The Considerate Killer (A Nina Borg Novel)

As usual the authors have produced a book that is very hard to put down. If you haven't read the first three books in the series, I highly recommend reading them first. They are equally engaging. You will fall in love with Nina, in spite of (because of?) her flaws. The plot is intricate, but moves along with plenty of action and danger for both Nina and her new "partner" Soren. [spoiler alert: they both survive, if just barely.] The translators for this and the other books in the series are to be commended for producing crisp, idiomatic English, so that, except for the Danish names and typography, you easily forget that it is a Danish novel.

Nina Borg is one of my very favorite fictional characters, so I was delighted when the fourth book of the series was released. This series is a collaboration between two Danish authors Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis and as much as I love this series I would say it is a successful partnership. Borg is a complex and disturbed character, a Red Cross nurse who repeatedly puts her life and those around her in danger. Her husband has left her because she has failed to put him and their children first in her life as she dives into danger. She is trying to change and redeem herself. While doing so she has begun a relationship with Danish police officer, Søren Kirkegard. One cannot help but to root for her and hope that she will be ultimately able to pull the scraps of her life together. A Nina Borg book is never short on thrills and this one starts with the first sentence, with Nina being hit on the head twice. We quickly learn that her skull has been fractured and Søren visits her as she lies unconscious in the hospital. The story shifts between Nina, Søren and a young Filipino, named Vincent as it lays out the complex story of how Nina unwittingly became the target for an assasin. It provides many moments of nail biting. Now having read this so quickly I have to wait for the next Nina Borg book that Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis write.

Interesting perspective. Different ending, not what I expected.

Well-written mystery novel that connects an apparently random assault on a nurse to a man-made disaster half a world away. The main character, Nina Borg, experiences near death several times, accepts her father's death as the event that drives her need to "rescue" others, and decides to embrace life, love, and family. It is an endearing novel of how the power of love, personal growth, and the challenges of live can conspire to heal even the most wounded person if they have the courage to change.

I became hooked on Nina Borg, after reading" The Boy in the Suitcase" and have followed along with the series of books ever since. This book I found intriguing, from the title to the story line. I have to admit that there was a little too much emphasis on murder and mayhem, but the story somehow managed to come across as plausible nonetheless.

I was already writing this review in my head. I was thinking that another book had to be written, that more needed to be said. But it was an excellent ending, a realistic ending to a superb 4 book series. Of course, I would read yet another book in a New York minute but I am content.

I lived in Manila so enjoyed the Filipino connection. I am visiting Denmark in June. This is why I began the four book series. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and feel we left the hem in a positive sustainable place.

Nina Borg is the fierce ethical woman we'd all love to be if pressed by crisis. I'm sad to say goodbye to her.