Fatal Crossing review

Fatal Crossing is the first book in the Nora Sand series by Danish journalist and author, Lone Theils. Nora Sand works in London as a correspondent for a Danish weekly magazine, Globalt. She’s headed for Wolf Hall prison, having been granted, much to her surprise, an interview with serial killer, William Hickley, aka Bill Hix.



Days earlier, she had accidentally come across, in a second-hand leather suitcase she’d bought on a whim, some Polaroid photos of young women in similar poses. The photo of two girls on a Danish Ferry rang faint bells, and research proved it was a hitherto unknown photo of the very last time that teenagers Lisbeth Morgensen and Lulu Brandt had been seen before their disappearance in 1985. Nora’s editor agrees there might be a story in it, so she gets the go ahead to investigate.



Back in Copenhagen, Nora calls in favours to learn just what happened on the fateful ferry trip to London, tracking down others in the group. When the Scotland Yard eventually get involved in the case, it turns out that, even though there are connections to Bill Hix, some of the girls in the Polaroids disappeared after he was jailed. Could he have had an accomplice, or is it the work of a copy-cat?



As Nora flits between Copenhagen and London, following up leads, interviewing witnesses and unearthing clues, an added complication appears in the form of Andreas, a Danish cop in London for a course on terror cells, a man she hasn’t seen since she firmly rejected his declaration of love at the end of high school. Andreas looked good then, and he’s looking mighty fine now: did she make a mistake back then? Trouble is, he has a girlfriend…



Theils gives the reader a great plot with a few twists, plenty of tension and a nail-biting climax. There are some truly nasty villains, a few dedicated cops, several supportive friends and a really gutsy heroine (even if some of the decisions she makes in the heat of the moment may not be the wisest ones). The banter between the characters is witty and clever, and some of the humour is quite black.



This page-turner, flawlessly translated from Danish by Charlotte Berslund, is a brilliant debut novel that will have English-speaking readers hoping that the sequel, The Blue Poet’s Wife, is translated and published soon. Scandi crime with a difference.



With thanks to Bonnier Publishing for this copy to read and review.