A young woman is found dead by Gudme Lake in the South of Funen. Apparently she's been stabbed to death and emptied for blood somewhere else.

Assistant state coroner dr. Maria Krause is sent to do the autopsy. The sight reminds her of the body of another young woman who was found at a castle close to Faaborg.

During the course of the autopsy, dr. Krause discovers a red colour on the woman's neck. The colour turns out to be remains of the culprits sweat and is caused by a substance that is used in the treatment of leprosy. But there haven't been any cases of leprosy in Denmark since 1913, so which disease is it being used to treat? And on who?


Very, very slow to start. In fact I'll admit to almost giving up on it within the first 20 pages because nothing was happening, and I didn't care for the writing style so it bothered me that nothing was happening. However, I thought the book blurb sounded so interesting that I was determined to give it a decent chance, and thankfully it paid off, and pretty soon I couldn't put it down.

Still, while entertaining enough, as you can see from the rating, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. There was too much vigilante work in it for my liking, and the main character was border-line psychotic... something nobody apparently seemed inclined to act upon.

I'm not sure I found the plot all that believable, but it kept me riveted while reading as I had to know what happened next. I'm quite satisfied I merely got it out of the library and didn't actually purchase it though - I don't think it merits a reread. ( )