Vivian Q. (bellasgranny) -
Sadly disappointing. The first entry in the series was so terrific that I couldn't wait to start this one. While I love the characters, the setting, and the addition of Rose's character, the story line was juat plain boring. I skimmed the last 50 or so pages because I was so underwhelmed. I do want to see where he goes next with the series.
Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Many times, an author comes close to being great with their first novel in a new series, and manages to put it all together in the 2nd or 3rd book. The "problem", if you can call it that, is that I loved Jussi Adler-Olsen's first book in the Department Q series, "The Keeper of Lost Causes". It would have been difficult to improve upon that book. The fact that Mr. Adler-Olsen manages to stay close to that mark is noteworthy.
Our protagonist, Carl Mørck, the head of Department Q, is shown on the job and on the home front. (His co-workers are only shown / discussed on the job, with any hints that they have a personal life limited to conversations at work.) The other vantage points taken during this novel are those of Kimmie, a homeless woman who lives in and around Copenhagen's train station and those of a few of Denmark's most successful - and morally bankrupt citizens. Author Adler-Olsen keeps shifting the vantage point between those 4 perspectives, as they all begin to merge together into a tight and thrilling climax.
Not as good as "The Keeper of Lost Causes", but then, I didn't think it could be. Still enjoyable, though.
RATING: 4 stars.
Our protagonist, Carl Mørck, the head of Department Q, is shown on the job and on the home front. (His co-workers are only shown / discussed on the job, with any hints that they have a personal life limited to conversations at work.) The other vantage points taken during this novel are those of Kimmie, a homeless woman who lives in and around Copenhagen's train station and those of a few of Denmark's most successful - and morally bankrupt citizens. Author Adler-Olsen keeps shifting the vantage point between those 4 perspectives, as they all begin to merge together into a tight and thrilling climax.
Not as good as "The Keeper of Lost Causes", but then, I didn't think it could be. Still enjoyable, though.
RATING: 4 stars.
Hmmmm... I am SHOCKED ... SHOCKED ... at the antics and diviant entertainments of the Danish superrich. ;-)
About one third of the way into the book, you know who the players are in this book, and given it is a mystery-detective story, you can guess how it will end. But dispair not. The story is in the writer's skillful pen (by way of our British translater).
First, the expected ending is suspenseful as our intrepid dectetives must escape the deadly situation and catch the bad guys.
Second, the PATH to the ending held many unexpected twists and turns as you learn the about the past events that led up to the present.
Third, Afler-Olsen not only further develops Carl and Assad, but drops Rose into the basement as another underutilized misfit troublemaker shunted into Department Q. The basement is becoming a very cultural county fair as they doggedly dig out obscure clues from the mountain ranges of bureaucratic records and news stories that lead to the villian(s).
Last, something rumbles in Denmark as the police bureaucracy undergoes yet another round of unexpected changes. In other countries, you can't get rid of the spoiling apples from the upper echelons. But in Copenhagen, they hop out of the barrels on their own!
I am reading the 3rd book and just put myself down for the 4th. The Scandinavian mysteries have their own definitive style and flow apart from the English, Japanese, Chinese, and American detectives. So far its been 2 out of 3 gloomy Scandinavian protagonists for me.
About one third of the way into the book, you know who the players are in this book, and given it is a mystery-detective story, you can guess how it will end. But dispair not. The story is in the writer's skillful pen (by way of our British translater).
First, the expected ending is suspenseful as our intrepid dectetives must escape the deadly situation and catch the bad guys.
Second, the PATH to the ending held many unexpected twists and turns as you learn the about the past events that led up to the present.
Third, Afler-Olsen not only further develops Carl and Assad, but drops Rose into the basement as another underutilized misfit troublemaker shunted into Department Q. The basement is becoming a very cultural county fair as they doggedly dig out obscure clues from the mountain ranges of bureaucratic records and news stories that lead to the villian(s).
Last, something rumbles in Denmark as the police bureaucracy undergoes yet another round of unexpected changes. In other countries, you can't get rid of the spoiling apples from the upper echelons. But in Copenhagen, they hop out of the barrels on their own!
I am reading the 3rd book and just put myself down for the 4th. The Scandinavian mysteries have their own definitive style and flow apart from the English, Japanese, Chinese, and American detectives. So far its been 2 out of 3 gloomy Scandinavian protagonists for me.
Nancy L. (NancyAZ) reviewed The Absent One (aka Disgrace) (Department Q, Bk 2) on + 88 more book reviews
I am loving this series. This is the second book in the author's Department Q series. It features Carl Morck who has been put in charge of Department Q, a department of one, with a stack of Copenhagen's coldest cases to review.
In the first book he is given an assistant, Assad, who brings levity to the book. In this second installment he has been given a second assistant, Rose, who is equally entertaining. It's a dark story but engrossing and entertaining all the same. I loved the great characters, the humor and the suspense. I am looking forward to Book #3.
In the first book he is given an assistant, Assad, who brings levity to the book. In this second installment he has been given a second assistant, Rose, who is equally entertaining. It's a dark story but engrossing and entertaining all the same. I loved the great characters, the humor and the suspense. I am looking forward to Book #3.
Liked it alright. Another one of the now endless series
