a journalist by training, while Kaaberbøl has been a professional writer since the age of fifteen, with more than two million books sold worldwide. Their first collaboration, The Boy in the Suitcase, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller and has been translated into twenty-seven languages.