Sometimes, I have troubles with translations, and wonder if it’s the author or the translator. I didn’t have that problem with Sara Blaedel’s A Harmless Lie, translated by Mark Kline. The voices of troubled women seemed perfect in this riveting story.
Detective Louise Rick is on leave, on a beach in Thailand battling her own demons and self-pity when her father calls saying her beloved brother, Mikkel, attempted suicide and might not live. She flies home to Denmark to discover Mikkel’s partner, Trine, left him for the second time. This time, despite their two children, he just can’t cope. Louise, who thought for years that her boyfriend committed suicide, understands the feeling that you’re not enough for the other person. But, when Trine’s mother informs the police that she’s missing, Mikkel becomes the primary suspect in her disappearance. Why did Trine walk out, leaving her two children in the other room of the house?
Louise struggles with her own problems, and now Mikkel’s added ones, while her friend, journalist Camilla Lind copes with her own family issues. At the same time, Camilla pressures her editor to allow her to cover a cold case. Over two decades earlier, fourteen-year-old Susan Dahlgaard disappeared while on a school trip. Now, her body has been discovered in a cave. After reading the earlier reports of the police investigation, Camilla sets out to learn what happened to Susan’s friends from that trip. She’s shocked to learn one drowned herself just days before. One can’t be reached. And Trine, Mikkel’s partner, is the third one.
A Harmless Lie is a compelling story, combining the truth behind the cold case with the current search for a missing woman. While Louise struggles and works with the police, Camilla delves into the past, looking at what might have happened all those years ago. It’s only as she digs into the stories the girls told when Susan disappeared that she realizes someone lied.
A cold case, a missing woman. And, Louise and Camilla are both struggling with family issues. A Harmless Lie is a complex story, forcing the protagonists to juggle personal and professional issues at the same time.
A Harmless Lie by Sara Blaedel, translated by Mark Kline. Dutton, 2022. ISBN 9780593330944 (paperback), 304p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley to review for a journal.
Is this a series that one needs to be reading in order? I ask because my library has NINE books in the series before this one, but Amazon seems to list just a few of them and in another place says it started in the US with THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS. I am very confused and switching to DST a week ago is NOT helping.
Hey Kevin, I saw your question, and I hope Lesa doesn’t mind me chiming in. The Louise Rick books are a series, and I understand your confusion. The six earlier books have been reissued here in the states, and there have been some title changes. The Midnight Witness is the first Louise Rick book. I started with The Forgotten Girls and enjoy the character of Louise Rick. I did buy some of the earlier books, but I haven’t gotten around to them. I think I’m good with having started at The Forgotten Girls, but I still might go back. Here’s a link that lists the books in order and shows which have had title changes. https://www.vromansbookstore.com/book/9781538759790
Big time thank you. This is all super confusing to me. I now have the first book on order at my library. THANK YOU!
Lesa, I’m happy to see a new Louise Rick book. Great review!
Thank you, Kathy! I appreciate it. And, she’s right, Kevin. I read this one, and hadn’t read the earlier books, but I had no problem jumping into the latest in the series.
I just heard that she did another book and I have it on reserve. I love this series. I would also recommend it is read in order.