Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Death of a Nightingale by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis


First Line:  Audio file #83: Nightingale
                "Go on," says a man's voice.
                "I'm tired," an older woman answers, clearly uncomfortable and dismissive.

Natasha Doroshenko has been convicted of the attempted murder of her Danish fiancé. On her way to an interrogation at police headquarters in Copenhagen, she escapes police custody, and that night the forzen, tortured body of her fiancé is found in a car. The young Ukrainian woman had earlier lost her husband in the exact same way, so-- fearing the worst-- the Danish police are dedicated to finding her. There's one person law enforcement should pay attention to: Danish Red Cross nurse Nina Borg.

Nina has been following Natasha's case for quite some time-- ever since the woman took refuge at the crisis center where Nina works. Nina had tried to help Natasha leave her abusive fiancé more than once and simply cannot see her as a cold-blooded killer, but there's one thing that Nina is certain of: Natasha is going nowhere without her daughter, and Katerina is in Nina's fiercely protective care. As Nina fights to keep a little girl safe, she learns that Natasha's past contains a secret that goes all the way back to a terrible famine in Stalinist Russia in 1934. There is a third woman involved in this mystery... and she is the one who's determined to keep that secret at all cost.

Nina Borg is a fascinating character who can make a reader feel strong and conflicting emotions. Her work for the Danish Red Cross is her mission in life. She is compelled to save the world through every single person she helps. She is a person to be admired for her strength, determination, and protective instincts. But that very same zeal has come at a great price. By focusing on the care of strangers, in this third book in the series Nina has lost her husband and children, who have given up demanding-- at the very least-- equal billing with her work. Nina is in sad shape, made all the sadder by the fact that it is all her own doing. Her working life may be a cause for admiration, but her personal life is reason for exasperation.

As she fights to keep little Katerina safe, she does find time to reflect on her actions and their consequences. Her soul searching is unflinching and brutally honest. Nina knows what she's done wrong, and she doesn't know if she's capable of making the necessary changes to get her family back-- or even if there's a chance of reconciliation at all. This is a wonderful, nuanced characterization that I've come to love in this series of books.

But Nina is not the only fierce soul in this book. Natasha Doroshenko can match her stride for determined, unflagging stride. Natasha's life has often been a nightmare, and she has learned to be ruthless and cunning in order to survive. As the story alternates between present-day Denmark and 1930s Russia, the reader learns how people's behavior is often shaped by events in the past. The Russian chapters are chilling and horrific, and as the story unfolds, we not only learn about the distant past, we learn about Natasha's life with her husband, a man who was paid for keeping secrets.

With differing timelines and characters' stories, Death of a Nightingale can be a bit confusing occasionally, but everything is woven together satisfactorily before book's end. Once again, Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis have constructed an emotional roller coaster ride peopled by characters of marvelous depth and nuance. With Nina in such a state, I'm certainly looking forward to the next book in this series to see how she progresses.


Death of a Nightingale by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis
Translated from the Danish by Elisabeth Dyssegaard
ISBN: 9781616953041
Soho Crime © 2013
Hardcover, 368 pages

Thriller, #3 Nina Borg mystery
Rating: A
Source: the publisher 


               

8 comments:

  1. Cathy - This is such a terrific series isn't it? And I really like the Nina Borg character. Good to know that it's being kept up strongly.

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    1. I think the authors are rather surprised that their books have become popular over here.

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  2. Very interesting review. I agree with most of it. However, I found the jumping back and forth between countries and decades very jarring. It didn't feel seamless to me, nor did I find the ending satisfactory. I have questions, like why was there so much hostility between the characters, which culminated at the end? Why did one person's hostility become so great that the character orchestrated murders? It just didn't ring true to me, why this would escalate to murder. And I found the denouement confusing.

    So, while I loved book 1, The Boy in the Suitcase, and liked book 2, Invisible Murder, I am not sure about this one. I like Nina Borg, despite her foibles because of her dedication and determination to help immigrants. Yes, she has inner demons, but so do many fictional (and real) characters. It makes a book more interesting to read about a complicated personality, not made out of a cookie cutter mold.

    I am looking forward to another book, but am under the impression that the authors were only writing a three-book set. Is this no longer true?

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    1. Yes, complicated personalities are almost always more interesting; I've never been overly fond of cookie cutters. :-)

      I think that the authors were rather surprised that their books have done so well outside of Denmark, so they may be contemplating more. In many ways I hope they do because I like Nina so much, but this book did have an air of finality to it.

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  3. Yes, it did have an air of finality to it, given what Nina Borg does. On the other hand, I'd love to read more about her path ahead.

    Oh, will just wait and see like all of the other Nina Borg fans.

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    1. I just read an interview with the authors through their publisher, Soho. They are hard at work on book #4, so the series will continue.

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  4. Oh, yippee at that news! A book 4: I don't want to give spoilers here, but it seemed like Nina Borg would have more adventures as her future was left ambiguous.
    The publishers must have been pleasantly surprised at Nina Borg's popularity in Europe and the States. Good. I like it when readers here broaden their reading geography.

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    1. So do I. I can't say that I don't have a comfort zone that I stay within, I'm just glad that it seems to be rather large, geographically speaking. :-)

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