By Karen Robards
Review by Josephine Berglund
From the Cover:
This pulse-pounding, brilliantly twisting new historical thriller is a gripping tale that will leave you questioning everything.
September 1943: Berlin is the heart of darkness—and the last place Dr. Elin Lund wishes to be. An expert in psychological profiling, she’s been summoned from Copenhagen to investigate the gruesome murders of eight young women. Even in the midst of unspeakable evil, these killings stand apart. And with her homeland now under Nazi occupation and a young son to protect, Elin can’t refuse such a request.
Homicide Detective Kurt Schneider, head of the criminal police unit, is grudging in his welcome. The orders to find the killer come from the top, and to fail means death. The stakes are too high to risk any mistakes—or to trust a stranger. Yet the pair, trapped in an uneasy partnership, each has expertise the other one needs. And Schneider, like Elin, is clearly guarding secrets of his own.
Racing to complete the investigation and return to her son, Elin feels the net tightening. Every sliver of evidence reveals a killer infinitely more dangerous, and more powerful, than anyone suspected. And in drawing closer to the terrifying truth, Elin has unwittingly made herself his new obsession…
A serial killer on the loose. A profiler with a hidden past. Trust is a luxury no one can afford.
Review: Some Murders in Berlin is well written and well researched. Dr. Elin Lund finds herself in a tight spot and must work with the Nazis who overran her country. She has no choice. But finding the serial killer is much more difficult than it seems, especially as they get closer to him. They discover that he is obsessed with making Dr. Lund his next victim.
Throughout the entire plot, Dr. Lund strives to preserve her own secrets from the Nazis while Detective Schneider strives to protect his own secrets. Each secret revealed could mean death for someone including the one who is hiding someone else. This aspect makes the plot more visceral and raises the stakes for all concerned, beyond the killer seeking to kill Dr. Lund. Each of the details tie together at the end for a Wow finish when you discover the identity of the killer. I couldn’t put this one down.