This novel followed a couple different POV’s which made the plot feel like a big conspiracy (in a good way). Getting everyone’s different thoughts and theories about what is going on kept me flipping the pages, trying to solve the mystery along with the characters. I overall recommend this book for a great crime fiction story with an intriguing story. However, the book did annoy me with over describing certain female characters bodies. It wasn’t needed and felt weird in the book.

I don’t like the title of this. I don’t think it does the book any favours. It makes it sound creepy which it isn’t. Corpse flower is simply the common name of Amorphophallus titanium - a giant flower that is native to Sumatra and is so called as it has the distinction of smelling of rotting flesh when it flowers, which it does very rarely.

The story itself, set mainly in Copenhagen, was totally awesome and I absolutely loved it. This was a very convoluted murder mystery or police procedural. I had no hope if solving it but the clues were tantalising. The story, when it was finally revealed, was as dark and bleak as you could hope for. It was totally immersive and I was glued to the pages until I finished.

Heloise Kaldan is a journalist with the Demokratisk Dagblad paper. She starts getting cryptic letters from a woman alleging to be Anna Kiel. But Anna Kiel is wanted in connection with the brutal murder of Christoffer Mossing - a lawyer in his mid 30s about 5 years ago. She has fled Denmark and the letters are postmarked in France. Heloise is naturally keen to investigate but it is a dangerous endeavour as anyone who gets close to his story ends up either dead or close to it. Heloise is mystified why Anna is writing to her and how she knows so much about her. The truth behind that is a painful reminder of things Heloise had tried hard to forget.

Anna is lured to Paris and learns the awful truth and is gifted the means to bring down some very powerful, very evil men. I don’t want to say any more. The lead police officers Erik Schäfer and Lisa Augustin are clever and totally dedicated to solving this rat’s nest of crimes. It was complex. It was plausible. The characters were spot on and very well defined. The pace was cracking and I needed to finish this today. I think this was the author’s debut work. It looks like there are 2 more instalments but they have not yet been translated. I can hardly wait! Many thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Published in 2017 and finally translated into English, comes this Scandian-noir by Anne Mette Hancock. The Corpse Flower begins with each of the three first chapters focusing on a different character. Firstly, a woman in France awakens, strolls around the market and at the sight of a woman suddenly flees. Next, we meet a pair of detectives Erik Schafer and Lisa Augustin gently chiding each other, before a woman asks to see Erik. Thirdly, Heloise Kaldan is a journalist in Copenhagen, who relied on a source, only to be misled. As the narrative unfolds, the three stories interlink as the police and journalist investigate the missing murder suspect. The mystery deepens, Heloise is attacked and the twists and turns leads to a riveting climax – a four-star rating. Interestingly, The Collector is the second book in the series, published in 2018 and hopefully will also be translated soon. With many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and the author, for an uncorrected proof copy for review purposes.

Heloise is a reporter, a reporter that just found out her source has led her astray. Embarrassed by the negative publicity, she’s worried she could lose her job, but soon finds herself enveloped in an older case, a case where a prominent young attorney was murdered and his assailant, Anna Kiel, has never been caught. Why is Anna sending Heloise letters and where is she hiding? What could the two possibly have in common and how does Anna know so much about Heloise? Most importantly ... why did she kill Christoffer Mossing? As the story unfolds, the reader is drawn in at every turn. To tell Anna’s story, Heloise will have to face darkness in her own past, a darkness she would rather leave buried.

The Corpse Flower was a great read to usher in autumn with a dark mystery and a rainy setting. I thought I was just going to get a murder mystery, but I got something a whole lot more complex and twisted.

I’ve really only read the super popular in the US Swedish books like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and A Man Called Ove, but The Corpse Flower made me think maybe I ought to be keeping Swedish books on my radar a little more, since they don’t really just deliver a quick and straightforward plot in my experience so far.

Even the synopsis is a little twisty and connected as the main character was a journalist in trouble with her job for an unreliable source. She decides to focus on something else, but receives letters from a suspected murderer that seem oddly personal despite no connections to the murder or the perpetrator. Naturally, she decides to pursue the lead and figure out what happened and why she was contacted.

I really didn’t expect any of what actually happened, but was invested in the story completely, eager to see where the connections would lead her. There were so many layers to the story and I wound up feeling like Heloise shouldn’t trust anyone close to her. I loved unraveling the mystery and highly recommend this book!

I hope this story takes off so the rest of the series can be successfully translated into English!

