The Keeper of Lost Causes: The First Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Sep 08, 2011 Kemper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, crime-mystery, 5-0, scandinavian-mayhem

Imagine if the brooding detective Kurt Wallander from the Henning Mankell series accidentally wandered into the plot of a Stieg Larsson novel and you’d have a pretty good idea of what this book is like. Unfortunately, we don’t get a new Salander, but we do get a pretty interesting and flawed character in Carl Morck.

Morck is a Danish police detective who survived being shot in the head during an attack that left another detective dead and one paralyzed. While Morck has returned to duty, he’s so...more Imagine if the brooding detective Kurt Wallander from the Henning Mankell series accidentally wandered into the plot of a Stieg Larsson novel and you’d have a pretty good idea of what this book is like. Unfortunately, we don’t get a new Salander, but we do get a pretty interesting and flawed character in Carl Morck.

Morck is a Danish police detective who survived being shot in the head during an attack that left another detective dead and one paralyzed. While Morck has returned to duty, he’s so depressed and wracked by survivor’s guilt that he’s barely lifting a finger on his cases, and his grumpiness has alienated the other cops. His boss decides to take a sour old shot-in-the-head lemon and make lemonade out of him when national politics force him to create a department to work on high profile cold cases. Morck is ‘promoted’ to be in charge of the new Department Q and sent down to a basement office.

At first, Morck is happy to be left alone in the basement where he can smoke all he wants and play computer solitaire all day, but when he learns that the department is using the money allotted for Department Q to beef up the homicide division, he demands a piece of the action including a department car, getting the basement fixed up and his own assistant to make the coffee and do the shit work. However, he gets more than just someone to answer the phone with Assad, a Syrian immigrant who is curious about the case files. When the political pressure to show some progress mounts, Morck reluctantly ends up looking into the mysterious disappearance of a beautiful female politician, Merete Lynggaard, who vanished five years before. In a parallel story, we learn what happened to Merete and her horrible fate.

There was a lot I found intriguing about this book. The Morck character and the set-up of him being exiled to Department Q was an interesting idea, and I really liked this grumpy guilt-ridden detective with a messy personal life. I also loved the dynamic between him and Assad with the bright and curious assistant messing up Morck’s plans to sit quietly in the basement and smoke some cigarettes. Assad can read a case file and come up with legitimate deductions and questions, but while he’s smart enough to track down a long missing piece of critical evidence, he doesn’t know any better than to handle it once he finds it.

Unfortunately, Morck’s messy personal life seemed to be a bit much after a while. He keeps getting phone calls and giving money to his estranged wife and after a while you just want to scream at him to get a divorce lawyer and change his number.

While the circumstances of Merete’s abduction and her circumstances are disturbing and horrible, I figured out the villain’s motive early in the book so that was pretty obvious. Plus, after a while Merete’s predicament starts to go over the top and takes a turn onto Torture Porn Avenue and that’s not a neighborhood I like visiting.

Still, despite some clunky writing (which could be a translation issue), I liked Morck and Assad, and I found the basic premise intriguing. I’ve also got a big streak of Danish heritage, but know almost nothing about Denmark so it was fun to soak up a little of the old home country in a better than average crime thriller. (less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Sherry Roberts rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So Stieg Larson has drawn me into the world of Scandinavian sleuths. Jussi Adler-Olsen has created a wonderfully weird detective in Carl Morck, who is so damaged mentally that the Copenhagen police department has deep-sixed him in the one-man investigative unit, Department Q. His job is to thaw out cold cases. And he does it brilliantly with the help of a fascinating sidekick, Assad, a Syrian immigrant with a suitcase of mysterious skills. Together they find out what ever happened to a popular p...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Rod rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a crime novel so in this review I have tried not to spoil things for anyone who goes on to read it. It was written in Danish and translated by Tiina Nunally. The translation reads very well. It seems from the inside cover that it may be the first of three, much like the Millenium series, with the second and third volumes due to appear in 2012 and 2013.

Our ‘hero’ is Carl Mørck, a detective who appears to be burned out. Given that one of his colleagues was killed and another left paralysed...more This is a crime novel so in this review I have tried not to spoil things for anyone who goes on to read it. It was written in Danish and translated by Tiina Nunally. The translation reads very well. It seems from the inside cover that it may be the first of three, much like the Millenium series, with the second and third volumes due to appear in 2012 and 2013.

Our ‘hero’ is Carl Mørck, a detective who appears to be burned out. Given that one of his colleagues was killed and another left paralysed this is understandable, since he believes he could have prevented it. On top of that he is no longer young. So we meet a detective who has stopped trying to accomplish anything and treats his fellow officers and admin staff in a brusque and abrasive manner. It seems he no longer cares.

His superiors try to solve the Mørck problem by moving him sideways into a new department – Department Q – intended to deal with cold cases. He recruits an assistant to keep his office clean and sort the files while he puts his feet up and reads the paper. He is named as Hafez el Assad, which we don’t believe for a minute since this is the name of the late Syrian dictator. Later on in the book Mørck himself begins to suspect that there is more to his assistant than meets the eye, but confronting him with his suspicions gets him nowhere, so Mørck and the reader are none the wiser. Some material held back for the next book?

