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Department Q #3
讙讗讜诇讛
砖谞讬 讗讞讬诐 谞讞讟驻讬诐 讜诪讜讞讝拽讬诐 讘诪讞住谉 住讬专讜转 讬砖谉. 讛诐 诇讗 诪爪诇讬讞讬诐 诇讛砖转讞专专 讗讘诇 诪爪诇讬讞讬诐 诇砖诇讜讞 诪住专. 讛讚诐 诪砖诪砖 讻讚讬讜, 诪讻转讘 讘讘拽讘讜拽 讛讜讗 讗诪爪注讬 讛转拽砖讜专转.
诪讬讛 讘讟讜讞讛 砖讘注诇讛 诪砖拽专 诇讛. 讛讜讗 谞注讚专 转讻讜驻讜转 讗讘诇 诇讗 讗讜诪专 诇讗谉 讛讜讗 讛讜诇讱 讜讻诪讛 讝诪谉 讬砖讛讛 砖诐. 讻砖讛讜讗 讞讜讝专 讛讬讗 爪专讬讻讛 诇住讘讜诇 讗转 诪爪讘讬 讛专讜讞 砖诇讜, 讗转 讛讗讬讜诪讬诐 砖诇讜 讜讗转 讛转砖讜拽讜转 讛讻诪讜住讜转. 讛讬讗 讞讬讬讘转 诇讙诇讜转 讗转 讛讗诪转 讜讛讬讗 诪讜讻谞讛 诇砖诇诐 讗转 讛诪讞讬专, 谞讜专讗 讻讻诇 砖讬讛讬讛.
拽讗专诇 诪专拽 讛讜讗 讘诇砖 诪讘专讬拽 讜讟讬驻讜住 砖拽砖讛 诇注讘讜讚 讗转讜. 讛讜讗 注讜诪讚 讘专讗砖 诪讚讜专 Q 讜诪转注住拽 讘转讬拽讬诐 诇讗 诪驻讜注谞讞讬诐. 讻砖拽讗专诇 讜注讜讝专讜 讛谞讗诪谉 讗住讚 诪拽讘诇讬诐 诇讬讚诐 讗转 讛诪讻转讘 讘讘拽讘讜拽, 讛诐 诪讙诇讬诐 砖转讜讻谞讜 讻诪注讟 谞诪讞拽 讘砖诇 讛砖谞讬诐 砖讞诇驻讜 讜讛转谞讗讬诐 砖讘讛诐 谞砖诪专. 讻诪讛 砖讗诇讜转 诪讟专讬讚讜转 讗讜转诐: 讛讗诐 讛讛讜讚注讛 讗诪转讬转? 讛讗诐 讛讬讗 注讚讬讬谉 专诇讜讜谞讟讬转? 讛讗诐 讬砖 住讬讻讜讬 诇转驻讜住 讗转 讛注讘专讬讬谉 讜诇讛爪讬诇 讗转 讛拽讜专讘谞讜转?
诪讬讛 讘讟讜讞讛 砖讘注诇讛 诪砖拽专 诇讛. 讛讜讗 谞注讚专 转讻讜驻讜转 讗讘诇 诇讗 讗讜诪专 诇讗谉 讛讜讗 讛讜诇讱 讜讻诪讛 讝诪谉 讬砖讛讛 砖诐. 讻砖讛讜讗 讞讜讝专 讛讬讗 爪专讬讻讛 诇住讘讜诇 讗转 诪爪讘讬 讛专讜讞 砖诇讜, 讗转 讛讗讬讜诪讬诐 砖诇讜 讜讗转 讛转砖讜拽讜转 讛讻诪讜住讜转. 讛讬讗 讞讬讬讘转 诇讙诇讜转 讗转 讛讗诪转 讜讛讬讗 诪讜讻谞讛 诇砖诇诐 讗转 讛诪讞讬专, 谞讜专讗 讻讻诇 砖讬讛讬讛.
拽讗专诇 诪专拽 讛讜讗 讘诇砖 诪讘专讬拽 讜讟讬驻讜住 砖拽砖讛 诇注讘讜讚 讗转讜. 讛讜讗 注讜诪讚 讘专讗砖 诪讚讜专 Q 讜诪转注住拽 讘转讬拽讬诐 诇讗 诪驻讜注谞讞讬诐. 讻砖拽讗专诇 讜注讜讝专讜 讛谞讗诪谉 讗住讚 诪拽讘诇讬诐 诇讬讚诐 讗转 讛诪讻转讘 讘讘拽讘讜拽, 讛诐 诪讙诇讬诐 砖转讜讻谞讜 讻诪注讟 谞诪讞拽 讘砖诇 讛砖谞讬诐 砖讞诇驻讜 讜讛转谞讗讬诐 砖讘讛诐 谞砖诪专. 讻诪讛 砖讗诇讜转 诪讟专讬讚讜转 讗讜转诐: 讛讗诐 讛讛讜讚注讛 讗诪转讬转? 讛讗诐 讛讬讗 注讚讬讬谉 专诇讜讜谞讟讬转? 讛讗诐 讬砖 住讬讻讜讬 诇转驻讜住 讗转 讛注讘专讬讬谉 讜诇讛爪讬诇 讗转 讛拽讜专讘谞讜转?
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First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Jussi Adler-Olsen
70听books4,860听followersJussi Adler-Olsen is a Danish author who began to write novels in the 1990s after a comprehensive career as publisher, editor, film composer for the Valhalla cartoon and as a bookseller.
He made his debut with the thriller 鈥淎lfabethuset鈥� (1997), which reached bestseller status both in Denmark and internationally just like his subsequent novels 鈥淎nd She Thanked the Gods鈥� (prev. 鈥淭he Company Basher鈥�) (2003) and 鈥淭he Washington Decree鈥� (2006). The first book on Department Q is 鈥淜vinden I buret鈥� (2007) and the second 鈥淔asandr忙berne鈥� (2008). The main detective is Deputy Superintendent Carl Morck from the Department Q and he is also the star of the third volume, 鈥淔laskepost fra P鈥� which was released in the fall of 2009 and secured Adler-Olsen 鈥漅eaders' Book Award鈥� from Berlingske Tidende-readers, the Harald Mogensen Prize as well as the Scandinavian Crime Society's most prestigious price 鈥滸lass Key鈥�. The fourth volume in the Department Q series, 鈥淛ournal 64鈥� was published in 2010 and he was awarded the once-in-a-lifetime-prize of 鈥淭he Golden Laurels鈥� for this in 2011鈥�. In December 2012 the fifth novel was published, 鈥淢arco Effekten".
Furthermore, Jussi Adler-Olsen was awarded 鈥淔avourite Author of the Danes鈥� in 2011, 2012 and 2013 leading the organization behind to change the set-up, so the winner cannot be chosen more than once in a three year period.
Jussi Adler-Olsen's novels have had such an impact abroad, that he has also received a variety of awards there: 鈥漈he Sealed Room Award鈥� in Japan for 鈥淜vinden I buret鈥�; 鈥滲est Translated Mystery Novel of the Year鈥�,鈥漈he Crime - Blitz Award 2011鈥� in Germany for 鈥淔laskepost til P鈥� given to the best international crime, Elle magazine's French reader award: 鈥漃rix de Lectrices the Elle鈥� for 鈥淜vinden I buret鈥� as well as 鈥漈he Barry Award鈥� in the US for 鈥淜vinen I buret鈥� that was elected 鈥滲est Novel of the Year鈥�.
His first novel 鈥淎lfabethuset鈥� and the first four books of the Department Q series have been sold for film adaptation. 鈥淜vinden I buret鈥� premiered in 2013 and 鈥淔asandr忙berne鈥� opens in Denmark October 2014.
He made his debut with the thriller 鈥淎lfabethuset鈥� (1997), which reached bestseller status both in Denmark and internationally just like his subsequent novels 鈥淎nd She Thanked the Gods鈥� (prev. 鈥淭he Company Basher鈥�) (2003) and 鈥淭he Washington Decree鈥� (2006). The first book on Department Q is 鈥淜vinden I buret鈥� (2007) and the second 鈥淔asandr忙berne鈥� (2008). The main detective is Deputy Superintendent Carl Morck from the Department Q and he is also the star of the third volume, 鈥淔laskepost fra P鈥� which was released in the fall of 2009 and secured Adler-Olsen 鈥漅eaders' Book Award鈥� from Berlingske Tidende-readers, the Harald Mogensen Prize as well as the Scandinavian Crime Society's most prestigious price 鈥滸lass Key鈥�. The fourth volume in the Department Q series, 鈥淛ournal 64鈥� was published in 2010 and he was awarded the once-in-a-lifetime-prize of 鈥淭he Golden Laurels鈥� for this in 2011鈥�. In December 2012 the fifth novel was published, 鈥淢arco Effekten".
Furthermore, Jussi Adler-Olsen was awarded 鈥淔avourite Author of the Danes鈥� in 2011, 2012 and 2013 leading the organization behind to change the set-up, so the winner cannot be chosen more than once in a three year period.
Jussi Adler-Olsen's novels have had such an impact abroad, that he has also received a variety of awards there: 鈥漈he Sealed Room Award鈥� in Japan for 鈥淜vinden I buret鈥�; 鈥滲est Translated Mystery Novel of the Year鈥�,鈥漈he Crime - Blitz Award 2011鈥� in Germany for 鈥淔laskepost til P鈥� given to the best international crime, Elle magazine's French reader award: 鈥漃rix de Lectrices the Elle鈥� for 鈥淜vinden I buret鈥� as well as 鈥漈he Barry Award鈥� in the US for 鈥淜vinen I buret鈥� that was elected 鈥滲est Novel of the Year鈥�.