*This story may be a trigger. Child sexual abuse and trafficking are discussed*.

I love me some Scandinavian murder mysteries! The Corpse Flower is the first in a series that will star journalist, Heloise Kaldan and Detective Sergeant Erik Shaefer. Heloise has been getting cryptic letters from wanted murderer, Anna Kiel. 3 years ago, Anna was seen on CCTV leaving the scene of Cristoffer Mossing's murder, covered in his blood. There seems to have been no motive. She has not been seen since that night. DS. Shaefer was the investigator in charge of the case and has been searching for Anna Kiel ever since, but her trail has gone cold. Schaefer gets his first lead when the first journalist who covered Mossing's murder winds up a victim himself. Could Anna have claimed another victim? And why do all the other clues point to Heloise? Meanwhile, the letters keep coming, and they hint at a connection between Anna and Heloise. As Heloise starts digging deeper, she realizes that, to tell Anna's story, she will have to revisit the darkest parts of her own past.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-arc.*

3.5 stars? 3.75 stars?

Hmmm. This one was interesting but wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I’ve had it hanging around for a while and was waiting for the right time to finally read it. While I didn’t love everything about them, I was (mostly) a fan of Heloise and Anna as characters, so that made for a good story. The plot itself was largely good, building suspense effectively and maintaining my interest until the end; that being said, I feel like a few threads, including reference to the title, were left hanging by the time the story had wrapped up, but perhaps that’s because it’s the start of a series. Otherwise, I was happy with the conclusion (and really enjoyed one of the final scenes in particular). Beyond that, though, some of the word choices and language didn’t sit well with me; at times that may have been the translation, but at others, it was definitely just the way it was written. Ah well- I can still mostly enjoy the story even if I didn’t necessarily appreciate every element of it. Overall, I did like the book and will probably check out others from this writer, once further English translations are available.

Danish journalist Heloise Kaldan has been receiving cryptic letters from a woman wanted for murder and she doesn’t know why. The suspect, Anna Kiel, was last seen on CCTV three years ago outside the dead man’s door covered in his blood, before she disappeared. So far the Danish police have not been able to find her or discover her motive for killing lawyer Christoffer Mossing, the son of a powerful real estate tycoon. Anna’s letters to Heloise suggest they have a close connection, but at first Heloise has no idea what she is hinting at. It takes some sleuthing and other events before the penny drops for Heloise, pointing back to an earlier dark and heinous crime.

This slow burning Scandi noir thriller takes a little time to get going, but this is time well spent getting to know the well written characters. The narrative is mostly seen from Heloise’s point of view but also from that of DS Erik Schaefer, head of the murder investigation, and occasionally from Anna herself. As Heloise investigates the murder case, the pace picks up, setting up a suspenseful climax where Anna’s motives and need to connect with Heloise will all become clear.

The Corpse Flower is Anne Mette Hancock’s debut novel, the first of a series of three featuring Heloise Kaldan and DS Schäfer and the first to be translated into English so far. It’s an impressive debut and I hope it won’t be too long before the next two books in the series are available in English.

I picked this book up because I like Nordic thrillers. Also, I found the title interesting as I have heard of the corpse flower and its rotting, corpselike odor. This one is set in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was told from three different points of view: Detective Sergent Erik Schafer, who is a detective on the Anna Kiel case; Anna Kiel, who is wanted for murder and is a fugitive; and Meloise Kaldan, a journalist who is afraid she's going to lose her job because one of her sources has lied. The homicide happened three years ago. Now Meloise starts getting strange letters from Anna. Meloise starts to uncover secrets that puts her and those she cares about at risk.

A pretty good mystery that kept my attention. There was a surprise I didn't expect - always good. This was a dark thriller and a good read.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published October 12, 2021.

As usual, with any book I choose, I went in blindly, actually not really, I happened to have checked the synopsis and the cover is pretty cool, anyway, these two factors did nothing to prepare me for what I was getting into.

This book gripped me from the beginning, it had me on edge throughout it and I couldn't put it down. I had no idea what was going to happen, each chapter left me with more questions than the chapter before and it gave no clues whatsoever to guess what the end would be. And boy was It something beyond what I expected and I absolutely loved it, even the events leading up to it were pure gruesome and sickened me, and it was worth it.

it was the perfect sickening thriller with twisted, well, everything and I loved it and it's safe to say that Anne is definitely an auto-buy author for me.

