THE ABSENT ONE

Carl Mørck of Copenhagen's cold case Department Q wonders who has dropped the closed case of a pair of long-ago thrill killings on his desk. The murders were fomented by a clique of spoiled boarding school students, one of whom confessed and is serving time. The rest have grown rich and influential and highly motivated to keep the case ice-cold, but there is an absent member of their group unaccounted for: Kimmie, the only girl, now living on the streets, completely ruined and completely dangerous. With his vivid vocal portraits, Steven Pacey builds a complex world from gated country estate to junkie flophouse while maintaining a heart-pounding momentum. His doomed street urchin, Rat Tina, will haunt you, but then the whole gripping puzzle will. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2012]