The Scream of the Butterfly

Melander's trite and derivative second Lars Winkler mystery (after The House That Jack Built) opens with a flashback to a murder that's witnessed by a young child. In the present, Det. Winkler arrives at the scene of a different murder, this time of of Copenhagen's mayor. He interviews a shocked witness, Serafine, a young transgender woman who is unable or unwilling to explain her connection to the mayor. She becomes the book's other protagonist, and Lars must discover the story of her relationship with the mayor in order to solve the case. What follows is a political thriller told in both past and present, involving Albanian mafia, the suppression of politically damaging charges of pedophilia, and political corruption on a grand scale. Unfortunately, Melander's prose is lackluster, his plotting is stock, and Winkler is yet another world-weary, "broken" detective. The clich%C3%A9d mishandling of Serafine's story line is especially disappointing; she endures negative, often hostile, attitudes held by everyone but a couple of primary characters, who are seemingly intended to look good by comparison to the overt bigots . In better hands this could have been an exceptional novel. As it is, it's recommended only for those who already like the series. Agency: Gyldendal Group . (Nov.)