The file they end up working on, their first case, concerns a politician who disappeared from a ferry in 2002. The previous police investigation concluded that she had been lost overboard, perhaps as a result of an argument with her brother which was known to have occurred on deck. But the reader knows from the front cover that this is not correct.

‘Her 37th birthday. The seventh year she’s been imprisoned in a pressure chamber. They turn off the lights and turn up the pressure . . .’ However, there is a problem here because the back cover tells us that ‘She vanished five years ago’. So, is it seven or five? Have the publishers read the book? The confused reader will find an accurate timetable on page 379 compiled by the perpetrator himself.

There are two intercut timelines. One begins with the imprisonment of the politician in 2002, the other in 2007 with Mørck and Assdad’s investigation. As the book progresses, the first catches up with the second till everything is in the here and now. The chapters dealing with Lynggaard in the pressure chamber must have been difficult to write, the problem being to introduce any development at all when nothing significant changes. The author manages this well and there are, in any case, fewer of these chapters.

The politician is Merete Lynggaard, who seems to have led a blameless life, much of it spent looking after her brother Uffe, who had suffered brain damage in a car accident in which she had also been involved. (Although Lynggaard is a politician and the book is set in Denmark, readers should not expect the same level of political intrigue as in the Danish TV series, The Killing.)

The question is who has kidnapped Lynggaard and why? Working out the why leads very quickly to the who, and in this case I figured it out before being told. If this book were simply a whodunit, this might take away most of the pleasure from reading on, however I didn’t find that at all. MERCY is an engrossing read because the main characters and the environments they inhabit are well realised. And the book has something else going for it. Despite Mørck’s lust for Mona Ibsen, a counsellor who tries to help him deal with his mental problems, there isn’t a single description of sexual congress from first page to last.

The only change I would make is dispensing with the prologue, a graphic account of the damage Merete Lynggaard inflicts on herself attempting to escape from the pressure chamber. Presumably this is intended to function as a hook, but as hooks go it lacks tempting bait.

Comparing MERCY to books by other Scandinavian writers I have recently read, I am much more impressed by this author than by Camilla Läckberg or Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

There is an error on page 246: ‘Atomos was an a little shit.’

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Dec 16, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: european-literature, thriller, crime, mystery, detective, scandinavian-crime, police-procedural, 2000s

I often get worried when I pick up this Scandinavian crime novel but I recently read The Dinner and I thought I might try another Dutch author; turns out this was a Danish novel. Mercy is the first book in the series by Jussi Adler-Olsen which has been marketed for people that enjoy the show The Killing as well as Scandinavian Crime. I love this show so I wanted to give this book ago; well actually I picked up Disgrace and realised it was book two in the series so I thought I better read them in...more I often get worried when I pick up this Scandinavian crime novel but I recently read The Dinner and I thought I might try another Dutch author; turns out this was a Danish novel. Mercy is the first book in the series by Jussi Adler-Olsen which has been marketed for people that enjoy the show The Killing as well as Scandinavian Crime. I love this show so I wanted to give this book ago; well actually I picked up Disgrace and realised it was book two in the series so I thought I better read them in order. Mercy is the story of detective Mørck who has been put in charge of new department dedicated to trying to solve cold cases; one final attempt before they give up on the case completely. His first case is a missing person’s case; Merete Lynggaard vanished five years ago and everyone assumes she’s dead but will Mørck be able to solve this case?

It’s interesting to note that this book is also called The Keeper of Lost Causes in most countries, which is a subtle attempt at humour, to reflect what type of book you are getting into here. I’m not sure why Australia are marketing this book as Mercy but it works better for their marketing campaign to get draw on the success of the TV show The Killing. You have you usual elements of you’d find in a Scandinavian crime in this book; cold climate, dark disturbing themes but I think Adler-Olsen’s attempt at adding some light heartedness in to the mix really worked in his favour. It’s almost like a cross between a Scandinavian crime and a buddy copy movie; because Mørck assistant Assad really stole the show.

Department Q is a mixture of a hard-boiled style detective in Mørck and the light hearted, care free assistant that over steps his role and does whatever he things would be the most fun; Assad. Not only do the two characters have personality differences but the cultural differences as well lead to some entertaining reading. While Mørck is an interesting character without Assad this book would just be another boring, generic Scandinavian crime novel (no offense to those who like these novels, they are just not for me).

The crime and police procedural elements of this book are pretty standard, you have the typical hard-boiled character and the dark and twisted crime they are solving but it really was refreshing to read a book that takes the same style and puts a new spin on it. It really worked well for Jussi Adler-Olsen and I truly can’t wait to read the next in the series. If it wasn’t for these characters this book would be a two star read; luckily I was really entertained with this one.(less)

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Jun 23, 2012 Bettie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Bettie by: Andreas

Shelves: summer-2012, translation, published-2007, danish-root, mystery-thriller, paper-read, bedside, bullies, families, hackers-and-computers, medical-eew, mental-health, ouch, psychology, recreational-homicide, series, eye-scorcher, sciences

Translated by Lisa Hartford.

