Take a photo of a barcode or cover
kellyhager 's review for:
The Drowned Girl (previously published as Only One Life)
by Sara Blaedel
Louise Rick is investigating a murder. A teen girl (Samra) was found dead and it looks like it may have been an honor killing...but her father was clearly devastated when Samra's body was identified and her mom swears that her husband didn't harm her daughter. (Well, okay, he COULD do it, but he DIDN'T.) Then Samra's friend, the one who indirectly identified the body by telling police her friend was missing, was found murdered. Louise is unsure exactly who's telling the truth and who's to blame for Samra's murder (and for her friend's murder, if they're even connected).
This is apparently part of a series, but it's the first one I've read. In a lot of ways, it's similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (only without the financial journalism subplots). There's a mystery that seems nearly impossible to solve...until, of course, it IS solved.
To me, the most interesting part of the story dealt with honor killings. I love it when books can make me understand something, and this one did. There's also a part where Camilla (Louise's friend, who is also a newspaper reporter) is doing a series of articles on honor killings and her editor basically tells her to change that angle of the story because, essentially, it doesn't matter WHY it happens, it's wrong. And obviously it's wrong. But I think it's important to understand why something happens---not so much to condone it, but because if you understand a problem, it's easier to solve it. And while granted, I still don't 100% understand it, but I'm a lot closer now than I was before picking up this book.
I don't read many mysteries anymore, but this is a great example of a police procedural. I do enjoy reading about how murders are solved.
You can't tell people that their culture is wrong and barbaric. But if you can frame it differently, people are more likely to listen.
This is an incredibly interesting book and I definitely plan to seek out more of Sara Blaedel's mysteries.
This is apparently part of a series, but it's the first one I've read. In a lot of ways, it's similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (only without the financial journalism subplots). There's a mystery that seems nearly impossible to solve...until, of course, it IS solved.
To me, the most interesting part of the story dealt with honor killings. I love it when books can make me understand something, and this one did. There's also a part where Camilla (Louise's friend, who is also a newspaper reporter) is doing a series of articles on honor killings and her editor basically tells her to change that angle of the story because, essentially, it doesn't matter WHY it happens, it's wrong. And obviously it's wrong. But I think it's important to understand why something happens---not so much to condone it, but because if you understand a problem, it's easier to solve it. And while granted, I still don't 100% understand it, but I'm a lot closer now than I was before picking up this book.
I don't read many mysteries anymore, but this is a great example of a police procedural. I do enjoy reading about how murders are solved.
You can't tell people that their culture is wrong and barbaric. But if you can frame it differently, people are more likely to listen.
This is an incredibly interesting book and I definitely plan to seek out more of Sara Blaedel's mysteries.