The Plot-Twisty Novel That Will Leave You Breathless (Plus 5 Other Page-Turners)

When the body of a badly scarred woman is found in the woods, detective Louise Rick is tasked with identifying her. But the question of who the woman is leads down a terrifying road—because according to official records, the victim and her twin sister both died more than 30 years earlier, in the basement of a long-shuttered facility for mentally disabled children. Now Rick needs to know: What really went on in that house of horrors? (A former attendant explains, "I'm sure you'd understand...that many children like that did not have any contact with their parents once they'd been handed over to us. Several of them never saw their parents again, so we didn't necessarily know the names of their relatives.") Who issued the girls' death certificates? Could the twin be alive? As Rick and her partner try to pry the answers from tight-lipped officials and neighbors, more women turn up dead or go missing. Danish crime-writer superstar Sara Blaedel's great skill is in weaving a heartbreaking social history into an edge-of-your-chair thriller while at the same time creating a detective who's as emotionally rich and real as a close friend. You'll whip through the novel in a day, and then keep thinking about it.