His first novel 鈥淎lfabethuset鈥� and the first four books of the Department Q series have been sold for film adaptation. 鈥淜vinden I buret鈥� premiered in 2013 and 鈥淔asandr忙berne鈥� opens in Denmark October 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,231 reviews
November 27, 2020
(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: A clever enough crime, though a book of this length needs livelier, less trivial subplots to tent-pole its saggy middle.
Notes: A clever enough crime, though a book of this length needs livelier, less trivial subplots to tent-pole its saggy middle.
July 7, 2018
I read this on kindle and had no idea it was 500 pages long until I saw the stats when I came to write the review. I can assure you those 500 pages flew by so fast and I enjoyed every moment of them.
This is proving to be such a good series. I like that Carl, the main character, has low points like all fictional detectives, but he also has highs like normal people. He works hard at solving his cases despite the erratic assistance of Assad and Rose. So there is good, solid police work and there is humour in the relationships between the characters which keeps things light.
There is also a lot of tension especially towards the end when events build up to a great climax. This author always manages to leave the reader on a high with a really successful and exciting conclusion. Love it and am looking forward to book 4.
This is proving to be such a good series. I like that Carl, the main character, has low points like all fictional detectives, but he also has highs like normal people. He works hard at solving his cases despite the erratic assistance of Assad and Rose. So there is good, solid police work and there is humour in the relationships between the characters which keeps things light.
There is also a lot of tension especially towards the end when events build up to a great climax. This author always manages to leave the reader on a high with a really successful and exciting conclusion. Love it and am looking forward to book 4.
May 31, 2014
This is a terrific mystery series. Well worth the time. The police character studies are what make the books. The day-to-day work life of Carl, Asaad, and Rose are hysterical!
The first of the series is still my favorite.
The first of the series is still my favorite.
November 3, 2018
Man muss dem Buch bzw. meiner Bergwertungen dieses Buches verzeihen, dass es ein Krimi ist und das einfach nicht so sehr mein Genre ist. Dieses Buch befindet sich definitiv au脽erhalb meiner Lese-Komfort-Zone und dennoch konnte es mich absolut begeistern, aber daher r眉hrt der eine Stern Abzug.
Ich mochte damals schon die ersten beiden B盲nde und mir stand der Sinn nach etwas mit Thrill. Also hab ich mich ohne den Klappentext zu lesen in die Geschichte gest眉rzt, was ich nicht bereue. Unsere Protagonisten sind mir nach wie vor sympathisch gewesen und besitzen auch genug Tiefgang. Der Fall um den es in diesem Buch ging war auch spannend. Adler-Olsens Schreibstil 眉berzeugt mich auch hier wieder, denn obwohl man als Leser durch die verschiedenen POVs wei脽 wer der T盲ter ist, wird es dadurch nicht minder spannend! Ein Pluspunkt f眉r mich ist auch, dass auf den "Ekelfaktor" verzichtet wird. Klar werden auch mal krassere Sachen beschrieben, aber man nimmt das m.E. nie als Stilmittel oder Effekthascherei wahr.
Ich mochte damals schon die ersten beiden B盲nde und mir stand der Sinn nach etwas mit Thrill. Also hab ich mich ohne den Klappentext zu lesen in die Geschichte gest眉rzt, was ich nicht bereue. Unsere Protagonisten sind mir nach wie vor sympathisch gewesen und besitzen auch genug Tiefgang. Der Fall um den es in diesem Buch ging war auch spannend. Adler-Olsens Schreibstil 眉berzeugt mich auch hier wieder, denn obwohl man als Leser durch die verschiedenen POVs wei脽 wer der T盲ter ist, wird es dadurch nicht minder spannend! Ein Pluspunkt f眉r mich ist auch, dass auf den "Ekelfaktor" verzichtet wird. Klar werden auch mal krassere Sachen beschrieben, aber man nimmt das m.E. nie als Stilmittel oder Effekthascherei wahr.
July 16, 2013
Book Review:
Ok, if you're looking for the 4th in this series...you'll have to wait until end December of this year. And, if you're totally confused as to the actual title of the 4th: look for The Purity of Vengeance. And, if you're looking for a terrible site, go to Penguin.com, where a search for their own author turns up...nothing.
The 3rd in the Department Q series does not disappoint. In fact, each installment in this series gets better and better and I've upped the star rating for this one as a result.
Before I go on, GR has some anomalies with the image of this book. Selecting the English title gives you an English cover, which then shows up in my-books with a Danish cover. Ah well, so be it...
My friend, Jeffrey and I have had a few discussions about what images to include in a review, whether or not this can take away from a novel by supplanting the reader's imagination with a picture placed in a review (for example: a reader might have an image of what Walt Longmire looks like, carefully crafted from the reader's imagination, but when a reviewer posts a picture of the actor from the A&E series, suddenly that image supplants the image we might have carried throughout the series). Same goes for googling for images of what the reviewer thought a setting looked like and posting it in the review. This is not to say images ought not to be included, but caution should be taken, if not respect for the reader's own imagination when doing so.
What was the result of this dialogue? Well, Jeffrey still populates his reviews with images, and they're still some of the best reviews out there! But it was a fun dialogue...:-) And I know that as he writes reviews, way in the back of his mind, he remembers our dialogue and approaches images with a tiny bit more caution. Right Jeffrey? Haha
Why do I mention this? In the genre which I read, it is all about the story, the mystery (not just who-did-it?...but also the why-do-it? (the latter being focal to the Nordic thrillers of which this book is an example). The particular genre here is Nordic Noir...or perhaps you might refer to it as Scandinavian Noir.
So I had a question: Does the enjoyment of reading a novel in this genre increase if initial research into the genre (Nordic Noir), the setting, and/or author takes place prior to the actual reading of it? And is this more relevant to American readers who may not be aware of the underpinnings of what foreign mystery writers choose as their crime and subject?
Remaining relatively ignorant on this subject through my readings of Nesbo, the earlier installments of Adler-Olson, Larsson, etc. I decided to do a little digging . That led me all over the Bing and Google landscape the crumbs of which I'm too lazy to repeat here.
But, the answer is yes: doing so informs the reader and gives greater delight when that knowledge is acknowledged by the author through snippets of writing. For example: why is Nazism relevant to the plot structure found in Scandinavian Noir, even now in the 21st century? How did Denmark, and Sweden (known as neutral, peaceful countries during times of war) lose their innocence? How did a murder (to this day unresolved) cause Sweden to lose that innocence?
Why do most such books snub their noses at bureaucracies and governmental edicts? Why is birth, motherhood, and abortion viewed differently between say Sweden and Iceland?
He removed the child from his wife's gaze and left her sitting alone with the slats of pale light the Venetian blinds laid across her face. Without the child, she would be going nowhere. He knew that.
What is the relationship of religion to the highly secular society found in Scandinavia? What is the relationship between God and the State? How do religion and government differ in their views towards population control?
Their voices would overflow with the gift of tongues, they would pray for all the unborn children, embrace each other warmly, and recall the sensuality with which the Mother of God had abandoned herself to the Lord...
And how do these notions relate to crimes being committed in Nordic fiction? What emotions guide the Nordic writer? Guilt? Anger? Depression? Knowing a bit more about such things from a Scandinavian perspective, to be sure, increases the pleasure at reading one of these novels. At least, for me it does.
As to A Conspiracy of Faith. Here Adler-Olson explores religion in a secular society. The character of Carl M脴rck really takes hold of the reader's imagination: a somber man, undeniably lazy, acerbic and funny at the same time, coming suddenly alive when his interest is captured (which admittedly, is not often).
In one scene, Carl is engaged in battle with an alpha fly which has been buzzing around his office for quite some time disrupting Carl's naps. (flies are a frequent occurrence with Carl. Why did the author choose this mechanism to reveal Carl's character?). But never mind that. After an unsuccessful kill attempt with a bottle of White-Out...
He looked up and again caught a glimpse of his alpha fly, spotted with correction fluid. The bloody thing was everywhere.
Carl finally corners the thing in a small office where a deft snap of his secretary's finger finds Carl's nemesis launched into a cup of coffee:
[...]he watched the fly doing the backstroke in caffeine purgatory...
Who said Nordic writers do not have a sense of humor! (It was probably me). Ha ha. This book is full of them, despite the macabre crimes that lead the reader by the nose to the finale.
Assad, Rose and Yrsa (a new comer) form the trinity that surround Carl. And still, as with previous books, his colleagues remain shrouded in mystery. Who is Assad, really? Where does he live? Who was the middle eastern man with whom he was skyping? And what about Rose? Who is she, really? You're in for a bit of a shock on that one! The plot is superb, point of view expertly handled as we move into the minds of the various players in this excellent novel.
Enjoy!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Series Review:
was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1950. Known for his 3 stand-alones (The alphabet House, The Company Basher, and Washington Decree and the famous novels his popularity in Denmark has finally migrated over to the U.S.