Dedication:Hanne Adler-Olsen. Without her, the world would run dry.

Prologue opens: She scratched her fingertips on the smooth walls until they bled, and pounded her fists on the thick panes until she could no longer feel her hands.

What an ending! Ordered #2

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Aug 08, 2011 Sam Woodfield added it · review of another edition

I have just reviewed this novel for a major UK book seller.

This novel took me a little while to get into, and at first I was a little worried about where this novel would go. However, this novel is proof that first impressions can be deceptive as this novel grows and grows into an absolute dazzler.

Alder-Olsen has created a fabulous first novel in Mercy. The characters of Carl and Assad are beautifully created so that they grow and grow throughout the novel, but there is still plenty of growing t...more

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May 31, 2013 Harry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: detective-mystery, nordic-thriller

Jussi Adler-Olsen 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 Department Q 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 politi...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Nicola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

eason for Reading: The plot just screamed "read me!" and I'm a fan of Scandi Crime.

Outstanding! The first chapter had me hooked on the case and the second chapter had me fascinated with the main character, Copenhagen detective Carl Morck. Usually I'm into the serial killer type of crimes but this case involves a kidnapping/missing persons case that is incredibly taut and gripping. Carl Morck has just come back to work after being in a shoot-out where he was injured and each of his two partners w...more eason for Reading: The plot just screamed "read me!" and I'm a fan of Scandi Crime.

Outstanding! The first chapter had me hooked on the case and the second chapter had me fascinated with the main character, Copenhagen detective Carl Morck. Usually I'm into the serial killer type of crimes but this case involves a kidnapping/missing persons case that is incredibly taut and gripping. Carl Morck has just come back to work after being in a shoot-out where he was injured and each of his two partners were either killed or seriously impaired for life. Carl has never been a lovable guy and this emotional event has not helped matters. He is sent to the basement, given his own department, Department Q, where he will work on cold cases. The first one that he and his Syrian assistant choose is that of the missing persons case of a prominent young female politician who has been missing, presumed accidentally drowned, five years ago. But Carl and Assad find out that many things were not properly investigated at the time. Everyone assumes that she is dead, but Merete isn't dead and won't be until her kidnapper's appointed time of execution.

Carl is a flawed character with many problems but one that the reader routes for and agrees with as he fights against the establishment. His Syrian assistant, Assad, is both comic relief and a very intriguing character as he demonstrates great insight into detective work and has amazing contacts and capabilities which provoke interest in his mysterious past. Carl and Assad make a great team, their opposing characters bounce off each other as each gains great respect for the other.

The case was fabulous! Everything one can want in a thriller. Full of twists and turns and fantastic descriptions of the victim's suffering. The point of view alternates between the present with Carl investigating the disappearance and with the past as we watch what happened to the victim unfold until the years meet up with the present. I must admit I guessed "whodunit" *very* early in the book, not from any clues, just simply because it felt like a logical surmise. This didn't spoil my reading one bit though as all the twisting and plot reveals only unfolded into an amazingly unguessable plot that put everything together in a very satisfying story for me. I can't wait for the next book which will be called Disgrace in the UK. (less)

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Feb 02, 2012 Maddy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, tops

PROTAGONIST: Carl Morck, homicide detective
SETTING: Copenhagen, Denmark
SERIES: #1
RATING: 4.5

Normally when a police officer is wounded in the line of duty, he returns to his job determined to bring the perpetrator to justice. That’s not the case for Carl Morck, who comes back to the Copenhagen Police Department after three months of sick leave and is shirking all of his responsibilities. It would seem that he would be anxious to set out to find the person who shot him, killed one of his teammates...more PROTAGONIST: Carl Morck, homicide detective
SETTING: Copenhagen, Denmark
SERIES: #1
RATING: 4.5

Normally when a police officer is wounded in the line of duty, he returns to his job determined to bring the perpetrator to justice. That’s not the case for Carl Morck, who comes back to the Copenhagen Police Department after three months of sick leave and is shirking all of his responsibilities. It would seem that he would be anxious to set out to find the person who shot him, killed one of his teammates and left another paralyzed; but that is not the case.

Although he is a brilliant detective, Carl has always been exceptionally difficult to get along with. He looks down on the work of his peers, feeling that they are not doing all that they should with their cases and often makes “suggestions” that, while quite on target, are met with resistance. It’s causing a problem in the department, one that homicide chief Marcus Jacobsen solves by promoting Morck and creating a new section called “Department Q”. Department Q is dedicated to investigating cold cases, and Morck is the only person working in it. The government has provided quite a lot of funding for the unit, most of which Jacobsen is redirecting to enhance the regular section.

