Mercy (Penguin Picks) (Department Q)

by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Hunted. Imprisoned. She’ll never beg forMercyJussi Adler-OlsenThe No. 1
International
BestsellerMercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen is Scandinavia’s new bestselling crime writing sensation…At first the prisoner scratches at the walls until her fingers bleed. But there is no escaping the room. With no way of measuring time, her days, weeks, months go unrecorded. She vows not go mad. She will not give her captors the satisfaction. She will die first.

Copenhagen detective Carl Mørck has been taken off homicide to run a newly created department for unsolved crimes. His first case concerns Merete Lynggaard, who vanished five years ago. Everyone says she's dead. Everyone says it's a waste of time. He thinks they're right.

The voice in the dark is distorted, harsh and without mercy. It says the prisoner's torture will only end when she answers one simple question. It is one she has asked herself a million times:

WHY is this happening?A dark and mysterious story, Mercy establishes Jussi Adler-Olsen as the master of the Nordic thriller.

`This pitch-black novel will have readers hungry for more’ — Independent

`The new “it” boy of Nordic Noir’ — The Times

`Gripping storytelling’ — Guardian

Jussi Adler-Olsen was born in Copenhagen and worked as a magazine editor and publisher before starting to write fiction. Mercy, Disgrace and Redemption are the first three in currently four novels in the Department Q series. He holds the prestigious Glass Key Award, given annually for a crime novel by a Scandinavian author, and is also winner of the Golden Laurels, Denmark's highest literary accolade.

• ISBN10: 0141399961
• ISBN13: 9780141399966
• Publish Date: 12 May 2011
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 31 May 2013
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

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.