Publishers Weekly
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When Ilka Nilsen Jensen, the heroine of Danish author Blaedel's disappointing standalone, learns of the death of her father, Paul, who abandoned her and her mother when she was seven, she leaves her school photography business in Copenhagen to settle his affairs in Racine, Wis. In Racine, Ilka discovers that she has inherited Paul's debt-plagued funeral home, and she decides to run it for the time being. Along with Artie Sorvino, the morgue assistant and artist who helps make the dead presentable, and Sister Eileen, a predictably taciturn nun with nebulous duties, the funeral home limps along, as does the weak plot. The appearance of the body of a local man who has been missing for years, long believed to have murdered his girlfriend when they were teenagers, breathes a little bit of life into the story. Unfortunately, Ilka is much less engaging than Blaedel's complex series heroine, Louise Rick (The Lost Woman, etc.), and her relationship with her estranged father is the stuff of half-remembered memories. Hopefully, Blaedel will return to form next time. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A Danish woman desperate to find out more about her father's past receives an unexpected inheritance in Blaedel's (The Killing Forest, 2017, etc.) mystery.When Ilka's long-estranged father dies, she leaves Denmark for Racine, Wisconsin, where he lived. She assumes that this is her last opportunity to find answers about why he left her and her mother when she was only 7 years old. Her memories are mostly a confused jumble of times at the racetrack, for her father loved horses and gambling. In Racine, surprises await: her father has left her his businessa funeral homeand he has left that business in crushing debt. Ilka has only a few days to decide whether she wants to do the logical thing and sell the business to another local mortuary or do the seemingly crazy thing and try to keep the place running. Her only support comes from Artie, the reconstruction artist, and Sister Eileen, a grumpy nun, both of whom seem to oppose the sale to the Golden Slumbers Funeral Home. And then there are the mysterious break-ins and body desecrations directed toward a dead man with a checkered past. The murder of a young woman 12 years ago still haunts Racine's collective memory, and it's possible that Ilka has walked right into danger. The premise of this novel is undeniably intriguing, and Ilka's physical and emotional awkwardness make her a likable character. But the writing is somewhat bland, and the mystery is not particularly well-developed. Part of this issue may stem from Kline's translation. Ilka's baffled musings on the American business of death interestingly emphasize flaws in the system from a European viewpoint, but the novel chiefly exists to entertain.The appealing weirdness of the setting does little to build effective atmosphere. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ilka Jensen, a school portrait photographer in Copenhagen, is shocked when her estranged father dies and leaves her his funeral home in Racine, WI. Hoping to understand the parent who abandoned his family 30 years before, she heads to Wisconsin. She soon learns that the business is days away from bankruptcy, suppliers have stopped delivering, a national chain is threatening a hostile takeover, and as heir, she is solely responsible. Ilka and her staff are thrown into the middle of an unsolved murder case when the body of an unknown man is brought to her. It turns out to be the man who left town after being accused of killing his girlfriend 12 years earlier. As strange events begin to occur at the funeral parlor, it's clear there is more to the cold case than the police initially thought. VERDICT The first volume in Blaedel's (The Forgotten Girls; The Killing Forest) new series seems at times more setup than stand-alone story. While Nordic noir is often dark and dreary, this is a lighter entry that doesn't lose any of the suspense that marks the genre. A great start for mystery lovers looking to dip a toe into international intrigue. [See Prepub Alert, 8/13/17.]-Portia Kapraun, Delphi P.L., IN © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Ilka Jensen travels from Copenhagen to Racine, Wisconsin, to settle her estranged father's estate and satisfy her curiosity about his American life. In a disappointing turn, Ilka inherits her father's funeral home along with its crippling mountain of debt. Determined to keep the business afloat until it sells, Ilka dives in, handling mortuary pickups and proving surprisingly competent at planning funerals. It's going pretty well until their latest pro bono burial revives a notorious cold case. Mike Gilbert, the deceased, had fled Racine after becoming a suspect in his girlfriend's murder. When Gilbert's body is abused during a bizarre break-in at the funeral home, police discover that the matriarch of a rival funeral home had paid Gilbert to leave town. If Gilbert was guilty, why would Phyllis Oldham pay him to flee? And why did he return? Resourceful Ilka is positioned perfectly for the mystery to unravel around her. This series debut has a lighter, cozier touch than the author's award-winning Louise Rick procedural series, set in Denmark; fortunately, Blaedel's astute storytelling also works outside the Nordic gloom.--Tran, Christine Copyright 2017 Booklist