The department is located in the basement, and Morck spends his time doing Sudoko puzzles and playing computer games. He requests an assistant to take care of keeping the place clean and gets much more than he bargained for. Hafez el-Assad is quite a character. Assad has always wanted to be an investigator, and he is actually quite good at it. At first he fades into the background but soon pushes Carl into actually taking on a case and eventually becomes an unofficial partner in its resolution. Assad adds a welcome dollop of humor to the narrative and is one of the more interesting characters I’ve seen in some time.

The case involves the disappearance of a political figure five years earlier. Merete Lynggaard was on a ferry when she vanished. It is assumed that she fell overboard and drowned. The reality is that she has been held prisoner in a pressure chamber for all that time. Every year on her birthday, her abductor increases the pressure; if the chamber is ever opened, she would be the victim of an internal explosion of her body. Her thoughts and actions as she deals with her captivity provide engrossing reading.

The chapters in the book alternate between Morck’s investigation and Merete’s ordeal. The descriptions of what she has gone through over the course of the years are absolutely riveting. Suspense mounts as Morck and Assad begin to put the pieces together. Will they be able to find her before she either kills herself or is murdered by the abductor? If they do find her, will she survive being released from the pressure chamber? It all comes together at the conclusion, which was my only disappointment in the book, as it devolved into a series of action scenes that didn’t feel in keeping with the tone of the rest of the book.

All of the characters in the book are intriguing and unique. My favorite was Assad, who was humorous, intelligent and perceptive. I can’t wait for the translation of the other books in this series so that I can spend more time with him. On the other hand, although Carl is an excellent detective, he has a lot of issues as a person. He’s different from the cookie cutter disturbed protagonist, eccentric yet intuitive, and that made him interesting. Merete, homicide chief Jacobsen and other secondary characters were nicely developed as well.

Adler-Olsen is the winner of several Danish crime fiction prizes. THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES is the first in the Department Q series with a well-done translation by Tina Nunnally. Don’t make the mistake of lumping Adler-Olsen in with the current crop of Scandinavian writers—his work should be recognized on its own merit.

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Jun 13, 2011 Tony Nielsen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mercy is brilliant and continues my love affair with Scandanavian thriller writers.
Alongside Stieg Larrson and Henning Mankell, Jussi more than holds his own. Copenhagen
detective Carl Morck is sardonic, lazy, but very perceptive. He occupies the sole position
in a new Police Dept Q, which is really a front for his boss to receive millions of
kroner in funding for other purposes. That doesn't matter much as Morck takes on a long
cold case about missing politician Merete Lynnggaard, aided and sometim...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Lisa B. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Keeper of Lost Causes, features the deeply flawed chief detective Carl MØrck, who used to be a good homicide detective-one of Copenhagen's best. Then a bullet almost took his life. Two of his colleagues weren't so lucky, and Carl, who didn't draw his weapon, blames himself.

So a promotion is the last thing Carl expects.

But it all becomes clear when he sees his new office in the basement. Carl's been selected to run Department Q, a new special investigations division that turns out to be a d...more

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May 12, 2012 Rob Kitchin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book as I was travelling to Denmark and wanted to read some Danish fiction whilst there. I'm glad I did. The real strengths of Mercy are the plotting and characterisation. Adler-Olsen runs two parallel timelines, 2002 and 2007, with the former converging on the latter. As a device it works well as it enables tension in the narrative from the start, counter-posed by the lethargy and slow pace of Carl Mørck re-finding his feet after being pushed sideways to start a new department....more

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Aug 01, 2012 Carolyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is another Scandinavian mystery book, which have been increasing in popularity in North America. The author, Jussi Adler-Olsen is a Dane and this book has won the Scandinavian Glass Key Award. Former winners were Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankall and Jo Nesbo. This is the first book in a series, and the author ranks up there with the best, in my opinion.
The main character is Carl Morck, a Copenhagen homicide detective. He is just returning to work after being shot. He blames himself for not d...more This is another Scandinavian mystery book, which have been increasing in popularity in North America. The author, Jussi Adler-Olsen is a Dane and this book has won the Scandinavian Glass Key Award. Former winners were Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankall and Jo Nesbo. This is the first book in a series, and the author ranks up there with the best, in my opinion.
The main character is Carl Morck, a Copenhagen homicide detective. He is just returning to work after being shot. He blames himself for not drawing his weapon in time in an incident where one policeman was killed and another left paralyzed. Morck is burned-out, sarcastic and belligerent.
It seems he was not well liked before the shooting. He is surprised on his first day back to learn he has been promoted to head of Department Q by his boss, Marcus. The government has just funded an investigation of cold cases. Most of these funds have been diverted by the police department to hire extra detectives and for other purposes, leaving very little for Carl to work with. He is given a small office in the basement by himself, and with files of unsolved cases. Marcus does not expect him to solve any, and this is just fine with the apathetic Carl who spends his time lazing around at his desk. Once Carl discovers that the department has cheated on the funding he demands a car, a television and an assistant for janitorial work.
The assistant is a cheerful, mid-eastern man. He says he is from Syria, and has the same name as the former dictator, Hafez el Assad. Assad is not what he seems, and he soon becomes interested in the files which Carl has avoided studying. He begins to show skills beyond cleaning and sorting the unread files. The interaction between Assad and the cranky Carl is quite funny. He persuades Carl to work on the case of a female politician, Merete, who disappeared 5 years earlier while on a boat with her brain-damaged brother. We know that Merete is being kept in a pressure chamber, and each year the pressure is painfully increased.
Assad comes up with some helpful ideas, and it seems his background involves more than being a taxi driver in Damascus. He has a sense of humor an is able to charm people and get information where Carl could not. Carl is now interested in the case and wants to solve it, but will he before Merete dies? Assad's deductive skills also help solve a case which was keeping all the detectives upstairs busy.
This was a great page-turner and hope that we will learn more about the mysterious Assad in future books.(less)

