Call Me Princess- Sara Blaedel

The hot list of crime writers right now includes many from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. Here's another author from Denmark to add to your list.

Call Me Princess marks Sara Blaedel's North American debut.

Assistant Detective Louise Rick of the Copenhagen P.D. is called in on the case of Susanne Hansson - a woman who has been brutally sexually assaulted. As Rick delves into the case, she discovers that Susanne met her attacker through an online dating site. Susanne's not the only victim of this online Lothario. He know how to hide though - he's left virtually no clues.

I enjoyed the character of Detective Rick and her interactions with her fellow officers. Blaedel has filled the department with an overbearing superior, a quiet family man partner and a publicity seeking chief. They were all comfortable if not original characters. The foray into Louise's personal life was a solid secondary story line. I did not like the best friend, newspaper reporter Camilla at all. She came across as a user of people. The interactions between her and Louse just never rang true as a best friend situation.

Blaedel has peppered her story with lots of red herrings. Many of the male characters seemed they could be the perpetrator at one time or another - the ending provided a good twist.

All in all, a solid police procedural utilizing current events as a effective plot device. It was an easy read -  one that I was happy to pick up. For me, enjoyable but not outstanding.

Blaedel has an interesting background. She founded the first publishing house dedicated to crime fiction in Denmark. She was then inspired to write her own detective novels which have landed on the Danish bestseller lists. She has been voted the most popular novelist in Denmark in 2007, 2010 and 2011. You can find Blaedel on Facebook and on Twitter.

Read an excerpt of Call Me Princess.