Sara Bladel | THE MIDNIGHT WITNESS

Plot (via Goodreads):

A young woman is found strangled in a park, and a male journalist has been killed in the backyard of the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen.

Detective Louise Rick is put on the case of the young girl, but very soon becomes entangled in solving the other homicide too when it turns out her best friend, journalist Camilla Lind, knew the murdered man. Louise tries to keep her friend from getting too involved, but Camilla's never been one to miss out on an interesting story. And this time, Camilla may have gone too far...

Review:

Last October, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Sara Blaedel and my life hasn't been the same since. The Louise Rick series easily grabbed me and hasn't let up a year later. I mean, I gobbled three of her books down in two days flat. Her writing style is astonishing, addictive, and mesmerizing. I couldn't get over how quickly I became a fan and to this day, I still consider Blaedel one of the best writers I've ever read. Now, no shade here, but the way the Louise Rick series was published got a little confusing. Books 7-9 (that I read last year) were published first, then 4-6 and finally this year, her publisher is releasing books 1-3. It came to no surprise that I had to get my hands on everything Blaedel wrote ASAP. So, what I did was collected books 4-6 and then patiently waited. Then the bookmail gods delivered and books 1-3 were in my hands. It only made sense for me to start from the beginning and work my way back to where I started. 

I'll admit, I am a little OCD when it comes to book series. I don't feature them a lot on my blog because it is time consuming and when a series has nine books in it all hell breaks loose for me. My OCD is really kicked into high gear when I am told the books aren't connected or you don't have to read them in order. No, I have to. I actually need to read them in order. Well, luckily Hachette Books just really gets me and sent me the first three books all together...and I love them for it.

THE MIDNIGHT WITNESS is the very first book in the Louise Rick series and I'll admit, OCD aside, it was really fun to kind of go back in time and meet Louise and Camilla for the first time. In typically Blaedel fashion, this novel starts off with not one, but two gruesome crimes. What happened to this reporter and this med student? Is it connected? Well, let me tell you - what happens after that first introduction is a storm of pure brilliant crime fiction. What I love about the Louise Rick series by Blaedel is it's a really even combination of police procedural, mystery, and character development. This novel doesn't just cover the crimes, but Blaedel fantastically delivers two amazing women and gives you a good look into their personal lives as well as their professional lives. 

Now, if you've read Blaedel before, you know two things about Louise Rick and Camilla Lind - Louise is a brilliant heroine who is sensible and Camilla is a brilliant heroine who is fearless and daring. The combination of these two women together makes this novel even more enjoyable than the rather amazing plot. Combine the great character development with a plot that grabs you from the first page and you've got a winner. Of course you do, this is Sara Blaedel we're talking about. Not to mention that her novels are also brilliantly atmospheric. I love two things about crime fiction novels and movies - the police procedural part and the media. Blaedel does a stunning job combining the two between the characters of Louise and Camilla. One thing I really enjoy about her unique writing style is that each chapter focuses on what Louise and Camilla are both doing, it doesn't alternate between character perspectives by chapters. So as a revelation comes along for Louise, one does for Camilla and these two women are like the crime fiction versions of Batman and Robin...except I love them way more. 

So yes, it was great to revisit my two friends Louise Rick and Camilla Lind. I love their friendship, I love the way Sara Blaedel writes not only her characters, but way she can map one hell of a crime fiction story. The ending to this one was genius in its execution and complex. Small details are combined with some heavy hitting twists and all is calm by the last chapter...until next time. And trust me, after reading this one, the next one will be coming sooner than you think. 

Special thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5