Starred review from June 6, 2011
Adler-Olsen, Denmark's leading crime writer, makes his U.S. debut with the superlative first in his Department Q series. In 2007, Copenhagen homicide detective Carl Morck narrowly cheats death when he and two colleagues are ambushed while checking out a crime scene. Morck is shot in the head, but one of his brother officers is killed, and the other left paralyzed and suicidal. When Morck finally returns to work, friction with his colleagues leads his boss to transfer him to head a new unit, Department Q, tasked with resolving "cases deserving special scrutiny" from across the country. While the purpose of the assignment is to get the difficult detective out of the way, Morck, who's initially content just to kill time, finds himself revitalized by a once high-profile mysteryâthe 2002 disappearance of a prominent and attractive female politician, Merete Lynggaard. The pages fly by as the twisty puzzle unfolds. Stieg Larsson fans will be delighted.
June 15, 2011
Great news for fans who feared that the formula that shot Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy to the top of international bestseller lists couldn't be cloned: a big, leisurely Scandinavian thriller with dark hints of conspiracy, clunky descriptions, dozens of plot complications and the world's most unnuanced villains.
Five years after Danish stateswoman Merete Lynggaard vanished without a trace from a ferry crossing, Carl Mørck takes it upon himself to reopen the case. Despite the possible presence of an eyewitness, Merete's unreachably brain-damaged younger brother Uffe, the mystery has long been dismissed as unsolvable by the Copenhagen police, who think Merete must simply have slipped off the boat for reasons unknown. But Carl's in an unusually strong position to pick it up again. Banished to Department Q, his own personal cold-case unit, after a shooting left one of his best friends dead, another paralyzed and Carl himself with an incapacitating case of survivor's guilt and rage, he can choose his cases, control his budget and call on police departments throughout Denmark for help. And he'll need plenty of help, because the disappearance of Merete, who against all odds is still alive, held captive by a sociopathic family mad for revenge against the inoffensive minister, is only one of the problems he'll face. His colleagues produce painful new leads on the shooting that annihilated his own team; he's determined to put the moves on police crisis counselor Mona Ibsen, whose agenda emphatically doesn't include his romantic overtures; and he can't help growing suspicious of his remarkably talented new assistant, especially since he bears the name Hafez al-Assad. The trail to the truth is filled with authentically tedious loose ends and dead ends; the climactic confrontation with the monstrous malefactors is cathartically violent; and the final scene is unexpectedly touching.
The English-language success of Adler-Olsen's synthetic but sharply calculated debut, already a publishing phenomenon in Germany, Austria and its native Denmark, seems so assured that resistance would be futile.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
Starred review from June 15, 2011
Following the success of other Scandinavian authors, Denmark's best-selling crime writer makes his American debut with this first novel in the Glass Key Award-winning Department Q series. Department Q is a new section of the Copenhagen Police, dedicated to resolving Denmark's most notorious unsolved crimes. A political solution to a bureaucratic problem, Department Q is further hampered by its only detective, Carl Morck, who has lost his friends, his health, and his spirit in a recent shooting. His first case is to investigate the disappearance of a popular politician. After five years, everyone assumes she is dead, but Morck and his assistant, Assad, who has his own political past to protect, begin to unravel her secrets. VERDICT Far from being just another morose Nordic crime writer, Adler-Olsen creates a detective whose curiosity is as active as his soul is tortured. The villain is a monster and the crime horrendous, but readers will root for the victim and for the belabored Department Q. This absorbing psychological thriller is recommended not only for fans of Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbo, and Stieg Larsson but for true crime aficionados who might like to try fiction. [See Prepub Alert, 2/14/11.]--Cathy Lantz, Morton Coll. Lib., Cicero, IL
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from August 1, 2011
Since a shooting left him injured and his partner paralyzed, Copenhagen detective Carl Mrck has lost his way. His difficult personality, formerly tolerated because of his skills, has made him a liability. So his boss puts him in charge of Department Q, a cold-case Siberia that consists of Mrck and a genially obtuse assistant, Assad. There Mrck becomes intrigued by the file of Merete Lynggaard, a beautiful politician lost at sea five years ago. Here's the kicker: We know that Lynggaard is still alive, imprisoned in horrific circumstances. Adler-Olsen deftly advances both stories simultaneously. As Mrck uncovers the truth about Lynggaard's fate, Lynggaard learns why she has been singled out for an elaborate revenge. The reader's desire for the narratives to meet is so painful it's palpable. Given the Stieg Larsson effect on Scandinavian literature, it's surprising that it's taken even this long for Denmark's top crime writer to make his American debut. Comparisons are inevitable and, while he may lack a Salander, Adler-Olsen's prose is superior to Larsson's, his tortures are less discomfiting, and he has a sense of humor. Without The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this might not have seen print here, but some will prefer it to its benefactor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)
June 15, 2011
Great news for fans who feared that the formula that shot Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy to the top of international bestseller lists couldn't be cloned: a big, leisurely Scandinavian thriller with dark hints of conspiracy, clunky descriptions, dozens of plot complications and the world's most unnuanced villains.
Five years after Danish stateswoman Merete Lynggaard vanished without a trace from a ferry crossing, Carl M�rck takes it upon himself to reopen the case. Despite the possible presence of an eyewitness, Merete's unreachably brain-damaged younger brother Uffe, the mystery has long been dismissed as unsolvable by the Copenhagen police, who think Merete must simply have slipped off the boat for reasons unknown. But Carl's in an unusually strong position to pick it up again. Banished to Department Q, his own personal cold-case unit, after a shooting left one of his best friends dead, another paralyzed and Carl himself with an incapacitating case of survivor's guilt and rage, he can choose his cases, control his budget and call on police departments throughout Denmark for help. And he'll need plenty of help, because the disappearance of Merete, who against all odds is still alive, held captive by a sociopathic family mad for revenge against the inoffensive minister, is only one of the problems he'll face. His colleagues produce painful new leads on the shooting that annihilated his own team; he's determined to put the moves on police crisis counselor Mona Ibsen, whose agenda emphatically doesn't include his romantic overtures; and he can't help growing suspicious of his remarkably talented new assistant, especially since he bears the name Hafez al-Assad. The trail to the truth is filled with authentically tedious loose ends and dead ends; the climactic confrontation with the monstrous malefactors is cathartically violent; and the final scene is unexpectedly touching.
The English-language success of Adler-Olsen's synthetic but sharply calculated debut, already a publishing phenomenon in Germany, Austria and its native Denmark, seems so assured that resistance would be futile.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)