A Death in Denmark — Amulya Malladi

For fans of the Netflix series Borgen and WWII history buffs, A Death in Denmark is a page-turning Nordic thriller with a cosmopolitan vibe, introducing Gabriel Præst, an ex-Copenhagen cop (with impeccable fashion sense), Blues musician, and pursuer of truth as he explores Denmark's Nazi-collaborator past and anti-Muslim present in this intelligent and stimulating murder mystery.

Everyone in Denmark knew that Yousef Ahmed, a Muslim refugee from Iraq, brutally murdered the right-wing politician Sanne Melgaard. So, when part-time Blues musician, frustrated home renovator, and full-time private investigator Gabriel Præst agrees to investigate the matter because his ex -- the one who got away -- asked him, he knew it was a no-win case.

But as Gabriel starts to ask questions, his face meets with the fists of Russian gangsters, the Danish Prime Minister asks him for a favor, and he starts to realize that something may be rotten in the State of Denmark.

Wondering if Yousef was framed to heighten the local anti-Muslim sentiment, Gabriel follows a trail back in time to World War II when anti-Semitism was raging during the German occupation of Denmark. Fearing such a mindset has resurfaced, Gabriel rolls up the sleeves of his well-cut suit and gets to work. From the cobblestone streets of Copenhagen to the historic strassen of Berlin where the sounds of the steel-toed boots of marching Nazis still linger, Gabriel finds that some very powerful Danes don't want him digging into the case -- as the secrets he unearths could shake the foundations of Danish identity.