Death on the Beach

Written by Anna Johannsen

Narrated by Nicol Zanzarella

A teenage girl is missing. Why don’t her parents care?

A fourteen-year-old girl disappears on the small island of Föhr, and Detective Lena Lorenzen is called in to investigate. When the girl’s bloodied body is found on the beach with vicious wounds to the wrist, Lena immediately suspects that what’s been made to look like suicide was in fact a brutal and calculated murder.

But the local residents—even the girl’s own parents—won’t cooperate with her investigation. The devoutly religious islanders are clearly hiding something. But what ungodly secret could possibly lead to the murder of an innocent teenage girl?

Soon Lena realises that the isolated island holds darker secrets than she ever could have feared. In her toughest investigation yet, she must confront her own past if she is to catch the killer—before they strike again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Translator: Jozef van der Voort
• Release date: May 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781799769668

Anna Johannsen

Anna Johannsen has lived in Northern Friesland since her childhood. She loves the landscape and the people of the region and is especially fond of the North Frisian islands that provide the setting for her Island Mystery novels starring DI Lena Lorenzen.

Reviews for Death on the Beach

[eyes92c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Death in remote Northern Freisland!A solid, enjoyable, Scandi noir read! Detective Lena Lorenzen is called out to the suicide of a fourteen-year-old girl on the small island of Föhrn part of the North Frisian islands. An area Lena is very aware of, an island she grew up on and left long ago.It's the beginning of her leave. Six days she was going to spend with Erck. A relationship that's only be rekindled for a few weeks after a fourteen year break. A call from her boss Detective Superintendent Warnke puts paid to that. Warnke has asked for a favor. The girl was a member of a strictly devout free church that the rest of community views as a cult and has little time for.On the surface Maria Logener death is a suicide. Something bothers Lena about it and she has a forensic team flown over with autopsy findings fast tracked. That suicide is a murder.Meanwhile on the personal level Lena is having trouble with committing long term to Erck. And then when additional members are added to the investigation from the mainland, a former officer Lena met at a conference and had a one night stand with, turns up as part of the team. Complications indeed!A death has occurred. The religious group Maria was part of is unhelpfully set against any outsiders, the rest of the island community are starting to feel their reservations about the group are justified and things could go very badly very quickly.Apart from the ugly circumstances around Maria's death, also exposed are the community's prejudices, bullying, and less than stellar police work.An Amazon UK ARC via NetGalley