All Department Q novels are set in Denmark and reveal the writings of an author intensely interested in criticizing politics while simultaenously being agnostic to parties in general. Not that this is any great revelation as for the most part politics is the mainstay of most European dinner table conversations. On this topic of politics, the author says:
"If you with that ask me whether I'm critical of the political system, then yes. If you ask me whether I have a tendency to defend party-political opinions, then no. My agenda political wise is firstly to criticize regardless of what is to criticize, and no matter what the basis of view is, and secondly to appeal to the politicians in power that they should understand that they are our servants and not our masters, and that they first and foremost on their fields of activity should learn to acknowledge mistakes and to evaluate their own actions."
Through his protagonist Carl M脴rck, a lone detective absconded to the basement of police headquarters, heading a cold case department of one, and for all the world a detective ostracized for his unsociable and arrogant manner we bump head-on into the political machinations of Denmark's finest if not the corruption of a government beyond. Not that corruption threatens to take over the story. The author is careful about that:
It's all about having and keeping empathy. If you have this ability in your writings, it will never be the corruption in itself that is the story's starting point, but the people and the relations that the corruption affects. It is as simple as that! If you want to be a writer, you have to learn to turn everything upside down.
Born a son to a father with a psychiatric degree and living on the premises of such mental institutions a portion of his life, Jussi Adler-Olsen has developed a keen insight into a human's boundlessness, self-centeredness if not the degree to which human beings can succumb to a lack of affection.
If it wasn't for these issues, there wouldn't be any thriller novels in the world. And the consequences of these character flaws give me a lot to work with. Revenge, strive for justice, and insanity.
As with most Nordic thrillers (Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell, Larson, etc), there's a certain ennui that pervades the populace. Perhaps that is due to the unique form of Scandinavian democracy that today seems to be under siege by more globalistic tendencies, a slight leaning to the right that highly values the individual instead of the public society so prominent in Scandinavian countries. As with these other thriller writers, we view a somber if not morose society...practical, but not affluent in that affection mentioned by the author.
We have had a very negative and sad period, but the right to criticize and reject bad ideas in their unblemished form still holds. And there is no other place on earth, in my opinion, that uses this right as frequently and thoughtfully, which I'm proud of.
But what is it about novels that is captivating readers across the globe? I can only speak for myself.
As always, translations must be kept in mind and my hat's off to those who attempt to translate a foreign language into English. It is an art in and of itself. Especially when one considers that it is possible to have thoughts in one language that are not possible in another. Being bilingual myself, I still wrestle with certain idioms not available to me when communicating in English. In this sense, Lisa Hartford does an excellent job in her translation from Danish to English. Indeed, in terms of immediate and enduring attention grabbing, Adler-Olsen is in the Chandler class.
As with most European and Scandinavian mystery/crime novels, the causation behind the crime is usually a simple event rationalized by an unhealthy mind. I love this about Nordic thrillers...how we are brought to fully understand motivation as part of the unravelling of a mystery. You could say that this is exactly what is wrong with Hollywood where everything is sensationalized, instead of sprung forth out of ordinary life.
Junior Detective Superintendent Carl M脴rck has a brilliant mind and as is usually the case, brilliance inspires envy, and envy destroys achievements. The way Jussi Adler-Olsen portrays this within the Danish police force cannot be dismissed. Ever critical, he has created a character both perfectly ordinary as well as constantly critical of everything set before him. There is a quiet humor behind the man who has no qualms about doing nothing but placing his feet on his desk and complain that he is too busy...until of course he becomes interested at which point he becomes a Danish bloodhound.
The plots are exquisite, driven not by the unveiling of a carefully kept ending held close to the chest by the author (I've read reviews where some partially dismiss this author for guessing the who-dun-it half way through) but rather by the unveiling of the true motivation behind the crime which gives the reader an entirely different satisfaction. Cold cases are tough and most of them are not solved. But, as Adler-Olson says:
It's all about having and keeping empathy.
This review will be the same for all Department Q novels...so if you've read this one, you've read 'em all. Updates will be included in subsequent novels in this series, if warranted.
Enjoy!
Ok, if you're looking for the 4th in this series...you'll have to wait until end December of this year. And, if you're totally confused as to the actual title of the 4th: look for The Purity of Vengeance. And, if you're looking for a terrible site, go to Penguin.com, where a search for their own author turns up...nothing.
The 3rd in the Department Q series does not disappoint. In fact, each installment in this series gets better and better and I've upped the star rating for this one as a result.
Before I go on, GR has some anomalies with the image of this book. Selecting the English title gives you an English cover, which then shows up in my-books with a Danish cover. Ah well, so be it...
My friend, Jeffrey and I have had a few discussions about what images to include in a review, whether or not this can take away from a novel by supplanting the reader's imagination with a picture placed in a review (for example: a reader might have an image of what Walt Longmire looks like, carefully crafted from the reader's imagination, but when a reviewer posts a picture of the actor from the A&E series, suddenly that image supplants the image we might have carried throughout the series). Same goes for googling for images of what the reviewer thought a setting looked like and posting it in the review. This is not to say images ought not to be included, but caution should be taken, if not respect for the reader's own imagination when doing so.
What was the result of this dialogue? Well, Jeffrey still populates his reviews with images, and they're still some of the best reviews out there! But it was a fun dialogue...:-) And I know that as he writes reviews, way in the back of his mind, he remembers our dialogue and approaches images with a tiny bit more caution. Right Jeffrey? Haha
Why do I mention this? In the genre which I read, it is all about the story, the mystery (not just who-did-it?...but also the why-do-it? (the latter being focal to the Nordic thrillers of which this book is an example). The particular genre here is Nordic Noir...or perhaps you might refer to it as Scandinavian Noir.
So I had a question: Does the enjoyment of reading a novel in this genre increase if initial research into the genre (Nordic Noir), the setting, and/or author takes place prior to the actual reading of it? And is this more relevant to American readers who may not be aware of the underpinnings of what foreign mystery writers choose as their crime and subject?
Remaining relatively ignorant on this subject through my readings of Nesbo, the earlier installments of Adler-Olson, Larsson, etc. I decided to do a little digging . That led me all over the Bing and Google landscape the crumbs of which I'm too lazy to repeat here.
But, the answer is yes: doing so informs the reader and gives greater delight when that knowledge is acknowledged by the author through snippets of writing. For example: why is Nazism relevant to the plot structure found in Scandinavian Noir, even now in the 21st century? How did Denmark, and Sweden (known as neutral, peaceful countries during times of war) lose their innocence? How did a murder (to this day unresolved) cause Sweden to lose that innocence?
Why do most such books snub their noses at bureaucracies and governmental edicts? Why is birth, motherhood, and abortion viewed differently between say Sweden and Iceland?
He removed the child from his wife's gaze and left her sitting alone with the slats of pale light the Venetian blinds laid across her face. Without the child, she would be going nowhere. He knew that.
What is the relationship of religion to the highly secular society found in Scandinavia? What is the relationship between God and the State? How do religion and government differ in their views towards population control?
Their voices would overflow with the gift of tongues, they would pray for all the unborn children, embrace each other warmly, and recall the sensuality with which the Mother of God had abandoned herself to the Lord...
And how do these notions relate to crimes being committed in Nordic fiction? What emotions guide the Nordic writer? Guilt? Anger? Depression? Knowing a bit more about such things from a Scandinavian perspective, to be sure, increases the pleasure at reading one of these novels. At least, for me it does.
As to A Conspiracy of Faith. Here Adler-Olson explores religion in a secular society. The character of Carl M脴rck really takes hold of the reader's imagination: a somber man, undeniably lazy, acerbic and funny at the same time, coming suddenly alive when his interest is captured (which admittedly, is not often).
In one scene, Carl is engaged in battle with an alpha fly which has been buzzing around his office for quite some time disrupting Carl's naps. (flies are a frequent occurrence with Carl. Why did the author choose this mechanism to reveal Carl's character?). But never mind that. After an unsuccessful kill attempt with a bottle of White-Out...
He looked up and again caught a glimpse of his alpha fly, spotted with correction fluid. The bloody thing was everywhere.
Carl finally corners the thing in a small office where a deft snap of his secretary's finger finds Carl's nemesis launched into a cup of coffee:
[...]he watched the fly doing the backstroke in caffeine purgatory...
Who said Nordic writers do not have a sense of humor! (It was probably me). Ha ha. This book is full of them, despite the macabre crimes that lead the reader by the nose to the finale.
Assad, Rose and Yrsa (a new comer) form the trinity that surround Carl. And still, as with previous books, his colleagues remain shrouded in mystery. Who is Assad, really? Where does he live? Who was the middle eastern man with whom he was skyping? And what about Rose? Who is she, really? You're in for a bit of a shock on that one! The plot is superb, point of view expertly handled as we move into the minds of the various players in this excellent novel.
Enjoy!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Series Review:
was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1950. Known for his 3 stand-alones (The alphabet House, The Company Basher, and Washington Decree and the famous novels his popularity in Denmark has finally migrated over to the U.S.
All Department Q novels are set in Denmark and reveal the writings of an author intensely interested in criticizing politics while simultaenously being agnostic to parties in general. Not that this is any great revelation as for the most part politics is the mainstay of most European dinner table conversations. On this topic of politics, the author says:
"If you with that ask me whether I'm critical of the political system, then yes. If you ask me whether I have a tendency to defend party-political opinions, then no. My agenda political wise is firstly to criticize regardless of what is to criticize, and no matter what the basis of view is, and secondly to appeal to the politicians in power that they should understand that they are our servants and not our masters, and that they first and foremost on their fields of activity should learn to acknowledge mistakes and to evaluate their own actions."
