EFTERSPILLET – THE AFTERMATH

By Anne Mette Hancock

JOURNALIST HELOISE KALDAN has built her career on other people’s tragedies. Her true crime podcast, The Aftermath, has quickly become the most listened to in the country, and she invites homicide detective Erik Schäfer into the studio to talk about the case that made him a prominent figure in Danish criminal history: the solving of seven brutal murders committed by the artist Hans Verni. The day after the broadcast, Copenhagen wakes up to yet another murder. A young woman is found dead in the courtyard behind the Catholic Church, stabbed to death and positioned in the same elaborate manner as Verni left his victims.

SCHÄFER IS CONVINCED that a copycat is at work, but as Heloise begins to dig into the case, her doubts grow. Have Schäfer and his old partner put an innocent man in prison? What is he hiding from her? As time goes by, Heloise has to ask herself who is actually manipulating whom. The Aftermath is the fourth book in the series about journalist Heloise Kaldan and investigator Erik Schäfer.

First published by Lindhardt & Ringhof, Denmark 2026

Denmark, Lindhardt & Ringhof
Germany, Fischer Verlag
Norway, Vigmostad & Bjørke

Gripping, endearing, dark, and funny, Anne Mette Hancock has written the best series I’ve read this year. Kaldan and Schafer are my new favourite crime-solving duo. Highly recommended.
– New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben

Anne Mette Hancock has established herself at the top.
– Nettavisen

She is one of our most talented writers. Her writing is bold and witty, with sharp dialogue and a keen eye for human interaction and the dynamics between the sexes. Beautiful, atmospheric scenes of Copenhagen as a big city, along with a laid-back attitude toward the “correct” lifestyle… […] Hancock has the linguistic verve pretty much under control.
Politiken

With The Aftermath, Anne Mette Hancock has written an outstanding crime novel—a police thriller of truly high quality, but it is also so much more. […] As the plot unfolds, the book turns into quite the whodunnit, which is absolutely brilliant and it ends with a bang. Hurry up and read it!
– Findals krimiside

The language is colourful, and there is so much imagery that makes the text even more vivid. I can picture the story in my mind’s eye, and the author has made room for the reader to follow along like a shadow. […] 6 out of 6 hearts, the author has once again surpassed herself with this stroke of genius, and this book has been more than worth the wait. She surprises us in style yet again, and I hope for more.
@mullesbogblog

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