The Konrad Simonsen series is well established in the native Denmark of the authors, the sibling writing team of Lotte and Søren Hammer. Simonsen is the Detective Chief Superintendent of the Copenhagen homicide squad, a job that is not as relaxed as one might think. Indeed, Simonsen suffered a heart attack in THE GIRL IN THE ICE, the second book in the series. THE VANISHED, the third and latest installment to be published in the US, heralds Simonsen’s return to work with what appears to be an easy case but turns out to be anything but.

As THE VANISHED (very ably translated by journeyman scribe Martin Aitkin) begins in August 2008, Simonsen is returning to work with restrictions and is enjoying a small welcome back party in his office. The low-key festivities are quickly interrupted by a school shooting incident in which a student executes a teacher who was leading a sordid double-life. This matter quickly dovetails into a case that Simonsen is assigned as busy work. It’s an older matter that was apparently given short shrift by the investigating officer. Jorgen Kramer Nielsen, a postman of some four decades’ work experience, had been found dead at the bottom of the stairs of his apartment building. It appeared he had died by accident as the result of a broken neck sustained in a fall. An officer who had been assigned to the case and later left the force was convinced that Nielsen had been murdered, and made enough noise to the right people to reopen the case.

"While the focus of THE VANISHED and its predecessors are on mystery and police procedure, the ongoing development and evolution of Simonsen and the secondary characters are given equal billing here, and are fully worth your time and money."

Simonsen believes that the first conclusion was the correct one, but a small piece of evidence that was initially ignored leads to a much different determination. Furthermore, photos on Nielsen’s smartphone connect him to the murdered teacher. Simonsen begins digging, which in turn leads him to a secret room in Nielsen’s apartment that is, to say the least, oddly decorated. The Catholic priest who occupied the apartment below Nielsen’s may hold the answers to at least some of the questions that are formed as the result of Simonsen’s investigation, but he is bound by the seal of confession. There is some interesting give-and-take around this issue, demonstrating that the frail but recovering Simonsen has not lost his edge.

As with many Nordic mysteries, the issue of “whodunit” hinges on “whydunit,” and certain proclivities of Nielsen enlarge the suspect pool, at least in theory. As Simonsen’s investigation moves forward, however, he finds himself confronting his own life. His somewhat enigmatic relationship with his co-worker and girlfriend, Nathalie, aka “The Countess,” takes a new turn, even as his own past threatens to intrude as he is haunted by the memory of an earlier love. The various threads of Simonsen’s personal and professional life slowly begin to coalesce as matters come to a surprising, not to mention startling, conclusion.

If you haven’t picked up on this fine, addicting series yet, there is still time to do so in its early days. While the focus of THE VANISHED and its predecessors are on mystery and police procedure, the ongoing development and evolution of Simonsen and the secondary characters are given equal billing here, and are fully worth your time and money. I recommend that you jump on now, particularly if you are a fan of Nordic noir.