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May 18, 2011 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, thriller

This one was an unexpectedly fabulous read. I went into it thinking it'd be just one more moody, scandinavian mystery. And it was to some extent. But it was also a suspenseful, sometimes dryly funny effort. And Carl Morck as protagonist was highly appealing.

Carl is a detective with the Copenhagen police. He's returned to work after a shooting that left his partner paralyzed and another colleague dead. Where once he was a hard-charging investigator, now he is having a hard time caring about anyth...more This one was an unexpectedly fabulous read. I went into it thinking it'd be just one more moody, scandinavian mystery. And it was to some extent. But it was also a suspenseful, sometimes dryly funny effort. And Carl Morck as protagonist was highly appealing.

Carl is a detective with the Copenhagen police. He's returned to work after a shooting that left his partner paralyzed and another colleague dead. Where once he was a hard-charging investigator, now he is having a hard time caring about anything. What's the point? What once were minor irritations bug the crap out of him and it shows. None of his colleagues want to work with him on anything. And his boss, Marcus, is at wits end. He can't fire Carl (becaue of the union and because Carl was injured) but he doesn't want him in the squad anymore either. When the government decides to fund a nationwide cold-case investigation unit that will be based out of Copenhagen, Marcus decides to "promote" Carl to a new position as the head of Department Q - while managing to keep most of government appropriated funds for his homicide dept.

Carl finds himself in a basement office with a stack of files he doesn't intend to touch. That intention is put aside when his new assistant, hired at Carl's insistence as someone to keep the basement office clean, shows an interest in the caseload and prods Carl into action. Assad is a Syrian with a sketchy command of the Danish language. But he also proves to be smart and capable. Soon the two men are caught up in the case of a missing elected member of the government, Merete Lynggard. Merete disappeared from a ferry five years ago and was presumed drowned somewhere between Denmark and Germany. But her body never surfaced and as Carl reluctantly investigates he realizes that much was missed in the early investigation.

The author intersperces Carl's investigation with chapters that describe the captivity of an unknown woman. It's not hard to guess who she is, but guessing whether Carl will find her or not is another thing. I was feeling so tense about her fate that I was tempted to peek at the end to see how it came out. I managed to hold myself back and am happy that I did so because it made the reading that much better - whatever the outcome.

Reading as Carl re-emerges as the very competent police detective he'd once been and his interactions with the very interesting Assad (which were often funny) was a delight. If I have one quibble it is that some of the supporting cast felt a little sketched in and not as believable as the stars. I'm hoping that further installments in the series will allow them to be fleshed out a bit.(less)

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Mar 20, 2013 Fiona rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bought-new, 2011, original-language-danish, setting-denmark

Carl Mørck is grumpy and difficult to get on with. He has just come back to work after being involved in a shooting incident that saw one of his friends paralysed, the other killed and he just about escaped with his own life.

The government is funding a new department to investigate noteworthy cold cases. On Carl’s return to work he finds himself promoted out of his colleagues hair and put in charge of Department Q, which is located down in the basement. As far away from everyone else as possible...more Carl Mørck is grumpy and difficult to get on with. He has just come back to work after being involved in a shooting incident that saw one of his friends paralysed, the other killed and he just about escaped with his own life.

The government is funding a new department to investigate noteworthy cold cases. On Carl’s return to work he finds himself promoted out of his colleagues hair and put in charge of Department Q, which is located down in the basement. As far away from everyone else as possible. His only company is his office assistant and cleaner Assad, an immigrant of unknown origin and unknown status. They make a peculiar partnership which is both quite amusing and highly likeable.

Mercy is prescribed as a cure for withdrawal symptoms from The Killing/Forbrydelsen, according to one of the blurbs on the back cover. It’s Danish, set in Copenhagen, it’s dark and it contains a police detective and a politician. It isn’t quite as good as Forbrydelsen but it is nice to be back in that city again. It was translated from the original Danish and first published in the UK in May. I do wonder if the publishers (Penguin) saw the sudden popularity for Forbrydelsen and anything remotely Danish and decided to cash in. I believe it is the first book of Jussi Adler-Older’s to be published in English.

And I admit, I bought it (as well as 2 others) because I pretty much fell head over heals in love with Forbrydelsen and just wanted to read a book of a similar nature or theme. And Mercy managed to fill those boots well enough for now at least.