Thank you @netgalley & @crookedlanebooks for this arc in exchange for an honest review💕

CW: murder, death, gore, suicide, detailed autopsy, violent physical assault, hospitalization, child pornography, sexual assault and rape, jail

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Heloise is a journalist who was recently caught in a scandal when her sources fell through, making her look severely unprofessional. With that wound still fresh, she has a new case on her plate: Anna Kiel and the murder she committed years ago. The problem is, Anna has started reaching out to Heloise, claiming they have something in common... but what? And who is going to believe Heloise after her last report went so poorly? Are people in danger?

This book gives strong "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" vibes, but with a few less names and locations to keep track of. I didn't expect the story to go where it did, but I can agree that it was mapped out well, with no lulls in the story. It also built momentum as we got closer to the end. I was worried it would end too soon, but for a suspense novel, the ending was perfect.

3,5 stars!
Thanks @netgalley and @crookedlanebooks for this gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book in a mystery series involving a journalist, Heloise Kaldan, and a detective called Erik Schäfer. But it can be read as a stand-alone, in case you were wondering... no cliffhangers.

Journalist Heloise is going through a rough patch at work when one of her sources is caught lying. At the same time, she is receiving cryptic letters by Anna Kiel, a woman wanted by the police in connection with the murder of a prominent lawyer several years ago.
Heloise has never met Anna and yet there seems to be a mysterious connection between the two women.
When Heloise's colleague Ulrich is found murdered in his apartment after investigating Anna Kiel's case, Detective Schäfer finally has a lead. But why was he killed and could Heloise be next?

I usually enjoy police procedurals, and while this was an interesting story, I felt the middle part dragged a bit. There were too many details that slowed down the flow of the story and long dialogues that didn't really add anything to the plot.
I just felt that despite the dark and disturbing subject the story lacked suspense and tension.

I measure thrillers by how many times I can put a book down and with this one it was just one too many. Fortunately in the last 20% of the book the rhythm picked up and the ending was truly satisfying!

I may not have been in the right mood for this book this week, so please don't let my review stop you from picking this up if you like Scandinavian crime mysteries.

TW: Child abuse, paedophilia

The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock

9781643858289

336 Pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Release Date: October 12, 2021

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Danish

Anna Kiel killed Christopher Mossing then stood in front of a camera with the knife in her hand. Erik Shafer and Lisa Augustin are the detectives investigating the Mossing murder. They get a new lead when a woman comes into the police station saying Anna has been sighted in the South of France.

Heloise (The “H” is silent) Kaldan is a journalist for the Demokratish Dagblad. Recently one of the stories she wrote came back to haunt her. Apparently, her source lied, and the paper had to print an apology for the article. While waiting to find out her fate, Heloise opens her mail. It is a cryptic letter from Anna Kiel. One of the things Anna alludes to her favorite flower – the corpse flower. Heloise must solve the hidden meaning behind the letters.

The book is fast paced, the characters are well developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. This is the first book in the Kaldan and Shafer mystery series. If you enjoyed the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, you will love this one too.

I have quickly learned that I am a huge fan of Nordic noir, and I found another author to love when I read The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock. I loved Heloise's viewpoint as well as the other character switches, and the mystery regarding Anna Kiel was absolutely captivating. I really like to listen to audiobooks, but I didn't want to wait to read this and I am really glad I didn't because I loved it! The pacing was on point, and once I got a little ways into it, I didn't want to put it down. I read this as a buddy read with a friend which is why it took me a bit to finish at first (we started this and other books at the same time), but I quickly decided I had to finish it ASAP so I could know what was going to happen. Once I actually sat down and really got into it, I was done in a matter of a couple of days. I am really impressed that this is a debut, and I REALLY hope the rest of the series gets published in English very soon because I am going to have a hard time waiting for the next book. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger though, so I am really interested to see where Hancock takes Heloise and Anna's characters from here.