Through his protagonist Carl M脴rck, a lone detective absconded to the basement of police headquarters, heading a cold case department of one, and for all the world a detective ostracized for his unsociable and arrogant manner we bump head-on into the political machinations of Denmark's finest if not the corruption of a government beyond. Not that corruption threatens to take over the story. The author is careful about that:
It's all about having and keeping empathy. If you have this ability in your writings, it will never be the corruption in itself that is the story's starting point, but the people and the relations that the corruption affects. It is as simple as that! If you want to be a writer, you have to learn to turn everything upside down.
Born a son to a father with a psychiatric degree and living on the premises of such mental institutions a portion of his life, Jussi Adler-Olsen has developed a keen insight into a human's boundlessness, self-centeredness if not the degree to which human beings can succumb to a lack of affection.
If it wasn't for these issues, there wouldn't be any thriller novels in the world. And the consequences of these character flaws give me a lot to work with. Revenge, strive for justice, and insanity.
As with most Nordic thrillers (Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell, Larson, etc), there's a certain ennui that pervades the populace. Perhaps that is due to the unique form of Scandinavian democracy that today seems to be under siege by more globalistic tendencies, a slight leaning to the right that highly values the individual instead of the public society so prominent in Scandinavian countries. As with these other thriller writers, we view a somber if not morose society...practical, but not affluent in that affection mentioned by the author.
We have had a very negative and sad period, but the right to criticize and reject bad ideas in their unblemished form still holds. And there is no other place on earth, in my opinion, that uses this right as frequently and thoughtfully, which I'm proud of.
But what is it about novels that is captivating readers across the globe? I can only speak for myself.
As always, translations must be kept in mind and my hat's off to those who attempt to translate a foreign language into English. It is an art in and of itself. Especially when one considers that it is possible to have thoughts in one language that are not possible in another. Being bilingual myself, I still wrestle with certain idioms not available to me when communicating in English. In this sense, Lisa Hartford does an excellent job in her translation from Danish to English. Indeed, in terms of immediate and enduring attention grabbing, Adler-Olsen is in the Chandler class.
As with most European and Scandinavian mystery/crime novels, the causation behind the crime is usually a simple event rationalized by an unhealthy mind. I love this about Nordic thrillers...how we are brought to fully understand motivation as part of the unravelling of a mystery. You could say that this is exactly what is wrong with Hollywood where everything is sensationalized, instead of sprung forth out of ordinary life.
Junior Detective Superintendent Carl M脴rck has a brilliant mind and as is usually the case, brilliance inspires envy, and envy destroys achievements. The way Jussi Adler-Olsen portrays this within the Danish police force cannot be dismissed. Ever critical, he has created a character both perfectly ordinary as well as constantly critical of everything set before him. There is a quiet humor behind the man who has no qualms about doing nothing but placing his feet on his desk and complain that he is too busy...until of course he becomes interested at which point he becomes a Danish bloodhound.
The plots are exquisite, driven not by the unveiling of a carefully kept ending held close to the chest by the author (I've read reviews where some partially dismiss this author for guessing the who-dun-it half way through) but rather by the unveiling of the true motivation behind the crime which gives the reader an entirely different satisfaction. Cold cases are tough and most of them are not solved. But, as Adler-Olson says:
It's all about having and keeping empathy.
This review will be the same for all Department Q novels...so if you've read this one, you've read 'em all. Updates will be included in subsequent novels in this series, if warranted.
Enjoy!
January 24, 2021
Mais um Petisco
Enquanto o complexo emaranhado da trama vai sendo constru铆do, convivemos com o trio exc锚ntrico que constitui o Departamento Q, o que, diga-se de passagem, 茅 de facto um prazer 馃槉馃憤
O humor corrosivo do l铆der do grupo confere alguma ligeireza a uma narrativa que doutra forma seria deveras pesada.
O Departamento Q foi especialmente criado para resolver aqueles casos bicudos que engendraram mais perguntas que respostas e logo arquivados como insol煤veis.
O caso particular come莽a com uma mensagem rabiscada com sangue e introduzida numa garrafa 鈥� um pedido de socorro enviado por mar, almejando algum anjo mais atento. E de facto assim foi 鈥� o anjo em quest茫o, que n茫o tinha asas mas vinha munido duma rede, pescou a dita garrafa, entregando-a pouco depois, a um pol铆cia seu conhecido. O objecto em quest茫o parecia amaldi莽oado, pois pescador e pol铆cia, morreram alguns anos depois em circunst芒ncias consideradas tr谩gicas.
Amaldi莽oada ou n茫o, eis que a misteriosa garrafa, chega finalmente a bom porto 鈥� o afamado Departamento Q, que foi assim ponto de chegada e, simultaneamente, ponto de partida desta intrincada hist贸ria...
Despe莽o-me, crente que os f茫s desta s茅rie ter茫o mais um Petisco para degustar 馃槈馃憤
Enquanto o complexo emaranhado da trama vai sendo constru铆do, convivemos com o trio exc锚ntrico que constitui o Departamento Q, o que, diga-se de passagem, 茅 de facto um prazer 馃槉馃憤
O humor corrosivo do l铆der do grupo confere alguma ligeireza a uma narrativa que doutra forma seria deveras pesada.
O Departamento Q foi especialmente criado para resolver aqueles casos bicudos que engendraram mais perguntas que respostas e logo arquivados como insol煤veis.
O caso particular come莽a com uma mensagem rabiscada com sangue e introduzida numa garrafa 鈥� um pedido de socorro enviado por mar, almejando algum anjo mais atento. E de facto assim foi 鈥� o anjo em quest茫o, que n茫o tinha asas mas vinha munido duma rede, pescou a dita garrafa, entregando-a pouco depois, a um pol铆cia seu conhecido. O objecto em quest茫o parecia amaldi莽oado, pois pescador e pol铆cia, morreram alguns anos depois em circunst芒ncias consideradas tr谩gicas.
Amaldi莽oada ou n茫o, eis que a misteriosa garrafa, chega finalmente a bom porto 鈥� o afamado Departamento Q, que foi assim ponto de chegada e, simultaneamente, ponto de partida desta intrincada hist贸ria...
Despe莽o-me, crente que os f茫s desta s茅rie ter茫o mais um Petisco para degustar 馃槈馃憤
September 17, 2013
This felt like hard work...Maybe I'm missing something...
The book is over 600 pages long. I don't mind long books, however...The actual crime part is probably half of that. The rest seems to be utter nonsense about the various individuals employed by the police and those involved in Carl's life. These digressions into his personal life seem to have no point and certainly little or no relevance to the story overall...
I don't know if the Danish are racist as a nation, however this author certainly portrays them as such.
I really liked the first book by this author, but have been slightly underwhelmed by the second two stories in this series.
The book is over 600 pages long. I don't mind long books, however...The actual crime part is probably half of that. The rest seems to be utter nonsense about the various individuals employed by the police and those involved in Carl's life. These digressions into his personal life seem to have no point and certainly little or no relevance to the story overall...
I don't know if the Danish are racist as a nation, however this author certainly portrays them as such.
I really liked the first book by this author, but have been slightly underwhelmed by the second two stories in this series.
November 21, 2017
3-1/2 stars rounded up to 4.
Another solid entry in a series whose recurring characters are just as interesting and unusual as the storylines.
This book had one of the most diabolical and clever villains that I've ever come across in a realistic setting. Meaning, the crimes he committed are things that could actually happen. This wasn't a superhuman that did fantastical things...which made him all the more chilling because of what he was capable of and how he carried out his atrocities. Cold, calculating, and clever for sure.
The only reason I knocked a half star off of my rating is that this was yet another book that suffered from being about 100 pages too long. There were several passages I felt should have been tighter or eliminated, as it caused my attention to waiver. The book lost some suspense because of this.
However, I still definitely recommend this series. I found each book I've read so far just a little difficult to get into initially, but I was soon drawn into the story and engrossed in the unfolding events. Well worth the read.
Another solid entry in a series whose recurring characters are just as interesting and unusual as the storylines.
This book had one of the most diabolical and clever villains that I've ever come across in a realistic setting. Meaning, the crimes he committed are things that could actually happen. This wasn't a superhuman that did fantastical things...which made him all the more chilling because of what he was capable of and how he carried out his atrocities. Cold, calculating, and clever for sure.
The only reason I knocked a half star off of my rating is that this was yet another book that suffered from being about 100 pages too long. There were several passages I felt should have been tighter or eliminated, as it caused my attention to waiver. The book lost some suspense because of this.
However, I still definitely recommend this series. I found each book I've read so far just a little difficult to get into initially, but I was soon drawn into the story and engrossed in the unfolding events. Well worth the read.
October 17, 2024
Lectura anterior en Mayo del 2022. Rele铆do en Octubre del 2024.
Creo que ya lo coment茅. Este y el primero son mis favoritos de una saga que tengo en mi corazon铆n.
Una tensi贸n tremenda. Una traca final de infarto que no da respiro. El chaval铆n con la botella que no se expresaba bien, las reacciones de los familiares cuando lo leen, que te ponen un nudo en la garganta sin necesidad de insistir en ello.
Un malo muy muy bueno, que no se vuelve loco de repente o hace cosas raras al final. Los mejores malos son los serenos y fr铆os, mucho mejores que los furibundos y locos. Y si son listos, mejor. Me ha parecido un malo excelente... con razonamientos inteligentes para salir de las situaciones, m谩s listo que el hambre y fr铆o como 茅l s贸lo.