It is a fast paced page-turner which is just about what every crime should be. I loved the unusual partnership between Carl and the ambiguous Assad. One moment he’s holding a mop in pink cleaning gloves, the next he’s proving to be a useful partner in solving crimes. Certainly not your usual detective partnership and one that will no doubt develop in the following books.

To begin with I did feel a bit critical – I thought the writing, or the translation felt too clunky and careless, but after a while it settled down for me, or I just got used to it. I’m not the biggest reader of crime fiction, although I have mostly enjoyed all the crimes I have read, but it’s hardly a genre known for it’s excellent use of language.

The men in this book seem to have a rather crude fixation on sex especially in relation to Merete, the missing politician. Whether this was just to prove a point that people can’t see beyond her gender, I’m not sure. Carl wasn’t far off the mark either. Maybe it’s just a blokey police thing can’t say I was overly impressed. Can’t men think about anything else?

However, this is a good opening to an interesting crime series. There’s a lot set up here to make you want to read on and find out more about the characters and the crimes they will be investigating.

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May 10, 2011 Leola rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you're a fan of crime fiction thrillers &/or books with complex characters, The Keeper of Lost Causes could be your new favorite book. As a winner of the Glass Key Award presented by the Crime Writers of Scandinavia, author Jussi Adler-Olsen is in good company -- past winners include Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallander series), and Jo Nesbo. The story is about the consequences of a car accident that impacts children from two families : some are orphaned, some are physically dis...more If you're a fan of crime fiction thrillers &/or books with complex characters, The Keeper of Lost Causes could be your new favorite book. As a winner of the Glass Key Award presented by the Crime Writers of Scandinavia, author Jussi Adler-Olsen is in good company -- past winners include Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallander series), and Jo Nesbo. The story is about the consequences of a car accident that impacts children from two families : some are orphaned, some are physically disabled, all are emotionally scarred. The reader is drawn in to the adult lives of these victims. They become the players in a crime that goes unsolved for 5 years. We become best acquainted with the successful and beautiful politician, Merete Lynggaard, and her cognitively disabled brother, Uffe. We become equally familiar with chief homicide detective Carl Morck, who has just been named head of a newly created special investigations division, "Department Q," and is the "Keeper" to which the title refers. Although Carl is exceptionally adept at his profession, he's not well-liked at the Copenhagen Police Dept. He's also wrestling with his own demons after an incident in which he was shot, one colleague was killed, and another colleague was shot and is paralyzed as a result. The first "Lost Cause" that Carl chooses to work on is the case of Merete's disappearance 5 years ago. She vanished without a trace, and is presumed dead. Carl and his new assistant, Assad, begin working on the case, and in doing so, form a tentative partnership at Department Q. Assad comes with his own mysteries; possibly more details about him are to come in the next installment in the Department Q series. As this first installment unfolds, the layers of intrigue grab and take hold, keeping you guessing about the outcome. Jussi Adler-Olsen does a superb job of creating a fascinating thriller! The complexity reminds me of mysteries by P.D. James, although Carl Morck is a more tormented soul than Adam Dalgliesh. I can't wait to read more in this series!(less)

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Feb 23, 2013 Jeff marked it as books-i-didn-t-finish · review of another edition

Hey look! Another gruff male detective with a "crazy" ex. I wonder if he's experienced some prior trauma in the line of duty. Oh, he has. I wonder if he's an outcast in his department? Oh, he is. I wonder if he flouts protocol and pushes boundaries? Oh, he does. I wonder if all the female characters are repeatedly defined by their physical appearance or presumed sexuality. Oh, they are. Fantastic! Now I've got something I can recommend to readers who are interested in cliches, sexism and misogyn...more

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Jun 18, 2011 BoekenTrol rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookcrossing, books-i-own, crime-thrillers-espionage, 2011, dutch_language

A great book!
Wonderful exciting, unpredictable, amazing, good end despite 'the happy ending'-idea.

I have read it with great pleasure. Was seized by the grumpy sergeant Mork and how he, with an awful lot of reluctance, starts to solve a cold case. He also has an assistant, Assad and a stranger combination than these two is hardly thinkable (to me). But they do it anyway: a combination of perseverance, persistent questioning where others stop, the ability to see past the lenght of their noses and...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was in Denmark over the summer and saw books by this author all over the airport, but written in Danish. When I got home I realized Amazon had the first installment for my kindle. The book is about a detective banished to a newly created cold case division for the whole of Denmark. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and even though I knew the direction the plot was going, I felt the main characters were well written and enjoyable. The story was good, while the setting for one character at least i...more

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May 17, 2012 Sally rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like stieg larsson, people who like police thrillers

Shelves: audiobooks-i-own

This story was so intriguing and definitely kept me going through out the entire book. It started strong and ended strong, with maybe a few weak points in the middle. After re-reading the Millennium series I've decided that both books are equally strong story-wise, but the interpretation on this book didn't hold up as well. There were places it sort of fumbled through and things didn't quite make sense, but it didn't affect the story just the flow. I am very much looking forward to Dept Q's next...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Helen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, crime-thriller, nordic-noir

Reasonable crime thriller with an interestingly flawed detective and his companion investigating the cold case of a missing woman.
Whilst I thought it had a pretty good premise and a suitably diabolical baddie, I thought there were a few too many unnecessary tangents making the book too long, and some of the writing felt a little awkward, perhaps something was lost in translation.
However, there were good some moments of tension, and I did enjoy the ending, but still not as compelling as Jo Nesbo.