There is a nice revenge aspect to the story, and that is something I always love to see in a plot for some reason. There is just something about a woman getting revenge that I can really get behind, and while I did see part of the story coming, there were other things that shocked and surprised me. The Corpse Flower even managed to bring tears to my eyes a couple of times, and I was just heartbroken over Anna's story. I had no idea that there is an actual corpse flower, so that was something new that I learned, and it was very fitting to the story. Besides Heloise's journalist viewpoint, the book is also heavy on the police procedural aspect as well, so I would recommend reading if you are a fan of them. I love getting this peek into what police do and I am a huge fan of police procedurals, so I loved everything about those parts. This does get pretty dark and I wasn't expecting it so best to prepare yourself for that. Crime fiction/Nordic noir/police procedural lovers will definitely need to get their hands on The Corpse Flower.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This thriller follows journalist Heloise Kaldan as she begins to receive a series of letters allegedly written by wanted murder, Anna Kiel. Wanted for a murder of a lawyer 3 years prior, Anna is suspected to have fled Denmark and hasn't been able to be found. Heloise is, at first, skeptical that the letters are from Anna, but she investigates nonetheless and, after a series of escalating events, she finds herself working alongside homicide detective Erik Schafer. The two work together to figure out if the letters are truly from Anna and if so, why has she decided to come out of hiding now and why did she choose to write to Heloise. The answers to both questions might only be found if Heloise reveals the darkest parts of her own past.

TW/CW: child abuse, rape, suicide

I really enjoyed this story and even though I found it to be a pretty standard Nordic police procedural, I found the investigation plot and the reveals to be really engaging. This book gets really dark in the last 25% and I wasn't expecting it to go where it went. I personally love police procedural stories, especially Nordic Noir. This story is set in Copenhagen, Denmark and I think it being set in a more urban setting instead of out in some small town in the frozen countryside (like a lot of Nordic Noir stories seem to be) could make this a more enjoyable read for someone who isn't super into that subgenre. This is the first book in a series and I hope the rest of the series gets translated into English as well because I'd love to continue to follow Heloise.

The character work in this book I thought was very well done. We get two main POVs - Heloise and Schafer - as well as 2 additional POVs whose identities we don't know right away. We also meet a number of different side characters such as Heloise's coworkers, her best friend, and Schafer's partner on the police force. I really enjoyed that Heloise wasn't a complete loner-workaholic like a lot of journalists in these police thrillers tend to be. Through these relationships with these secondary characters, it really felt like we would pull back layer after layer of Heloise and her past. With Schafer as well, we got a bit of his frustrations with the legal system and how he was so sure that one character was involved in some crimes but just couldn't find any evidence of it. Heloise is our main character but I would have liked to see Schafer on page more often and have his character a little more fully developed. We get some scenes with him and his wife and I would have liked to have seen more of that side of him. Since this is the first book in a series, maybe future books will explore his background more. I thought the reveals at the end were really interesting, especially when it came to why Heloise was chosen to receive these letters. I think the reveal did a nice job of walking the line between revealing more character backstory while also showing how far Heloise has come from those events in her past.

I also enjoyed the investigation thread and how all the pieces came together. The story really starts out as more of a mystery where Heloise is trying to figure out if these letters are actually from Anna and if there's a chance that Anna was innocent but it pretty quickly got into thriller territory with the events and threats to Heloise escalating quickly. Despite this being the first book in a series, all the investigation plot lines were tied up by the end of the book and it seems like the other two books in the series follow other cases that don't sound like they're connected to this case. As I mentioned above, the subject matter of the ending reveal is pretty dark which I wasn't expecting from the tone of the rest of the book. The story, generally, doesn't read as a super gritty or dark read so the subject matter at the end was a bit of a surprise. I don't know if there's an actual word for this, but this investigation does what I love best in these mystery/thrillers were something or someone that was discounted from the investigation earlier ends up being important. I just really love it when the reader knows we can't forget about X,Y, or Z just because the investigation says that lead is a dead end. I did feel the ending glossed over some aspects that I would have liked to see on page but instead we just get a summary of what happened. I understand that, from a narrative and pacing perspective, we can't dwell too long on the ending after the climax had already been reached but I was really interested in seeing how the ending panned out for everyone. I really enjoyed how the author was a little bit hands off at the end where she wasn't going to spell everything out for the reader and instead just gave us a scene that shows us X character doing Y so the reader knows they were connected all along, but we're left on our own to fill in the finer details.

My main gripe with the story is that I found some details to be ultimately unimportant and I was frustrated by this. Now, I'm not talking about red herrings or leads that the detective chases down only for them to be dead ends. I'm talking about plot points where A is mentioned and the narrative is structured in such a way as to make the reader think that A is going to be really important. A is somehow going to be the key to unlocking the mystery or A is going to become a big threat to our beloved characters. But then, by the end, none of those things came true and in fact A was basically just mentioned once as a detail and never really explored further. Obviously, I know that not every little detail in a story will be important to the overall plot - sometimes these details are just ways for the author to enrich the overall world they're building. However, in this case there were 2 details that seemed they were going to be much more important overall. I can't go into detail to the points because they would be spoilers, but they did make me pause at the end and think "wait, so was A and B just not important?" And I wouldn't call these plot hole necessarily and maybe other readers won't feel strongly about being led on by those details but I really thought both of those points were going to play a much bigger role overall when instead they were basically shoved under the rug.

