Department Q
8 primary works • 16 total works
Book 1
Carl Mørck used to be one of Denmark’s best homicide detectives. Then a hail of bullets destroyed the lives of two fellow cops, and Carl—who didn’t draw his weapon—blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing he expects. But Department Q is a department of one, and Carl’s got only a stack of cold cases for company. His colleagues snicker, but Carl may have the last laugh, because one file keeps nagging at him: a liberal politician vanished five years earlier and is presumed dead. But she isn’t dead...yet.
Darkly humorous, propulsive, and atmospheric, The Keeper of Lost Causes introduces American readers to the mega-bestselling series fast becoming an international sensation.
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 7
Detective Carl Mørck of Department Q, Copenhagen's cold cases division, meets his toughest challenge yet when the dark, troubled past of one of his own team members collides with a sinister unsolved murder.
In a Copenhagen park the body of an elderly woman is discovered. The case bears a striking resemblance to another unsolved homicide investigation from over a decade ago, but the connection between the two victims confounds the police. Across town a group of young women are being hunted. The attacks seem random, but could these brutal acts of violence be related? Detective Carl Mørck of Department Q is charged with solving the mystery.
Back at headquarters, Carl and his team are under pressure to deliver results: failure to meet his superiors’ expectations will mean the end of Department Q. Solving the case, however, is not their only concern. After an earlier breakdown, their colleague Rose is still struggling to deal with the reemergence of her past—a past in which a terrible crime may have been committed. It is up to Carl, Assad, and Gordon to uncover the dark and violent truth at the heart of Rose’s childhood before it is too late.
Book 8
The newspaper refers to the body only as Victim 2117—the two thousand one hundred and seventeenth refugee to die in the Mediterranean Sea. But to three people, the unnamed victim is so much more, and the death sets off a chain of events that throws Department Q, Copenhagen’s cold cases division led by Detective Carl Mørck, into a deeply dangerous—and deeply personal—case. A case that not only reveals dark secrets about the past, but has deadly implications for the future.
For troubled Danish teen Alexander, whose identity is hidden behind his computer screen, the death of Victim 2117 becomes a symbol of everything he resents and the perfect excuse to unleash his murderous impulses in real life. For Ghaalib, one of the most brutal tormentors from Abu Ghraib—Saddam Hussein’s infamous prison—the death of Victim 2117 is the first step in a terrorist plot years in the making. And for Department Q’s Assad, Victim 2117 is a link to his buried past—and the family he assumed was long dead.
With the help of the Department Q squad—Carl, Rose, and Gordon—Assad must finally confront painful memories from his years in the Middle East in order to find and capture Ghaalib. But with the clock ticking down to Alexander’s first kill and Ghaalib’s devastating attack, the thinly spread Department Q will need to stay one step ahead of their most lethal adversary yet if they are to prevent the loss of thousands of innocent lives.
Book 9
On her sixtieth birthday, a woman takes her own life. When the case lands on Detective Carl Mørck’s desk, he can’t imagine what this has to do with Department Q, Copenhagen’s cold cases division since the cause of death seems apparent. However, his superior, Marcus Jacobsen, is convinced that this is related to an unsolved case that has been plaguing him since 1988.
At Marcus's behest, Carl and the Department Q gang—Rose, Assad, and Gordon—reluctantly begin to investigate. And they quickly discover that Marcus is onto something: Every two years for the past three decades, there have been unusual, impeccably timed deaths with connections between them that cannot be ignored, including mysterious piles of salt at the scenes. As the investigation goes deeper, it emerges that these "accidents" are in fact part of a sinister murder scheme.
Faced with their toughest case yet, made only more difficult by COVID-19 restrictions and the challenges of their personal lives, the Department Q team must race to find the culprit before the next murder is committed, as it is becoming increasingly clear that the killer is far from finished.
THE 12.5 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR. Superstar author Jussi Adler-Olsen returns with the newest book in his Department Q series. For fans of Tim Weaver and Jo Nesbo.
In the middle of a hard-won morning nap in the basement of police headquarters, Carl Morck, head of Department Q, receives a call from a colleague working on the Danish island of Bornholm. Carl is dismissive at first, but then he receives some shocking news. Carl then has no choice but to lead Department Q into the tragic cold case of a vivacious seventeen-year-old girl who vanished from school, only to be found dead hanging high up in a tree. The investigation will take them from the remote island of Bornholm to a hidden cult, where Carl and his assistants must stop a string of new murders by a skilled manipulator who refuses to let anything-or anyone-get in the way.
The heart-stopping and gripping novel from the author of international No. 1 bestsellers Mercy and Disgrace - fans of Scandinavian crime thrillers will love this.
1987
Nete Rosen thought she'd put her traumatic youth behind her. Her caring foster parents and loving husband helped her start again.
But then a man from her past reappears, who threatens to destroy her new life.
She won't be drawn back into that nightmare - she won't be a victim again . . .
2010
Detective Carl Mørck from Copenhagen's cold case division is looking into the disappearance of Rita Nielsen, an escort agency owner.
But as he investigates, he discovers that Rita is only one piece of the puzzle.
It's not a one-off incident, but part of a disturbing pattern that's been hidden for over 20 years . . .
