Boy in the Suitcase, The

Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is trying to live a quiet life. The last thing her husband wants is for her to go running off on another dangerous mission to help illegal refugees. But when Nina's estranged friend Karin leaves Nina a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station and begs her to take care of its contents, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous case yet. Because inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive. Nina's natural instinct is to rescue the boy, but she knows the situation is risky. Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is hunting him down. When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy's are in jeopardy, too.

"Nina's chapters are riveting, and masterfully play up the real menace large men can have for a small, unarmed woman and child. Knowing violence is just around the corner for Nina creates a through-line of tension that serves the book well."
A. V. Club

"Katherine Kellgren turns in a winning performance in this audio edition."
Publisher's Weekly

"Katherine Kellgren delivers a most satisfying and dramatic reading that is laced with excitement. Her characters voices are well defined and consistent."
Sound Commentary

"Women characters get star turns in this book, with the most poignant being Sigita, the young single mother desperate to find her missing son. Realizing how acutely alone she is in this pursuit, Sigita summons a pugilistic tenacity in the face of the indifference of family and police to her son's plight as well as her own."
The Boston Globe

"Terrific…What's for sure is that, once you start reading, you can't stop - it's as if the poor kid's life depends on your getting to the end as fast as possible.… looks like another winning entry in the emotionally lacerating Scandinavian mystery sweepstakes."
The Washington Post

"The Boy in the Suitcase, cements Scandinavia's reputation as a new hunting ground for tautly-plotted, well-written mysteries…. a fast-paced thriller written in tight and sparse prose that seems to be the hallmark of Scandinavian mystery authors. A compelling read that you'll find hard to put down."
Mystery Librarian

"Kellgren expertly depicts Danish and Lithuanian doctors, nurses, prostitutes, parents, and children as Nina tries to reunite the boy she finds in a suitcase with his mother. The tense story is expertly enhanced by this dazzling audio presentation." WINNER OF THE AUDIOFILE EARPHONES AWARD
AudioFile

"A marvelously twisty quest. The authors make us care about all of the characters, even the most violent and greedy…. Kaaberbøl and Friis invest such tenderness and feeling in this well-paced and timely story that is an absolute tour de force."
Mystery Scene

"Here's a thriller that actually thrills, where you care about the characters, and the consequences are dreadful."
Shelf Awareness

"Of all the recent Scandinavian thrillers that have been rushed into translation for fans of Stieg Larsson, here's one whose pair of strong heroines taking on a monstrous conspiracy of men behaving badly is actually reminiscent of the Millennium Trilogy…. A debut that's a model of finely tuned suspense."
Kirkus Reviews

"The Boy in the Suitcase is an exceptional crime fiction debut that shines a light on a tragic and real social issue."
Scandinavian Books' Nordic Book Blog

"The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis is another exemplary Scandinavian mystery with a seriously driven heroine, and a most unusual plot and premise, that will keep you guessing until the very end."
Bookloons