A Death In Denmark by Amulya Malladi

I would like to thank Anne from Random Things Tours and Harper360 for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Harper 360

Published – Out Now

Price – £10.99 paperback £5.99 Kindle eBook

Meet Gabriel Præst, an ex-Copenhagen cop (who dresses with panache), jazz aficionado, and relentless pursuer of truth as he explores Denmark’s Nazi-collaborator past and anti-Muslim present in a page-turning Nordic murder mystery with a cosmopolitan vibe

Everyone in Denmark knew that Yousef Ahmed, a refugee from Iraq, brutally murdered the right-wing politician Sanne Melgaard. So, when part-time blues musician, frustrated home renovator, and full-time private detective Gabriel Præst agrees to investigate the matter because his ex—the one who got away—asked him to, he knew it was a no-win case.

But as Gabriel starts to ask questions, his face meets with the fists of Russian gangsters; the Danish prime minister asks him for a favor; and he starts to realize that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark.

Wondering if Yousef was framed to heighten the local anti-Muslim sentiment, Gabriel follows a trail back in time to World War II when anti-Semitism was raging in Europe during the German occupation of Denmark. Fearing a nationalistic mindset has resurfaced, Gabriel rolls up the sleeves of his well-cut suit and gets to work. From the cobblestone streets of Copenhagen to the historic Strassen of Berlin where the sounds of the steel-toed boots of marching Nazis still linger, Gabriel finds that some very powerful Danes don’t want him digging into the case—as the secrets he unearths could shake the foundations of Danish identity.

The Private Investigator is in crime tales traditionally more the loose cannon. Not quite law and order as they just aid a client for cash. They can perhaps more easily move through layers of society to learn secrets and get those ever-needed answers. But they also stand alone without the power of the state behind them which always for me makes for interesting cases. In this genre we now welcome the author Amulya Malladi’s new Danish PI Gabriel Praest who we meet in a thrilling case of injustice, history and dark secrets with just the smart and compelling Gabriel and his confidants to shine a light on the darker side of the mean streets of Copenhagen.

Five years ago Denmark was rocked by a right-wing politician famous for her hard line views on immigration being murdered by a Muslim refugee. Everyone knows Yousef Ahmed is guilty but when Private Investigator Gabriel Praest meets his former lover Leila comes back into his life, she wants him to investigate the case for the Ahmed family. Gabriel commits to follow the evidence not the headlines and soon discovers several facts not well known that suggest something else has happened. A tale involving Russian gangsters, high powered members of Danish society and its links to the days of Nazi occupation all create a Europe-wide web of secrets and murders someone will do anything to keep from becoming public.

I hugely enjoyed this story. The crime is compelling from a very disquieting flashback to wartime Denmark and the fae of a Jewish family in hiding this is a case about exposing the truth about terrible secrets. As Gabriel tells us his tale we find casual racism, ambitious politicians and just when it seems simply about someone being framed, we find even bigger secrets all connected to the murkier side of Denmark’s wartime history. This thriller organically gets bigger and more dangerous as we realise the power and ruthlessness of Gabriel’s opponents and Malladi very skilfully weaves the tale’s elements to just naturally felt that Gabriel has stumbled into a much bigger case and now needs to carefully navigate the deep and very shark infested waters of Denmark’s political world. It also keeps the tension as to who exactly is pulling all the strings.

For their debut Gabriel themselves is also fascinating. A former police officer fired for daring to investigate one of the most senior police officers in Denmark for fraud he now juggles being a PI and working in a blues band. Always flashly dressed - this is a man who knows his brand names for everything! On the surface people see a forty-something cool as a cucumber PI who can quote philosophy and ask the right questions. Inside though are the more interesting conflicts within him – a man conscious he was estranged from his daughter for a little too long which he will do anything now to heal; bruised from a broken heart that he doesn’t like to admit he carries and is not quite in charge of his emotions as he thinks he is – which may explain his never ending house restoration. He is also unusually likeable even if everyone doesn’t quite know what really makes him tick – always positive yet sometimes will put his loved ones before a case. We take his side quickly and hope he sorts himself out and worry that he has got himself in trouble he can’t sort out. He’s a man slowly realising he is now going to have to become an adult – this is never a fun realisation but its going to be a long journey.

Malladi has also given him a good supporting vast of friends who lives at both ends of society from wealthy families, Turkish migrants to former biker gangs and police officers. He is a lone operator but one with a lot of people giving him his back which is refreshing. Malladi also uses the case to explore racism in Denmark and the right-wing immigration policies that in real life are being championed and what this means for immigrant communities and refuges. We get a smart and sleek case to solve and some intelligent analysis of the wider world that is delivered informatively and thoughtfully.

A Death in Denmark heralds the arrival of a fascinating new detective; a compelling cast and location and all delivered with style and pace that makes it a hugely enjoyable read. Well worth your time and I’m very intrigued to see how Gabriel’s cases develop him further. Highly recommended!