Un caso angustios铆simo que crec铆a en implicaciones a cada minuto.
Esta es una saga diferente dentro del negro n贸rdico. Menos siniestra y triste de lo habitual en dicho g茅nero. Con un sentido humor del humor casi ingl茅s, que viene s贸lo en los pensamientos de Carl, pero que tienen una retranca tremenda. Con unos personajes 煤nicos enormemente peculiares. Una saga original.
Cinco estrellas merecid铆simas. As铆 da gusto leer馃グ. La mano que mece la cuna (Departamento Q)
Creo que ya lo coment茅. Este y el primero son mis favoritos de una saga que tengo en mi corazon铆n.
Una tensi贸n tremenda. Una traca final de infarto que no da respiro. El chaval铆n con la botella que no se expresaba bien, las reacciones de los familiares cuando lo leen, que te ponen un nudo en la garganta sin necesidad de insistir en ello.
Un malo muy muy bueno, que no se vuelve loco de repente o hace cosas raras al final. Los mejores malos son los serenos y fr铆os, mucho mejores que los furibundos y locos. Y si son listos, mejor. Me ha parecido un malo excelente... con razonamientos inteligentes para salir de las situaciones, m谩s listo que el hambre y fr铆o como 茅l s贸lo.
Un caso angustios铆simo que crec铆a en implicaciones a cada minuto.
Esta es una saga diferente dentro del negro n贸rdico. Menos siniestra y triste de lo habitual en dicho g茅nero. Con un sentido humor del humor casi ingl茅s, que viene s贸lo en los pensamientos de Carl, pero que tienen una retranca tremenda. Con unos personajes 煤nicos enormemente peculiares. Una saga original.
Cinco estrellas merecid铆simas. As铆 da gusto leer馃グ. La mano que mece la cuna (Departamento Q)
June 21, 2017
Wonderful mystery.
Carl Morck of Department Q, is once again given a cold case to research, and this one is tantalizing from the start. Based on a note in a bottle found in the waters off Scotland, then traced to events in Denmark, it's a chilling story of a serial killer-kidnapper who targets the families belonging to reclusive religious sects. He kidnaps two children, demands a ransom, then kills one of the children to maintain the silence of the family. Fantastic premise, the story is high-tension throughout, and tempered only by the fact that Carl's two assistants - the weird Rose (and her sister Yrsa who replaces Rose briefly,) and Assad the Syrian - allow for some comic breathing space. (Though both will earn their badges for bravery in this book.)
The characters in this series are so well-written, so devoid of the usual stereotypes, that reading Adler-Olsen is a true delight. And other than the fact that I was on edge the whole time reading it, and needed breaks myself, (as I don't usually like criminal stories with 'children in peril,') this was a great read.
Looking forward to the next by Adler-Olsen.
Carl Morck of Department Q, is once again given a cold case to research, and this one is tantalizing from the start. Based on a note in a bottle found in the waters off Scotland, then traced to events in Denmark, it's a chilling story of a serial killer-kidnapper who targets the families belonging to reclusive religious sects. He kidnaps two children, demands a ransom, then kills one of the children to maintain the silence of the family. Fantastic premise, the story is high-tension throughout, and tempered only by the fact that Carl's two assistants - the weird Rose (and her sister Yrsa who replaces Rose briefly,) and Assad the Syrian - allow for some comic breathing space. (Though both will earn their badges for bravery in this book.)
The characters in this series are so well-written, so devoid of the usual stereotypes, that reading Adler-Olsen is a true delight. And other than the fact that I was on edge the whole time reading it, and needed breaks myself, (as I don't usually like criminal stories with 'children in peril,') this was a great read.
Looking forward to the next by Adler-Olsen.
October 15, 2023
Adler-Olsen comes through with a police-procedural thriller even better than his first, if that's possible. Here, the title derives from the bad guy, who hates organized religion with a religious passion. He finds a way to profit, kidnapping and murdering children of wealthy families living in devout, isolated communities. The victims' families don't report the crimes and the killer makes a career of serial kidnap, ransom, and murder. Until a clue to a 13-year-old unreported crime crosses the desk in Department Q. Detective Carl Morck and his assistants Assad and Rose are on the case, with ever-increasing tension as the scope of the crimes is discovered, including a kidnapping in progress. A violent, fast-paced ending to a clever cerebral investigation.
November 14, 2020
4.5 stars rounded to 5 from me. This series just seems to get better and better.
Carl M酶rck is back with his mysterious and odd but very astute assistant Assad, as well as Rose who appears to enjoy pushing the boundaries of his sanity.
The small, dysfunctional but tenacious trio are presented with a message in a bottle that is quite illegible and hard to date. They soon come to understand that the message is a desperate cry for help and leads them to a series of despicable crimes targeting small religious sects.
The story is quite fast paced and there were moments where I was frustrated that the dots were not connecting fast enough.
I remain baffled that this series is not far more popular than it currently is as it is so well written, with the most wonderful characters and gripping story lines. Bring on book number 4!!!
This book has also been released under the title of .
Carl M酶rck is back with his mysterious and odd but very astute assistant Assad, as well as Rose who appears to enjoy pushing the boundaries of his sanity.
The small, dysfunctional but tenacious trio are presented with a message in a bottle that is quite illegible and hard to date. They soon come to understand that the message is a desperate cry for help and leads them to a series of despicable crimes targeting small religious sects.
The story is quite fast paced and there were moments where I was frustrated that the dots were not connecting fast enough.
I remain baffled that this series is not far more popular than it currently is as it is so well written, with the most wonderful characters and gripping story lines. Bring on book number 4!!!
This book has also been released under the title of .
May 16, 2020
I like this series better with each book as you get to know the characters more. Assad and Rose are a hoot. And what I really liked about this book is Jussi Adler-Olsen gives women POWER :)
January 9, 2025
3.5猸� Contin煤o avanzando poco a poco a trav茅s de esta serie ahora con el tercer libro, que ya desde la premisa llam贸 mucho mi atenci贸n porque lo del mensaje en la botella me pareci贸 un aciertazo, por el enigma que plantea y la curiosidad que me despierta.
En realidad, es un caso muy bien planteado, narrado y original que gira en torno a un culpable complejo e interesante, y hacia quien es f谩cil tener sentimientos encontrados. Lo malo es que dicho caso tarda demasiado en ser tomado en serio. Nuestro protagonista pasa casi la mitad del libro poniendo m谩s atenci贸n a sus asuntos personales y a casos que no son suyos, el resultado es que para cuando la investigaci贸n de verdad viene a aparecer ya tanto mi entusiasmo como mi inter茅s hab铆an mermado much铆simo.
La segunda mitad es bastante superior, retomando ese ritmo que tan bien se le da al autor y al que ya me ha acostumbrado, aunque quiz谩 para m铆 lleg贸 demasiado tarde.
En realidad, es un caso muy bien planteado, narrado y original que gira en torno a un culpable complejo e interesante, y hacia quien es f谩cil tener sentimientos encontrados. Lo malo es que dicho caso tarda demasiado en ser tomado en serio. Nuestro protagonista pasa casi la mitad del libro poniendo m谩s atenci贸n a sus asuntos personales y a casos que no son suyos, el resultado es que para cuando la investigaci贸n de verdad viene a aparecer ya tanto mi entusiasmo como mi inter茅s hab铆an mermado much铆simo.
La segunda mitad es bastante superior, retomando ese ritmo que tan bien se le da al autor y al que ya me ha acostumbrado, aunque quiz谩 para m铆 lleg贸 demasiado tarde.
January 12, 2015
I like Detective Carl M酶rck, despite a couple of his unlovable characteristics鈥攈e is quite a prejudiced guy, not really giving his assistants, Assad and Rose, much credit. He is also a gold-bricker, trying his very best to sleep through his final years in the cold case division before retirement. Despite his intentions, the case of this mysterious letter, written in blood and pleading for help, eventually galvanizes him into action and even into danger. It takes a lot of prodding on his assistants鈥� part to get M酶rck moving, but eventually he is taking the situation seriously and starts to expect more of them in return.
The translation of this work annoyed me somewhat, however鈥攖he translator used British idioms, some of which sounded silly in the conversation of a Danish investigator. There were an awful lot of people who 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 be arsed to do something.鈥� Not a common turn of phrase in North America, although easily understood. There were several mentions of 鈥渟troppy teenagers,鈥� which I鈥檓 guessing is a shortening of obstreperous. I found those things rather distracting, but decipherable. Those are the two that stick in my memory, although I remember having to decode another couple of expressions.
What I鈥檓 now wondering about is how much of the racism in the book (directed mostly toward Assad, the Syrian immigrant on police staff) is in the original and how much was influenced by the translator. Assad is referred to as a 鈥渃amel driver鈥� on one occasion, is shown getting into a fist fight with an Iranian officer [presumably about country-of-origin issues], and being less than truthful about where he lives. Much is made of how dark his skin and hair are and how much he stands out from the rest of the staff. I was relieved that by the book鈥檚 end, M酶rck is treating him much more like an equal, valuing his input and his back-up in the field. Assad is definitely willing to work and finds all kinds of connections to current cases, stirring up several investigations and being the brains behind the operation on several occasions. And he is certainly the muscle during stressful situations. M酶rck also comes to value Rose more highly and perhaps not to judge her by her appearance and gender.
Her work assignments also gain in importance as things progress and she gets treated more kindly.
