kuzumel reviewed on 9/1/2013 + 112 more book reviews

This book was not quite the same pace as the earlier two. But the storyline kept me coming back. The plot exists as 3.5 separate threads: Dept Q, the various victom's families, and from both Mia (0.7) and her villianous husband (0.8). Because of these separate lines, the pace keeps changing, interrupting the flow - sometimes at inopportune moments. There are many amusing and intriguing scenes, among which Assad and Rose figure prominently. Like the last book, Disgrace (or The Absent One, depending on country), where we learned about the nefarious habits of the filthy rich, this one uncovers hidden lives of the many insular villages populated by only members of small Christian splinter groups that dot the countryside of gloomy Denmark. Things are indeed strange with the Danes.

One of the best parts of this book is the further developments inside Department Q's staff and the increasing cast of unofficial members who help out in various ways. The evolution of this informal support network within is something we often do not see in most detective series. They either work with the system, or the network is already in place. The trace evidence and documents experts are not the usual ones we meet. And Hardy needs to be brought back into police work, like Lincoln Rhyme. He's already behaving like a consulting dectetive anyway.

I have one complaint. The English translation is not as good as itcould be. I don't mind the bits of British terms and names. However, the choice of words, phrases, and sentence structures took something away from the original Danish version - not that I read Dutch, but I done some translation work and recognise the symptoms.

In the end, I still like Department Q stories. Enogh that I will read the fourth book.

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