Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) - , reviewed on 8/16/2014 + 569 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

What do you do with a good, but damaged (physically and emotionally) cop whom no one wishes to work with? You take advantage of government funding and create a brand-new department for him alone (and keep the rest of the money in your own budget). Let the guy handle Copenhagen's (and maybe all of Denmark's) cold cases, allowing him a small basement office and an assistant whose immigrant background allows him to settle for menial work while his intelligence makes him a valued member of the team.

Jussi Alder-Olsen has created an engaging premise to a new series, in which Carl Merck and his Department Q (in other words, Carl and his assistant Assad) investigate the case of a rising political star who vanishes from a ferry between Denmark and Germany 5 years beforehand. Did she commit suicide? Was she murdered? Or, as the reader will quickly realize (especially if they read the dust jacket), perhaps she's not even dead yet

Alder-Olsen also manages to successfully manage jumping around various locations and even times without confusing the reader certainly a challenge that has stymied other writers.

I picked up this book simply because of its locale I'd never read a mystery set in Denmark. I plan to pick up the next one because the author impressed me, regardless of setting.

RATING: 5 stars.

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