A Death in Denmark
The First Gabriel Præst Novel
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4.2 • 31 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Philip Marlowe meets Nordic Noir.” —Iben Albinus, internationally bestselling and award-winning author of Damaskus
Meet Gabriel Præst, an ex-Copenhagen cop (who dresses with panache), jazz aficionado, and relentless pursuer of truth as he explores Denmark’s Nazi-collaborator past and anti-Muslim present in a page-turning Nordic murder mystery with a cosmopolitan vibe
Everyone in Denmark knew that Yousef Ahmed, a refugee from Iraq, brutally murdered the right-wing politician Sanne Melgaard. So, when part-time blues musician, frustrated home renovator, and full-time private detective Gabriel Præst agrees to investigate the matter because his ex—the one who got away—asked him to, he knew it was a no-win case.
But as Gabriel starts to ask questions, his face meets with the fists of Russian gangsters; the Danish prime minister asks him for a favor; and he starts to realize that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark.
Wondering if Yousef was framed to heighten the local anti-Muslim sentiment, Gabriel follows a trail back in time to World War II when anti-Semitism was raging in Europe during the German occupation of Denmark. Fearing a nationalistic mindset has resurfaced, Gabriel rolls up the sleeves of his well-cut suit and gets to work. From the cobblestone streets of Copenhagen to the historic Strassen of Berlin where the sounds of the steel-toed boots of marching Nazis still linger, Gabriel finds that some very powerful Danes don’t want him digging into the case—as the secrets he unearths could shake the foundations of Danish identity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This superb series launch from Malladi (The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You) introduces PI Gabriel Præst, who was fired from the Copenhagen police's financial fraud division after he shared confidential information with a journalist because his corruption probe into the chief of National Police was stymied. Præst gets a hot potato of a case when his former lover, a defense attorney, asks him to exonerate a family friend, Yousef Ahmed. Ahmed was convicted of killing Sanne Melgaard, the anti-immigrant attorney general of Denmark, slitting her throat and stabbing her 15 times. Ahmed blamed Melgaard for deporting his son, Raheem, an Iraqi seeking asylum in Denmark, an act that led to ISIS torturing and executing Raheem. Ahmed admits he went to the victim's home to confront her, but denies he murdered her. Præst's pursuit of the truth takes some unexpected directions on the way to the satisfying conclusion. A killer plot matches an unusual lead sleuth, and secrets from Denmark's WWII past enhance the story line. Katja Ivar admirers will be eager for the series' next installment.
Customer Reviews
Banging a drum
Author uses main character to promote own view of environment issues. Not my cup of tea.