Sara Blædel - THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS

Plot:

The body of an unidentified woman has been discovered in a remote forest. A large, unique scar on one side of her face should make the identification easy, but nobody has reported her missing. Louise Rick, the new commander of the Missing Persons Department, waits four long days before pulling off a risky move: releasing a photo of the victim to the media, jeopardizing the integrity of the investigation in hopes of finding anyone who knew her.

The gamble pays off when a woman recognizes the victim as Lisemette, a child she cared for in the state mental institution many years ago. Lisemette was a "forgotten girl", abandoned by her family and left behind in the institution. But Louise soon discovers something even more disturbing: Lisemette had a twin, and both girls were issued death certificates more than thirty years ago.

Louise's investigation takes a surprising when it brings her closer to her childhood home. And as she uncovers more crimes that were committed--and hidden--in the forest, she is forced to confront a terrible link to her own past that has been carefully concealed. Set against a moody and atmospheric landscape, THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS is twisty, suspenseful, emotionally intense novel that secures Sara Blaedel's place in the pantheon of great thriller writers.

Review:

All hail the queen of crime! This book was beyond phenomenal. I love how sometimes an author really switches up the game and Blædel does a fantastic job of doing so. This is definitely a high-tension crime novel with beautifully damaged characters, a brilliant plot, creepy atmosphere, and downright chilling ending. Can you go wrong? No, the answer is no. 

Blædel crafted together a seemingly twisted and disturbing plot that really held my attention from the first page and my obsession with this novel slowly grew into something dark and addictive with this well thought out plot. While we quickly jump into the brilliant protagonist of Louise Rick, I automatically found myself loving this exceptionally well written woman. She is damaged, fearless, brilliant, and loving. She's also a true badass and someone that goes the extra mile to get to the bottom of this case. Okay, maybe she goes the extra ten miles, but you get the picture. But, I can't stop there. Eik and Camilla are also other characters that really shine, as does every other character in this novel. Seriously, the characterization is not only front and center, but downright spectacular and perfectly blend together with this dark and haunting plot. 

The plot to this one is not only extraordinary, but mixes together a great combination of police procedural (which is heavy in the first half of the novel), cold case, current case, and a ton of mystery. I seriously could not get enough of this storyline and I'm anxious to read anything by Blædel I can get my hands on as I write this review. Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the atmosphere to this one. I mean, this is a crime novel and it's set in the woods. The woods. Nothing good ever happens in the woods and this novel is a brilliant example. It's atmospheric and creepy with damp soil ready to gobble you up at the feet and dark and looming trees splattered with blood and secrets. 

As I got deeper into the plot with this one and the twists, turns and gasps began to run amuck, I was not only getting the answers to the questions I had been asking myself since the first page, but diving headfirst into this whole other world I hadn't even known existed. There is so much detail, planning, and a ton of information to this story that in order to avoid spoilers, I cannot even begin to draw a picture. With the final pages nearing, not only did this one tie up every single loose end, but left me with an epilogue that made me let loose a heavy sight that had been building in my chest since I began this beautifully dark and haunting read. Sara Blædel, I am here and I am officially a fan. Keep doing what you do and I'll keep reading what you write.

Rating: 5/5