Sara Blaedel | THE SILENT WOMEN

Plot (via Goodreads):

Homicide detective Louise Rick chases a terrifying serial rapist who meets women on a popular online dating website in this fast-paced #1 internationally bestselling thriller from Sara Blaedel, whose books have sold over 3 million copies worldwide.

An online flirtation can have horrific consequences, as Detective Louise Rick discovers when she is called to an idyllic Copenhagen neighborhood where a young woman has been left bound and gagged after a profoundly brutal rape attack.

Susanne Hansson met her rapist on a popular dating website. But the man is hiding behind a labyrinth of false pseudonyms, and neither Susanne--nor the police--have been able to trace his true identity. With the internet as his playground, the rapist will almost certainly strike again if Louise can't unmask him before it's too late.

Incredible suspense and a diabolical series of twists take Sara Blaedel's wildly popular series to new heights.

Review:

If you've been following what I read on Instagram for the past year, Sara Blaedel is a name that has been popping up very frequently. So, it's no surprise that I just had to start the Louise Rick series from the beginning the minute that Sara's publisher released the first six titles. With fall reading starting and the weather getting cooler, I needed something to really keep me interested and help battle the exhaustion I felt around Daylight Savings Time. Well, continuing with the Louise Rick series was the perfect choice.

THE SILENT WOMEN is in my opinion a large step towards the darker storylines that made me fall in love with Sara Blaedel in the first place. While I enjoyed THE MIDNIGHT WITNESS, THE SILENT WOMEN just really solidified my decision in growing from a fan to a fanboy with Sara Blaedel. This novel is a lot darker, brutal, eerie, and when you combine that with two of my favorite fiction characters and Blaedel's hypnotizing writing, it's no surprise that this one is an absolute stunner.

Louise Rick and Camilla Lind really grow in this novel. Louise deals with not only some personal issues within this one, but again is in the center of some brutal crimes against women who are meeting men on the internet only to be brutally attacked. Blaedel does not hold back when it comes to introducing the reader to a menacing and charming killer who is beyond terrifying and challenges your sleeping pattern with a riveting cautionary tale. I know Louise Rick is the star of the novel, but I always love reading Camilla; she is funny, brazen, and unapologetic. These two women and their friendship is an added bonus with this series. It's no surprise I am so hooked!

The pacing with this novel was nonstop. I mean, I love a good slow burner, but if that's what you're looking for you aren't going to find it here. Blaedel starts this novel off with intensity and doesn't hold off until the beautifully written and shocking conclusion that only Blaedel can weave up. There are not major twists and turns here, just stunning writing, wonderful characters, and an ending that is fantastic and wrapped up in typical Blaedel fashion. But don't worry, just because this one wraps up nicely doesn't mean Blaedel will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy - there's just enough of that curiosity that grasped a hold of me to already look forward to the next novel before I could even complete the pages of this one. And don't worry, that feeling hasn't left.

Special thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this novel in exchange for my honest review. Also, thanks to Sara Blaedel for being easily one of the best authors I've had the pleasure of reading. It's novels like these that make it so much fun and so addictive to keeping this blog active.

Rating: 5/5