Sara Blaedel’s Missing Persons trilogy, originally published in Denmark, has become a #1 bestseller in several countries. Lisbeth Møller-Madsen, editor-at-Large of People’s Press in Denmark, and Chris Kepner at the Victoria Sanders Agency, explained the international appeal of the series, which follows Louise Rick, the new head of the missing persons department at a Danish police department trying to find the killer of an unidentified woman found dead in a forest.

Book: Known as the Missing Persons trilogy, the series is comprised of The Forgotten Girls (De glemte piger), The Killing Forest (Dødesporet), and The Lost Woman (Kvinden de meldte savnet)

First published: The Forgotten Girls was published by People's Press in Denmark on November 12, 2011. The second and third books in the series came out on November 8, 2013, and November 7, 2014, respectively.

Format: hardcover

Author: Sara Blaedel lives in Copenhagen, and was the 2015 recipient of Denmark's highest literary prize, the Golden Laurel. According to Kepner (who handles Blaedel's foreign rights), her latest publishing deal is "the largest in Danish history."

Acquiring Editor: Lisbeth Møller-Madsen, editor-at-large at People’s Press

How It’s Done: Blaedel’s books are #1 bestsellers in Denmark, having sold more than 1.5 million copies there. They are also now published in 23 countries. Rights to the Missing Persons trilogy have been sold to publishers in Brazil, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, and Iceland, with a deal pending in Portugal. Grand Central publishes the series in the U.S., and Legendary Entertainment (Straight Outta Compton) is developing the series for television.

Why They Think It’s Working: Møller-Madsen says Blaedel has connected with readers since publishing her first book. "She is very generous, and they feel they know her." Møller-Madsen believes Blaedel understands what her readers want. "She is an excellent plotter, and the main characters, Louise and Camilla, were an instant hit. People wanted to hear more about them.”