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May 18, 2013 Danika rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I couldn't finish this book, not because the writing itself was bad, but because the perspective was bad. This book was suggested to me because I love The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. True, this is a Scandinavian mystery, with one very important difference. There are NO women in it (at least as far as I got into the book before I put it down in disgust). How on Earth could a fan of TGWTDT like a book with no women in it? No female buddy cop, nor administrator, nor passing forensic team member. O...more

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May 01, 2013 Nancy Hamilton rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another dark, pessimistic crime/police procedural from Scandinavia, Denmark this time. The bitter, alienated hero, Carl Morck, hates Spring because it doesn't last. His emotional states are limited to hatred, disgust and self-pity. He has a Syrian immigrant assistant who claims his name is Hafez al-Assad. Really. Carl is assigned to head up Department Q: cold cases. The case he chooses involves the disappearance, 5 years earlier, of a young, female politician. The reader will spot the villain ea...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Ingrid Verschelling rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

De vrouw in de kooi is het eerste deel van de trilogie Serie Q. Q staat voor de afdeling bijzondere en onopgeloste zaken.

We maken kennis met Carl Mørck, een uitstekend rechercheur uit Kopenhagen, die met zijn cynisme overal tegenaan schopt. Hij is al 25 jaar bij de politie, de laatste 10 jaar bij Moordzaken. Dat maakte hem hard tot er een zaak kwam dat door zijn pantser wist door te dringen. Hij is nog maar amper bekomen van een verschrikkelijke schietincident, waarbij een collega gedood werd en...more De vrouw in de kooi is het eerste deel van de trilogie Serie Q. Q staat voor de afdeling bijzondere en onopgeloste zaken.

We maken kennis met Carl Mørck, een uitstekend rechercheur uit Kopenhagen, die met zijn cynisme overal tegenaan schopt. Hij is al 25 jaar bij de politie, de laatste 10 jaar bij Moordzaken. Dat maakte hem hard tot er een zaak kwam dat door zijn pantser wist door te dringen. Hij is nog maar amper bekomen van een verschrikkelijke schietincident, waarbij een collega gedood werd en een andere collega verlamd is geraakt. Hij probeert de draad weer op te pakken. Eigenlijk is hij weggepromoveerd naar de kelder vanwege zijn lastige karakter, waar hij alleen de afdeling Q moet runnen. Zo krijgt de politie ook nog extra subsidie in handen. Carl komt daar achter en weet een deel van het geld voor zijn afdeling te behouden. Hij bedingt een dienstauto en een assistent. Hij is niet echt gemotiveerd, maar als hij een medewerker krijgt toegewezen, een vluchteling uit Syrië, Assad, wordt hij door zijn enthousiasme toch aangestoken om het dossier van de jonge linkse politica Merete Lynggaard door te spitten, die vijf jaar geleden spoorloos is verdwenen, zonder een bericht achter te laten. Dit wordt hun eerste zaak. Het kreeg veel aandacht van politie en media, maar werd nooit opgelost.

De vrouw in de kooi heeft twee verhaallijnen. We volgen zowel de zoektocht van Carl en Assad als ook de werkelijke feiten achter de verdwijning. Merete Lijnggaard was in het verleden slachtoffer van een auto-ongeluk waarbij haar ouders omkwamen en haar broertje Uffe verstandelijk beperkt raakte. Ze verdwijnt van een veerboot naar Duitsland, waar ze met haar broer Uffe een weekend in Berlijn zou doorbrengen. Ze wordt gevangen gehouden in een afgesloten ruimte, een compressiekamer blijkt al gauw, daar brengt ze jaren in toenemende wanhoop door, terwijl haar onbekende bewakers haar observeren. Merete voert een verschrikkelijke strijd tegen eenzaamheid en alle ontberingen en probeert om niet gek te worden. Vaak denkt ze dan aan de boeken, die ze in haar jeugd en later gelezen heeft. Ze heeft als het ware een bibliotheek in haar hoofd. Wat is het motief om haar zolang gevangen te houden op zo’n gruwelijke manier? Dankzij hun vasthoudendheid weten Carl en Assad de zaak op te lossen, waarbij het motief is te vinden in het verleden. Ze komen een paar mensen op het spoor, die gedreven zijn door haat. Tegen het eind van het verhaal komen de twee verhaallijnen samen.

