This is an intriguing combination of a crime investigation and historical fiction. Set in Denmark, private detective Gabriel Praest is hired to investigate and hopefully prove the innocence of a man convicted of murder. As Gabiel's investigation continues, the author skillfully blends the current investigation into the dark past of the Nazi collaboration that occurred in Denmark. Amulya has created a quirky detective, for whom finding the truth is paramount. The plot starts slowly, but quickly becomes a thrilling novel full of plot twists that is hard to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Thank you to Scene of the Crime, Netgalley, and the author and publisher for my advance copy of the book. The opinions in the review are my own.

I enjoyed this thriller and learned a lot about Denmark during WWII as well as present day attitudes towards Muslim immigrants. The protagonist, Gabriel Praest, is an interesting character, though I'm not sure that I thought the time spent describing his attire and eating and drinking habits was worthwhile. He's almost a caricature of a tough PI with a soft heart.

A Death In Denmark begins the amped up thriller series by Amulya Malladi. Gabriel Praest is a private detective/blues guitarist/ladies man/fancy dresser whose everyday life is pretty sweet.
Then an old flame (the one who got away) sashays back into his life. Leila is now an attorney, still gorgeous and needing a favor. A Muslim man, convicted of killing a Danish woman, is rotting away in prison. Leila thinks he's innocent. Will Gabriel interview family members and friends to find out the truth?
Riding through Copenhagen on his bike, Gabriel runs into anger, sadness and several fists that convince the PI that the case is much deeper than it appears.
The murder victim was working on a book to expose some of Denmark's elite who helped the Nazis during World War II. And lots of people would rather kill than see the damning headlines.
Malladi takes the reader to storied Copenhagen bars, blues clubs and even a side trip to Berlin to uncover the still festering wounds of the past. Both humorous and dangerous, A Death In Denmark is a killer first look at dapper and driven detective Gabriel Praest.
I can't wait for the next one!

Wonderful characterizations and plotting are the foundations in this compulsively readable legal/investigative thriller.

I received a free copy of, A Death in Denmark, by Amulya Malladi, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Gabriel is an ex cop in Copenhagen,who is a private investigator, when his ex asks him to look into a murder. This book was kind of dark, and political, not the easiest read, I could not get into this book at all.

I thoroughly this book that is a start to a new series. I learned so much about Copenhagen and felt the setting and atmosphere were well crafted.

A Death in Denmark is a fascinating political thriller set in present-day Denmark, with interesting historical flashbacks to Nazi crimes during their WWII Europe regime. Fans of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will love this spy thriller.

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the review copy.

I was fortunate to be able to read this entertaining mystery novel as an ARC via Netgalley. I am a sucker for crime novels or mystery novels from Ireland or Northern European countries and this one did not let me down. Perhaps the extended hours of darkness lend themselves well to this type of genre for the writers?
This novel was the first one I have read from Amulya Malladi. I will certainly look for more from this author. I really enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on- the setting is modern day, but it harkens back to a tragedy during WW2. Gabriel Præst is a flawed protagonist which made him interesting to me. I enjoyed how Malladi wove in the nationalism and suspicion of "outsiders" that is plaguing so many countries right now. This was an intelligent thriller. I recommend this novel!

I liked how this book incorporated WWII in a different way, bringing it to the modern times. However, I thought that there were too many excess characters and had some trouble keeping them straight. One chapter (the flashback one) was also a little confusing as there wasn't a clear break between the present and past.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own.

Writing: 3/3 Characters: 3/3 Plot: 3/3

I believe this is Malladi’s first detective novel (I’m far more familiar with her literary novels which I’ve liked very much). Gabriel Praest — her Danish detective — is a dapper ex-cop, part-time blues musician, and avid quoter of existentialists. An ex-girlfriend (the one who got away), asks him to clear her Muslim client of the brutal murder for which he has been convicted. The racism that has helped lead to his conviction is paralleled in the link to the Nazi murder of a particular group of Danish farmers and the Jews they were hiding during WWII.

This book may work for some people — plenty of interesting (though disappointing in that I thought the Danes were one of the few countries that valued and helped their Jews) Danish history, a look into modern Danish life (which is new for me), and a main character who has all the hallmarks of the brash, tenacious, undauntable PI with some modern trappings such as a flair for dressing, tight connections with both the under and over world, and (of course) relationship problems. He didn’t work for me — too many cliches and nothing particularly deep or insightful. The writing is decent but a lot of time is spent on political agendas and maneuverings while the rest is spent on describing clothing, interior design, and details of every day Danish living that don’t particularly interest me. Lastly, a lot of the writing was of the “tell, don’t show” variety, so long explanations of what happened when, but with no action and somewhat stilted dialog. To be fair, there *was* a lot of action in other parts.

I really loved her book “The Sound of Language” which I remember giving a genuine feel to the story of an Afghan refugee settling in Denmark. Obviously, this book is a detective novel which tends to be written differently, but I miss the good characterization and pacing of her previous works. This book didn’t work for me as either a literary novel or as a detective story, but it may work for others who like thrillers and more canonical hero types.