As a final note, there were two small descriptions that made me take pause and since this is a translation from Danish to English, I'm not sure if these parts just didn't translate over well or if the wording was a deliberate choice (of course, since this is an ARC the final book may change these, but I wanted to mention them anyway). The first is a description of Schafer's wife who is described as having 'jet-black' skin and the second is a character in a wheelchair who someone comments 'doesn't look disabled' because he's sitting up tall and straight in a picture. In both of these instances, the narrative moved quickly onto the next point so neither point was really well explored and it could be easy to miss them if you're reading quickly. I'm not dark skinned or disabled so I can't speak to how those passages would come across to members of those communities but I did want to mention them because they did stick out as I was reading. The translation, overall, I thought was really well done and I didn't have many places that I paused over the actual phrasing or structure of the narrative. There were some odd pop culture references to celebrities and TV shows which I think might not age very well. The original story was written in 2017 and in Danish and I would be interested to know if these pop culture references were the same in the original story or if they were changed for the English version.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and found the characters and investigation to be well developed. There were a few parts that seemed like they should have played a bigger part in the overall story and thus slowed down the pacing a bit.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for review

Expected publication date is October 12, 2021.

Loved the cover and blurb.. first by this author and it sucked me right in.

What did I like? A reporter already broiled in a scandal becomes the helper for solving another case with a known murderer. The book moves around revealing the cast of characters until everything is solved. It’s highly entrancing and I didn’t want to put it down. Four stars!

Would I recommend or buy? A first read by this author and I would definitely read more. It’s a thriller with a bit vigilante and a great ending. I’d definitely recommend to anyone loving thrillers.

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review

The Corpse Flower is the first in the #1 bestselling crime series, the Kaldan and Scháfer mysteries by the Danish author, Anne Mette Hancock. I am typically a fan of Nordic Noir/Scandinavian thrillers but this novel lacked character development. I couldn’t get the hype of what made this novel so well-loved and note worthy. The writing felt monotonous, with bland characters failing to strike a chord. The narrative of the story felt disjointed all the way until the end. As a reader, I didn’t feel it portrays suspense and mystery. In short, a Scandinavian crime fiction book that I wanted to love but never found that strong, intriguing atmosphere, and compelling protagonist I was hoping to find.. I believe my thoughts on The Corpse Flower will be an unpopular opinion as the author was awarded the Danish Crime Academy’s debutant prize in 2017.

I love mysteries that take me to different locations. And I’m also a sucker for Scandinavian noir mysteries. The synopsis for this book compares it to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s an apt comparison in that it’s a very dark subject matter and parts of the book could upset a reader.
Anna Kiel was caught on camera outside the house of a murdered lawyer, Christopher Mossing, covered in blood. Now she’s sending cryptic messages to Heloise Kaldan, a reporter with a Copenhagen newspaper.
The story moves at a brisk pace, with short chapters from multiple PoVs. There are lots of characters but I had no trouble keeping track of them all. There’s also lots going on here with not much down time. And the pace picks up as the book goes along. The ending was perfect, especially for those who enjoy strong women protagonists.
I found Heloise an engaging character. Smart, but unable to connect with anyone but her best friend. As the book goes on, we learn the reason for her lack of trust. Eric Schafer, the detective in charge of the cold case, is another interesting soul. He’s got quite an attitude, one that I totally appreciated.
I loved the writing. “She pressed a pillow over her ear and waited until the roiling surf in her inner sea slowly but surely started to subside.” And the humor! This is my kind of dry, snarky humor.
The translation has a few glitches, but not anything major.
My thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy of this book.

This was an intriguing story that kept me reading, but it was good, not great. I liked the different perspectives & the way the story unfolded - I wanted to know how Heloise & Anna were connected. I felt the ending was unsatisfying, and it left me feeling vaguely disappointed.

This Swedish police procedural is full of action and is so quick paced you don’t have time to turn the pages fast enough! I was completely enthralled with this book! Perfect for Larsson or Nesbo fans! Many thanks to goodreads for this win and netgalley for an early e copy for review.