Book Review: The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock

The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock
Length: 336 Pages
Genres: Mystery and Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Graphic Depictions of Child Sexual Abuse, Murder, Blood, Suicide, Violence, Rape and Assault

I'm still on a Nordic Noir kick, and I'm happy to report that The Corpse Flower scored much higher with me than the last did. It's been on my radar for awhile, was pitched as Girl with the Dragon Tattoo meets Sharp Objects, so of course my expectations were practically sky high!

Heloise Kaldan is a reporter for the Demokratisk Dagblad, and after an article of hers bombs due to a false report from an otherwise reliable source (who just so happens to be her lover...), all Heloise wants is a break and the go-ahead to continue working. What she doesn't expect is a cryptic letter from one of Denmark's most wanted killers, a woman named Anna Kiel. In the letters, she claims to be connected to Heloise, she even knows Heloise's favorite flower (the lupine, Anna's is the corpse flower) and lucky number. But Heloise knows nothing Anna, beyond what was reported about her: that she killed a bigshot lawyer in cold-blood with a kitchen knife and stood in front of a surveillance camera afterwards, staring, as if in a dare. And then, she disappeared without a trace.

Erik Schäfer is the cop who worked Anna's case. She has been gone for years now, and the last thing he expects is a little old lady, fresh from a vacation in France, to show up, claiming to have seen her. Then, he sees the photo she took and he knows without a doubt--it's her.

One question still remains: was Anna nothing but a crazed woman who chose her victim randomly? Or did she have a connection, just as she has with Heloise? And why, after so long, has she decided to speak up?

I love a thriller with an interesting setting, and the city of Copenhagen, along with bits of France, was just the icing on the cake for this novel. Heloise is a fun and resilient heroine, smart and brassy but with a heart of gold, much like Erik, who steers clear of the usual gruff and miserable cop trope. And Anna was the best part of all, reminding me very much of Lisbeth Salander. My one quibble was the I would have liked a few more clues towards the connection between Heloise and Anna. I hate it in a thriller when the mystery is one that I'm not given the opportunity to guess at myself. Other than that, I highly recommend The Corpse Flower and look forward to the next book in the series!