De tegendraadse Morck en de gedreven Assad zijn een bijzonder speurdersduo. Ze zijn aan elkaar gewaagd, waarbij de wisselwerking tussen hen amusant is. In een interview zegt Jussi Adler-Olsen dat hij uit een cartoon inspiratie heeft gehaald voor zijn hoofdpersoon Carl Mørck. Op de tekening werd het verschil zichtbaar tussen wat het karakter zei en in bijhorende denkwolkje wat hij dacht. Zo kan de schrijver dingen zeggen die hij normaal voor zich houdt.

Dit boek komt langzaam op gang. Jussi Adler-Olsen schrijft helder en weet de spanning goed op te voeren. Het is een erg beklemmend verhaal. Je wilt graag weten of het slachtoffer dit kan overleven en of Carl en Assad er in zullen slagen om aanknopingspunten te vinden.

Jussi Adler-Olsens Serie q-boeken worden enthousiast ontvangen en bereiken allemaal de bestsellerstatus. Hij is geboren in 1950 in Kopenhagen en studeerde af aan de Universiteit van Kopenhagen in politieke wetenschappen, economie en sociologie en filmwetenschappen. Hij groeide op bij psychiatrische inrichtingen, waar zijn vader de leiding had, wat hem veel inspiratie heeft gegeven. Psychische ziektes en internationale samenzweringen spelen dan ook een grote rol in zijn boeken. Hij weet sinds zijn jeugd precies het verschil tussen normaal gedrag en krankzinnigheid. "Dat deel van mijn jeugd was misschien het belangrijkste voor wat ik vandaag doe. Mijn achtergrond heeft me in staat gesteld vele vormen van menselijk gedrag te begrijpen. Ik heb het in alle vormen meegemaakt." zegt Adler-Olsen.

Een zenuwslopende misdaadthriller met een beetje humor, die je in één ruk uitleest. Ik vond het een spannend boek en ben erg benieuwd naar De fazantenmoordenaars en De noodkreet in de fles, waar ik ook goede berichten van heb gehoord.

tags: spannend, origineel(less)

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Apr 11, 2013 Gloria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to the audio version and it was a real treat to hear the narrator switch back and forth from unaccented English to Danish accented English. His Middle Eastern accent sounded Transylvanian but that's ok.

The story was great! Adler-Olsen took his time, never rushed anything. And given the situation, taking his time was the right way to go. A cold case from the past is about to intersect with a reopened investigation. Carl Mork (no idea if that's spelled correctly or not) is the new head...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Lindz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 13x13, horror, mystery, series, translated, scandinavian, suspension-of-disbelief

Nobody wants to work with Carl. He used to be a good homicide detective for the Copenhagen police, but all that changed in a shootout that took the life of his partner and paralyzed another colleague. Now he suppresses his guilty feelings with a sour personality. Unable to work with anyone but not in danger of being fired (how would that look on the police department, firing an officer just after he comes back from a traumatic experience like that!), his boss thinks he struck it lucky when he's...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Sam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An OK read. Detective Carl Morck of Copenhagen has lost enthusiasm for detective work, not to mention enthusiasm for life, after one of his partners was killed and the other rendered paraplegic. He is also deeply unpopular with his colleagues. Nonetheless, he gets put in charge of a new "Department Q" to investigate long unsolved cases. Morck is an interesting character for about thee short chapters, but then becomes complete formulaic. The only interesting character is kidnapped near the beginn...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Gloria Feit rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There are all kinds of Scandinavian protagonists, but Carl Morsck, the irascible Danish detective introduced to readers in this novel, is up there with the best of them. An iconoclast, the homicide chief doesn’t know what to do with him, as Carl insults and ignores his fellow police officers in Copenhagen. And when in the course of an investigation he and his two team members are shot, one of whom is killed and the other paralyzed from the neck down, and Carl wounded in the head because he falte...more

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Dec 31, 2012 drey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, mystery-suspense-and-thriller

Carl Mørck was a brilliant homicide detective, until his inability to move took the life of one of his partners and put another in a hospital bed. He’s always been just a bit cantankerous, but now it seems as though he’s fallen off the deep end and his superiors don’t quite know what to do with him.

Cue a promotion.

Now he’s got his own office (in the basement), an assistant (who’s not even a cop), and a stack of cold cases (waiting for him to get off his permanent cigarette break). So he figures...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: december-2012, mystery, crime-fiction

In this book, Carl Morck, a homicide dectective, receives a promotion from homicide chief Marcus Jacobsen to work alone in a department called Department Q. Carl eventually requests for an assistant to work with him in the department and decides that the disappearance of Merete Lynggard is the first case that he'll work on. Although most people believe that Merete drowned, Carl still believes that she is still alive. After moving around to various places and sending his assistant named Assad to...more

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title link	preview: The Keeper of Lost Causes: The First Department Q Novel
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11512646-the-keeper-of-lost-causes?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322293756l/11512646.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11512646-the-keeper-of-lost-causes?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Keeper of Lost Causes: The First Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen[/url]

The Keeper of Lost Causes: The First Department Q Novel (Afdeling Q (Department Q) #1)

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