Whodunit Book Club - February 23, 2016

The group was excited to welcome a new member this evening!  There were eleven bodies present at the meeting, but two others voted on the book in absentia.

The title we discussed was "The Forgotten Girls" by Sara Blaedel.  This novel is the seventh title in a Danish mystery series featuring policewoman Louise Rick.
Usually Whodunit reads the first novel in a series so this was a bit of a departure for us.
The novel was received well.  Out of a possible 10 points "The Forgotten Girls" garnered a healthy score of 7.5 with many members saying they would read another book in the series. Interestingly though, most said that they would read future novels in the series but would not likely go back and read the previous novels.

The club felt that the novel would have benefited from a map depicting some settings of the novel and their relationship to each other.

Adjectives used to describe this novel included: dark, graphic, disturbing, gruesome and intense.  Typical Nordic Noir!

The novel featured Lousie Rick, an officer on a newly created Missing Persons task force with the Danish police.  Formerly a homicide detective, Louise has brought her many years of experience with her to her new role.  She meets her new partner, Eik (pronounced Ache) who turns out to be a worthy foil to her after a somewhat rocky start...

Women have been disappearing near a forest situated near where Louise was brought up.  Her familiarity with the area aids in the investigation.

The novel delves into atrocities committed against inmates of a mental health institution, and the attendant malpractice and corruption that involved.  There was mention of Utica cribs and other horrible means of restraint.

Some Whodunit members found that subject matter very disturbing and found they could not 'warm' to the characters - whilst others found the characters sympathetic due to their damaged pasts.   Some felt the novel was hard to get into - perhaps because they did not feel that the translation from the Danish language was a smooth one, leaving some aspects of the novel unexplained.

Most agreed that the mystery/plot of the novel was good, though some were dissatisfied with the ending.  There was a surprise at the end which some readers enjoyed.

This month's lucky winners of giveaway books were:
1. Charlaine
2. Laird
3. Marilyn
4. Carmella

Our next Whodunit Book Club meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 29th, 2016 when we will discuss the novel "Pretty Girls" by Karin Slaughter.