In addition, there is a confusing situation in which M酶rck鈥檚 former common-law wife takes up with a man of Indian origin鈥攁lthough Carl wanted her to find someone else & move on, he still seems affronted that she has chosen an Indian man and once again, skin colour and turban are referenced in uncomplimentary ways.
I think my Canadian-ness may be showing through here, as we are quite used to have a multi-ethnic society and think nothing of encountering Asian, Arab, African, etc. people on an everyday basis. [I found that as a very-white Caucasian, I really stood out in some areas of China that I visited and people would be quite pushy about wanting to be photographed with our tour group because we were considered so unusual. Since I have cousins who have Chinese and Korean ancestry, it took me a while to figure out what the fuss was about].
Enough of the anthropological dissection of the novel, however, on to the rest of the book! The action is well-planned and engrossing, plus the villain is suitably deadly, cunning, and mysterious. The plot is sufficiently convoluted to keep the reader interested. The exploration of religions of various sorts in a secular society also adds to the mix. Excellent summer reading!
The translation of this work annoyed me somewhat, however鈥攖he translator used British idioms, some of which sounded silly in the conversation of a Danish investigator. There were an awful lot of people who 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 be arsed to do something.鈥� Not a common turn of phrase in North America, although easily understood. There were several mentions of 鈥渟troppy teenagers,鈥� which I鈥檓 guessing is a shortening of obstreperous. I found those things rather distracting, but decipherable. Those are the two that stick in my memory, although I remember having to decode another couple of expressions.
What I鈥檓 now wondering about is how much of the racism in the book (directed mostly toward Assad, the Syrian immigrant on police staff) is in the original and how much was influenced by the translator. Assad is referred to as a 鈥渃amel driver鈥� on one occasion, is shown getting into a fist fight with an Iranian officer [presumably about country-of-origin issues], and being less than truthful about where he lives. Much is made of how dark his skin and hair are and how much he stands out from the rest of the staff. I was relieved that by the book鈥檚 end, M酶rck is treating him much more like an equal, valuing his input and his back-up in the field. Assad is definitely willing to work and finds all kinds of connections to current cases, stirring up several investigations and being the brains behind the operation on several occasions. And he is certainly the muscle during stressful situations. M酶rck also comes to value Rose more highly and perhaps not to judge her by her appearance and gender.
Her work assignments also gain in importance as things progress and she gets treated more kindly.
In addition, there is a confusing situation in which M酶rck鈥檚 former common-law wife takes up with a man of Indian origin鈥攁lthough Carl wanted her to find someone else & move on, he still seems affronted that she has chosen an Indian man and once again, skin colour and turban are referenced in uncomplimentary ways.
I think my Canadian-ness may be showing through here, as we are quite used to have a multi-ethnic society and think nothing of encountering Asian, Arab, African, etc. people on an everyday basis. [I found that as a very-white Caucasian, I really stood out in some areas of China that I visited and people would be quite pushy about wanting to be photographed with our tour group because we were considered so unusual. Since I have cousins who have Chinese and Korean ancestry, it took me a while to figure out what the fuss was about].
Enough of the anthropological dissection of the novel, however, on to the rest of the book! The action is well-planned and engrossing, plus the villain is suitably deadly, cunning, and mysterious. The plot is sufficiently convoluted to keep the reader interested. The exploration of religions of various sorts in a secular society also adds to the mix. Excellent summer reading!
February 5, 2020
It's crime at its darkest - standard fare from most of the Scandinavian writers - and one I was going to give two stars to when I first started reading but only because of the nature of the crime. But, of course, as I got further into the book, I was hooked. Detective Carl Morck of Department Q works the old cases, the cold cases, the ones others have given up on, and this case is old. A bottle found by a fisherman who turned it into a policeman who sat it on a shelf for a number of years and then finally some one took a look at it, broke it open and discovered a message in it. Morck's sidekicks Rose and Assad are intrigued by the message from the beginning, Rose going out of her way to try to figure out what it says, and what they discover isn't pretty . . . a message written in blood. It's a gruesome book with a nasty killer but the police procedures and process of deductive reasoning make it a gripping read until the very end.
March 19, 2018
Retomada la serie del departamento Q, despu茅s de haber le铆do el primero hace tiempo. He disfrutado con las situacione. a veces incluso surrealistas) a las que se enfrenta el inspector debido, tanto a sus ayudantes, un tanto peculiares; como a su car谩cter irascible.
Todo lo anterior no quita que las tramas sean un tanto escabrosas.
Todo lo anterior no quita que las tramas sean un tanto escabrosas.
January 26, 2015
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2022
Engancha tanto el caso que investigan como las relaciones entre los protagonistas. Con toques de humor y cap铆tulos cortos, resulta muy entretenida.
June 7, 2024
Intriguojanti, 寞traukianti, gal vietomis kiek i拧tempta knyga. Buvo viet懦, su kuriomis nesutinku, bet tos pa膷ios sektos skirtingose 拧alyse gal ir skirtingai elgiasi馃し鈥嶁檧锔�
November 23, 2021
A Conspiracy of Faith (Department Q, #3) - Jussi Adler-Olsen
賷賯丿賾賲 賷賵爻賷 兀丿賱乇 兀賵賱爻賳 賱賱賯乇丕亍 乇賵丕賷丕鬲 噩乇賷賲丞 亘丨賱賾丞 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賵賲禺賷賮丞 賵賱丕 鬲爻賷乇 毓賱賶 匕丕鬲 丕賱賳爻賯貨 賳毓賲 賳丨賳 賳乇丕賮賯 賮乇賷賯 丕賱賯囟丕賷丕 丕賱賯丿賷賲丞 丕賱匕賷 毓賷賳 賲丐禺乇賸丕 亘賯賷丕丿丞 賰丕乇賱 賲賵乇賰 賵賲爻丕毓丿賷賴 睾乇賷亘賷 丕賱兀胤賵丕乇 賵賱賰賳 賱丕 卮賷亍 丌禺乇 賲鬲卮丕亘賴 乇亘賲丕 兀囟賷賮 丕賱賯爻賵丞 丕賱賱丕賲丨丿賵丿丞 .
賮賷 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賵丕賱鬲賷 賰丕賳鬲 乇賵丕賷丞 噩乇賷賲丞 賲毓鬲丕丿丞貙 乇丕賮賯賳丕 丕賱囟丨賷丞 胤賵丕賱 丕賱賵賯鬲 噩賳亘賸丕 廿賱賶 噩賳亘 賲毓 爻賷乇 丕賱鬲丨賯賷賯 賮賷 丕禺鬲賮丕卅賴丕 .
賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱孬丕賳賷丞 賰丕賳鬲 兀賯乇亘 賱賯氐丞 丕賳鬲賯丕賲 兀賰孬乇 賲賳賴丕 乇賵丕賷丞 丨賱 噩乇賷賲丞貨 賳毓賲 賳丨賳 賳毓乇賮 兀賰孬乇 賲丕 噩乇賶 賱賰賳 賴賱 噩乇賶 賴賰匕丕 鬲丨丿賷丿賸丕 賵賲丕匕丕 賷噩乇賷 丕賱丌賳責
賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱孬丕賱孬丞 賴賳丕: 賳乇丕賮賯 丕賱賲噩乇賲 胤賵丕賱 丕賱賵賯鬲貨 丨賷丕鬲賴 賵匕賰乇賷丕鬲賴 賵兀賮毓丕賱賴 丕賱卮乇賷乇丞. 賵賱賰賳 賱丕 賳毓乇賮 賴賵賷鬲賴 賮賷 丨賷賳 鬲亘丿兀 丕賱鬲丨賯賷賯丕鬲 賮賷 賲賰鬲亘 賮乇賷賯 丕賱賯囟丕賷丕 丕賱亘丕乇丿丞 亘毓丿 賵氐賵賱 乇爻丕賱丞 賲乇賵毓丞 鬲丨賲賱 丕爻鬲睾丕孬丞 賲賳 胤賮賱賷賳 賲禺胤賵賮賷賳.
賴匕賴 乇賵丕賷丞 噩乇丕卅賲 賲乇賵毓丞 賷乇鬲賰亘賴丕 卮禺氐 賲毓胤賵亘 亘爻亘亘 丕爻鬲禺丿丕賲 丕賱毓賳賮 賮賷 鬲乇亘賷丞 丕賱胤賮賱 賲氐丨賵亘丞 亘丕賱鬲卮丿丿 丕賱丿賷賳賷. 乇賵丕賷丞 丨夭賷賳丞 賵賲丐賱賲丞 賵乇丨賱丞 鬲丨賯賷賯 賲賱賷卅丞 亘丕賱賲賳毓胤賮丕鬲 賵丕賱賲賮丕噩丌鬲 丕賱鬲賷 鬲禺胤賮 丕賱兀賳賮丕爻.
賷賯丿賾賲 賷賵爻賷 兀丿賱乇 兀賵賱爻賳 賱賱賯乇丕亍 乇賵丕賷丕鬲 噩乇賷賲丞 亘丨賱賾丞 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賵賲禺賷賮丞 賵賱丕 鬲爻賷乇 毓賱賶 匕丕鬲 丕賱賳爻賯貨 賳毓賲 賳丨賳 賳乇丕賮賯 賮乇賷賯 丕賱賯囟丕賷丕 丕賱賯丿賷賲丞 丕賱匕賷 毓賷賳 賲丐禺乇賸丕 亘賯賷丕丿丞 賰丕乇賱 賲賵乇賰 賵賲爻丕毓丿賷賴 睾乇賷亘賷 丕賱兀胤賵丕乇 賵賱賰賳 賱丕 卮賷亍 丌禺乇 賲鬲卮丕亘賴 乇亘賲丕 兀囟賷賮 丕賱賯爻賵丞 丕賱賱丕賲丨丿賵丿丞 .