Praise for Jussi Adler-Olsen:
'Gripping storytelling' Guardian
'Engrossing' Sunday Express
'As impressive as it is unnerving' Independent
FEATURED IN THE TIMES TOP 100 CRIME & THRILLERS SINCE 1945
Penguin Picks are stories you'll want to read again and again. Beautifully and stylishly designed by a modern artist, they are not only stories you'll keep coming back to but also books whose looks will never go out of fashion . . .
Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen is Scandinavia's new bestselling crime writing sensation
'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. At least ten times she had fumbled her way to the steel door and stuck her fingernails in the crack to pry it open . . .'
Merete Lynggard vanished five years ago. Everyone says she's dead. Everyone says the case is a waste of time. Everyone except Copenhagen detective Carl Morck. Turning over this old case he thinks he's found a clue missed by his predecessors. It takes him on a journey, one that upsets his superiors, that troubles his colleagues, that causes him to break rules. But at the end of it a woman waits who has been missing five years . . .
'Engrossing' Sunday Express
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Popular Penguins perfectly designed
FROM THE 10 MILLION COPY, NO. 1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DEPARTMENT Q SERIES
A GRIPPING TREAT FOR FANS OF SCANDANAVIAN THRILLERS
One boy is on the run from an international conspiracy . . .
Over three years ago, a civil servant vanished after returning from a work trip to Africa.
Presumed dead, his family still want answers.
It's up to Department Q, Denmark's cold cases department, to find out the truth. But what Detective Carl Morck doesn't know, is that the key to the investigation is right here in Copenhagen . . .
Fifteen-year-old Marco Jameson is tough, smart and very suspicious of police. Sleeping rough and hiding in the shadows is his way of life.
But what does he know worth killing for - and will the police find him before whoever he is running from?
Praise for Jussi Adler-Olsen:
'The new 'it' boy of Nordic Noir' The Times
'Gripping story-telling' Guardian
'As impressive as it is unnerving' Independent
Kimmie's home is on the streets of Copenhagen. To live, she must steal. She has learned to avoid the police and never to stay in one place for long. But now others are trying to find her. And they won't rest until she has stopped moving - for good.
Detective Carl Morck of Department Q, the cold cases division, has received a file concerning the brutal murder of a brother and sister twenty years earlier. A group of boarding school students were the suspects at the time - until one of their number confessed and was convicted. So why is the file of a closed case on Carl's desk? Who put it there? Who believes the case is not solved?
Carl wants to talk to Kimmie, but someone else is also asking questions about her. They know she carries secrets certain powerful people want to stay buried deep. But Kimmie has one of her own. It's the biggest secret of them all.
And she can't wait to share it . . .
Disgrace is the second terrifying episode in the Department Q series, following the No. 1 international bestseller, Mercy. The darkness continues with Redemption, available from Penguin in April 2013.
Praise for Jussi Adler-Olsen:
'The new "it" boy of Nordic Noir' The Times
'Gripping story-telling' Guardian
'This pitch-black novel will have readers hungry for more' Independent
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 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.
Jussi Adler-Olsen's internationally bestselling Q series returns with Redemption, a gripping treat for all fans of the Scandinavian crime thriller.
'For those suffering withdrawals from The Killing' The Times
__________
A letter in blood, a horrifying disappearance. . .
Two boys, brothers, wake up tied and bound in a boathouse by the sea. Their kidnapper has gone, but he'll be back. They cannot escape . . .
In Copenhagen's cold cases division Carl Mørck has received a bottle.
It holds an old and decayed message, written in blood.
It is a cry for help from two boys. Is it real?
Who are they and why weren't they reported missing? Can they possibly still be alive?
He needs to find out, and fast . . .
Praise for Adler-Olsen:
'The new "it" boy of Nordic Noir' The Times
'Engrossing' Sunday Express
'Adler-Olsen's fascination with abnormal psychology once again pays off' Sunday Times
The thrilling final instalment in the Department Q series - pre-order now!
On the day after Christmas, head of Department Q Detective Carl Mørck finds himself handcuffed in a police car headed for Copenhagen's Vestre prison. After 15 years, a violent case from his past has caught up with him. Charges of drug trafficking and murder threaten to destroy his life and career.
But he is being framed. Someone has a million dollar bounty on his head to make sure he doesn't talk, putting him in grave danger among the prison's incarcerated criminals and corrupt officers. The question that remains is, why?
Carl's colleagues at the Copenhagen Police Department instantly turn their backs on him, leaving the ever-loyal Department Q team as his only hope. In search of answers, Rose, Assad, and Gordon must disobey direct orders from way up the chain to try to unravel the case.
With only each other to trust and Carl's battle against the unknown mastermind's henchmen worsening by the day, they must work faster than ever before if they are to clear his name - and save his life.
Praise for Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q series:
'Everything you could possibly want from a thriller and much, much more' Kirkus
'So engrossing' 5* reader review
'Adler-Olsen is the new "it" boy of Nordic Noir' The Times
'The best author around' 5* reader review
'Engrossing' Sunday Express
'Left me wanting more' 5* reader review
'Gripping storytelling' Guardian
'Another gripping read from Jussi Adler-Olsen!' 5* reader review
'As impressive as it is unnerving' Independent