賮賷 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賵丕賱鬲賷 賰丕賳鬲 乇賵丕賷丞 噩乇賷賲丞 賲毓鬲丕丿丞貙 乇丕賮賯賳丕 丕賱囟丨賷丞 胤賵丕賱 丕賱賵賯鬲 噩賳亘賸丕 廿賱賶 噩賳亘 賲毓 爻賷乇 丕賱鬲丨賯賷賯 賮賷 丕禺鬲賮丕卅賴丕 .
賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱孬丕賳賷丞 賰丕賳鬲 兀賯乇亘 賱賯氐丞 丕賳鬲賯丕賲 兀賰孬乇 賲賳賴丕 乇賵丕賷丞 丨賱 噩乇賷賲丞貨 賳毓賲 賳丨賳 賳毓乇賮 兀賰孬乇 賲丕 噩乇賶 賱賰賳 賴賱 噩乇賶 賴賰匕丕 鬲丨丿賷丿賸丕 賵賲丕匕丕 賷噩乇賷 丕賱丌賳責
賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱孬丕賱孬丞 賴賳丕: 賳乇丕賮賯 丕賱賲噩乇賲 胤賵丕賱 丕賱賵賯鬲貨 丨賷丕鬲賴 賵匕賰乇賷丕鬲賴 賵兀賮毓丕賱賴 丕賱卮乇賷乇丞. 賵賱賰賳 賱丕 賳毓乇賮 賴賵賷鬲賴 賮賷 丨賷賳 鬲亘丿兀 丕賱鬲丨賯賷賯丕鬲 賮賷 賲賰鬲亘 賮乇賷賯 丕賱賯囟丕賷丕 丕賱亘丕乇丿丞 亘毓丿 賵氐賵賱 乇爻丕賱丞 賲乇賵毓丞 鬲丨賲賱 丕爻鬲睾丕孬丞 賲賳 胤賮賱賷賳 賲禺胤賵賮賷賳.
賴匕賴 乇賵丕賷丞 噩乇丕卅賲 賲乇賵毓丞 賷乇鬲賰亘賴丕 卮禺氐 賲毓胤賵亘 亘爻亘亘 丕爻鬲禺丿丕賲 丕賱毓賳賮 賮賷 鬲乇亘賷丞 丕賱胤賮賱 賲氐丨賵亘丞 亘丕賱鬲卮丿丿 丕賱丿賷賳賷. 乇賵丕賷丞 丨夭賷賳丞 賵賲丐賱賲丞 賵乇丨賱丞 鬲丨賯賷賯 賲賱賷卅丞 亘丕賱賲賳毓胤賮丕鬲 賵丕賱賲賮丕噩丌鬲 丕賱鬲賷 鬲禺胤賮 丕賱兀賳賮丕爻.
February 10, 2013
What a great combination of action, suspense, and humor. Jussi Adler-Olsen is a master in the art of writing police novels. This book is even better than The Keeper of Lost Causes .
An old message in a bottle puts Department Q in full swing. While Carl Morck has to deal with personal issues (ex-wife, friends, and his dream woman Mona), his work at the office gets "kind-a-complicated." Assad and a new assistant are overly eager to solve the case and health-inspectors are threatening to close his downstairs offices.
Start reading on a Friday evening, you can't put this one down!
An old message in a bottle puts Department Q in full swing. While Carl Morck has to deal with personal issues (ex-wife, friends, and his dream woman Mona), his work at the office gets "kind-a-complicated." Assad and a new assistant are overly eager to solve the case and health-inspectors are threatening to close his downstairs offices.
Start reading on a Friday evening, you can't put this one down!
September 16, 2019
Das H枚rspiel bei Audible war mal wieder grandios umgesetzt und ist einfach ein Genuss.
Der Fall war auch spannend, wobei man durch die Sicht des T盲ters schon einiges vorweggenommen bekommt und mir das zumindest hier und da etwas die Spannung genommen hat.
Das Ende war daf眉r schon richtig herzzerrei脽end.
Ein solider Krimi (w眉rde ich ihn eher nennen als Thriller) bei dem ich auch die Charaktere einfach sehr mochte, weil sie mir so langsam ans Herz wachsen. Gerne h枚re ich weiter, um auch da mehr zu erfahren, nicht nur den n盲chsten Fall.
Der Fall war auch spannend, wobei man durch die Sicht des T盲ters schon einiges vorweggenommen bekommt und mir das zumindest hier und da etwas die Spannung genommen hat.
Das Ende war daf眉r schon richtig herzzerrei脽end.
Ein solider Krimi (w眉rde ich ihn eher nennen als Thriller) bei dem ich auch die Charaktere einfach sehr mochte, weil sie mir so langsam ans Herz wachsen. Gerne h枚re ich weiter, um auch da mehr zu erfahren, nicht nur den n盲chsten Fall.
May 15, 2022
El departamento Q investiga en este caso unas desapariciones relacionadas con el fanatismo religioso.
Sabemos qui茅n es el malo desde el primer momento. A medida que leemos vamos conociendo sus motivaciones y , por otro lado, como avanza la investigaci贸n policial.
Narrada en cap铆tulos cortos, engancha desde el principio.
Una serie muy entretenida.
Sabemos qui茅n es el malo desde el primer momento. A medida que leemos vamos conociendo sus motivaciones y , por otro lado, como avanza la investigaci贸n policial.
Narrada en cap铆tulos cortos, engancha desde el principio.
Una serie muy entretenida.
May 26, 2013
Carl Morck, head of Department Q, is back at the closed files again. Along with his eccentric sidekick Assad, and his more eccentric secretary, Rose, they try to solve the crime of a serial killer who targets children who come from families of unusual and small religious sects. The killer tells the parents that he wants one million kroner in ransom and if the police are called or anyone is told of the crime, the other children in the family will be killed.
The characterizations in Adler-Olsen's book is wonderful. We have Rose who has a twin sister Yrsa. When Rose doesn't come to work, Yrsa takes her place dragging a shopping cart behind her. However, we come to find out that Rose and Yrsa are one in the same. Does Rose have multiple personality disorder? Carl Morck likes to sleep at his desk and is so politically incorrect that he has been banned to the basement of police headquarters and given old but unsolved crimes to investigate. Assad has a bundle of tricks up his sleeve but no one knows the truth of where he lives or anything personal about him except that he is Muslim and makes delicious tea and snacks.
The crime in this book starts with a bottle thrown in the ocean that is caught in a fisherman's net and turned into the police. It is sealed with tar and has an almost illegible note in it. It was written in 1996 so it is 16 years old. Together, Assad and Rose figure out most of the message and this leads to the start of an investigation of a serial killer.
The killer uses many false names and addresses and has been on the loose for way over two decades. He has an M.O. of joining a small and obscure religious sect, getting to know the members and then choosing a family that has multiple children so that he can kidnap two and there will be more remaining. He always kills one of the children and returns the other as a reminder of what will happen again if the family speaks to anyone of the crime.
Carl and Assad are also investigating crimes of arson in which pinkie rings are taken off of the victims that are burned up, or else the pinkie is cut off completely.
Many of the same characters from the first Adler-Olsen book translated into English are back again. Vigga, Carl's ex-wife is driving him crazy. His step-son, living with Carl, is given the task of finding her a boyfriend so that she does not bother Carl. Carl's ex-partner who was shot in the spine and is now a quadriplegic now lives with Carl and Carl's friend, Morten, who also shares the house, cares for him and does the cooking. The household is a circus but a wonderful one.
I loved this book. It was a great page-turner, a wonderful mystery and thriller, and I devoured it in two settings. The novel is told from the perspectives of Carl and the killer.
The characterizations in Adler-Olsen's book is wonderful. We have Rose who has a twin sister Yrsa. When Rose doesn't come to work, Yrsa takes her place dragging a shopping cart behind her. However, we come to find out that Rose and Yrsa are one in the same. Does Rose have multiple personality disorder? Carl Morck likes to sleep at his desk and is so politically incorrect that he has been banned to the basement of police headquarters and given old but unsolved crimes to investigate. Assad has a bundle of tricks up his sleeve but no one knows the truth of where he lives or anything personal about him except that he is Muslim and makes delicious tea and snacks.
The crime in this book starts with a bottle thrown in the ocean that is caught in a fisherman's net and turned into the police. It is sealed with tar and has an almost illegible note in it. It was written in 1996 so it is 16 years old. Together, Assad and Rose figure out most of the message and this leads to the start of an investigation of a serial killer.
The killer uses many false names and addresses and has been on the loose for way over two decades. He has an M.O. of joining a small and obscure religious sect, getting to know the members and then choosing a family that has multiple children so that he can kidnap two and there will be more remaining. He always kills one of the children and returns the other as a reminder of what will happen again if the family speaks to anyone of the crime.
Carl and Assad are also investigating crimes of arson in which pinkie rings are taken off of the victims that are burned up, or else the pinkie is cut off completely.
Many of the same characters from the first Adler-Olsen book translated into English are back again. Vigga, Carl's ex-wife is driving him crazy. His step-son, living with Carl, is given the task of finding her a boyfriend so that she does not bother Carl. Carl's ex-partner who was shot in the spine and is now a quadriplegic now lives with Carl and Carl's friend, Morten, who also shares the house, cares for him and does the cooking. The household is a circus but a wonderful one.
I loved this book. It was a great page-turner, a wonderful mystery and thriller, and I devoured it in two settings. The novel is told from the perspectives of Carl and the killer.
November 14, 2015
Back in bed with the Q Department! My fav Nordic Noir of late.
New additions to the 鈥済ang鈥� are Rose鈥檚 "twin" & also Hardy has moved in with the 鈥渇amily鈥� after much humming & harring in the previous read. All add to Carl鈥檚 demeanour & obvious stress levels which does entertain as much as his colleagues exasperation at his criticisms of them all. Dysfunctional at Home & at work is the appeal to this series for me as well as a darn fine mystery every time which runs concurrent with department Q鈥檚 investigation.
The villain(s) in these series are quite a piece of work(s) & this one is no exception, your introduced to him quite early so it鈥檚 no spoiler to say he鈥檚 quite extraordinary is this one! Read PROPER NASTY that is!
Fast paced, crackerjack of a story is this & highly recommend for all those of the Nordic Noir persuasion as well as mystery / crime fans in general.
A clear 5 stars as this series gets better n better
New additions to the 鈥済ang鈥� are Rose鈥檚 "twin" & also Hardy has moved in with the 鈥渇amily鈥� after much humming & harring in the previous read. All add to Carl鈥檚 demeanour & obvious stress levels which does entertain as much as his colleagues exasperation at his criticisms of them all. Dysfunctional at Home & at work is the appeal to this series for me as well as a darn fine mystery every time which runs concurrent with department Q鈥檚 investigation.
The villain(s) in these series are quite a piece of work(s) & this one is no exception, your introduced to him quite early so it鈥檚 no spoiler to say he鈥檚 quite extraordinary is this one! Read PROPER NASTY that is!
Fast paced, crackerjack of a story is this & highly recommend for all those of the Nordic Noir persuasion as well as mystery / crime fans in general.
A clear 5 stars as this series gets better n better
February 7, 2016
Deja que se pronuncie sobre la vida quien est谩 ante la muerte; quien sabe que va a ocurrir enseguida; quien ve c贸mo se le echa encima el momento en que todo se desvanece.Definitivamente esta serie no es para m铆. Dudo continuarla.
El mensaje que lleg贸 en una botella, en mi opini贸n, es un libro malo. 驴Por qu茅 digo esto? Porque tiene muchas subtramas aburridas que no afectan en nada a la trama principal, el detective (Carl M酶rck) es un personaje insufrible que nunca logr贸 captar mi inter茅s, es pesado, ritmo lento. Un tedio interminable.
Algo positivo que puedo rescatar es la caracterizaci贸n del antagonista.
No lo recomiendo.
February 17, 2017
Denmark's Department Q, responsible for special and cold police cases, is in a state of chaos! Asbestos particles and flies are floating around in the basement offices where Carl M酶rck heads the Q department, Rose Knudsen is gone temporarily in a huff and instead her even more annoying sister Ysra has come to help in her place as secretary, and Hafez el-Assad has unexpectedly discovered a clue on deadly arson cases which the rest of the police force was fruitlessly working but had not got very far with solving. There are of course, more urgent meetings!
At home, Vigga is threatening to move back in with Carl because she broke up with her boyfriend, Jesper is moving back and forth between Carl's home and Vigga's, Morten Holland and Hardy, ex-police partners, have moved in turning Carl's house into a combined bachelor's pad and nursing home as Hardy is a paraplegic confined to a hospital bed. Carl blames himself for Hardy's paralysis which occurred in book 1, .
It was almost unnoticed when a box was delivered with broken glass shards of a bottle with an old water-damaged note inside. The letter appears to have been written in blood, but what grabs Rose's attention is the word 'help', the only word which is clear. She decides to work on deciphering the rest of the note (this is before Carl pissed her off), while Carl decides to put his feet up on his desk and close his eyes for a minute or two, which is how he prefers to spend his time. Eventually Assad again will bring him to his duty and work as he usually does.
However, in between various work and personal ruckuses, it becomes clear the maybe almost decade-old note is a key to a number of cold cases of possible kidnappings and disappearances that went unreported in self-isolated religious communities. As Carl and Assad uncover fundamentalist families with missing children, they realize maybe a serial killer is at work. Could it be possible more recent kidnappings are still happening, and worse, maybe a kid or two are being held for ransom right now? Not all of the kids come back.
One of the character points of view in early chapters is that of the wicked killer. He loves using gullible women as much as he hates religion and fundamentalist parents. But especially he loves the feeling of revenge against the pious. He could make money honestly, but extorting it from the religious fundamentalists is SO much more satisfying - and easy! He feels only a few more kidnappings will set him up financially, but oh, he will miss it...
These books in the Department Q mysteries are both amusing and horrifying. It is such a weird contrast, I always end up being a bit discombobulated by the peculiar swings from charming warmth and cuteness, and disgusting cruelty and death, every other chapter. But here I am, planning to read the next novel in the series! They should be read in order, I think.
At home, Vigga is threatening to move back in with Carl because she broke up with her boyfriend, Jesper is moving back and forth between Carl's home and Vigga's, Morten Holland and Hardy, ex-police partners, have moved in turning Carl's house into a combined bachelor's pad and nursing home as Hardy is a paraplegic confined to a hospital bed. Carl blames himself for Hardy's paralysis which occurred in book 1, .
It was almost unnoticed when a box was delivered with broken glass shards of a bottle with an old water-damaged note inside. The letter appears to have been written in blood, but what grabs Rose's attention is the word 'help', the only word which is clear. She decides to work on deciphering the rest of the note (this is before Carl pissed her off), while Carl decides to put his feet up on his desk and close his eyes for a minute or two, which is how he prefers to spend his time. Eventually Assad again will bring him to his duty and work as he usually does.
However, in between various work and personal ruckuses, it becomes clear the maybe almost decade-old note is a key to a number of cold cases of possible kidnappings and disappearances that went unreported in self-isolated religious communities. As Carl and Assad uncover fundamentalist families with missing children, they realize maybe a serial killer is at work. Could it be possible more recent kidnappings are still happening, and worse, maybe a kid or two are being held for ransom right now? Not all of the kids come back.
One of the character points of view in early chapters is that of the wicked killer. He loves using gullible women as much as he hates religion and fundamentalist parents. But especially he loves the feeling of revenge against the pious. He could make money honestly, but extorting it from the religious fundamentalists is SO much more satisfying - and easy! He feels only a few more kidnappings will set him up financially, but oh, he will miss it...
These books in the Department Q mysteries are both amusing and horrifying. It is such a weird contrast, I always end up being a bit discombobulated by the peculiar swings from charming warmth and cuteness, and disgusting cruelty and death, every other chapter. But here I am, planning to read the next novel in the series! They should be read in order, I think.
May 20, 2017
4 stars!
This book was miiiiiiiles ahead of the second in the series, which was excruciating.
PROS:
-The religious aspect of the central crimes was fascinating.
-Carl continues to be an only-somewhat-lovable dbag, which is refreshing. No secret good qualities here, folks. Carl just sucks (#realistic), but you're on his side because he's ultimately on the good side.
CONS:
-WAY too many competing mysteries, some of which I will detail behind this spoiler curtain: Too much to keep track of!
-A little too long. This relates to the above "con".... a little simpler and a little shorter would go a long way. I get the feeling that Jussi is working really hard to land on the Steig Larsson side of Scandinavian murder-mysteries, rather than on the Jo Nesbo side. Meh. Wait... Denmark isn't even Scandinavian, is it? BLERG. Y'all know what I mean.
Overall, much better than the previous one; back on par with the first in the series. 4 stars!
This book was miiiiiiiles ahead of the second in the series, which was excruciating.
PROS:
-The religious aspect of the central crimes was fascinating.
-Carl continues to be an only-somewhat-lovable dbag, which is refreshing. No secret good qualities here, folks. Carl just sucks (#realistic), but you're on his side because he's ultimately on the good side.
CONS:
-WAY too many competing mysteries, some of which I will detail behind this spoiler curtain: Too much to keep track of!
-A little too long. This relates to the above "con".... a little simpler and a little shorter would go a long way. I get the feeling that Jussi is working really hard to land on the Steig Larsson side of Scandinavian murder-mysteries, rather than on the Jo Nesbo side. Meh. Wait... Denmark isn't even Scandinavian, is it? BLERG. Y'all know what I mean.
Overall, much better than the previous one; back on par with the first in the series. 4 stars!
June 16, 2018
This was not a bad police procedural/thriller (which is why I gave it three stars), but there was too much going on for it to hold together. There are loose ends - characters meet up with violence and are dropped; several ridiculous occurrences that don't ring true and were obviously included to move the plot along; and characterizations that are never fully developed (though I suppose that's a teaser to get readers to read other volumes in the series).
There's a possibility that I'll return to Mr. Adler-Olsen, but probably not. I picked this off the library shelves out of curiosity and, while it might have been better if I had begun with the first book in the series, I find myself reading too many mediocre mysteries. This was one of those of those.
There's a possibility that I'll return to Mr. Adler-Olsen, but probably not. I picked this off the library shelves out of curiosity and, while it might have been better if I had begun with the first book in the series, I find myself reading too many mediocre mysteries. This was one of those of those.
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