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The Absent One A Department Q Novel Jussi AdlerOlsen Books

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The Absent One A Department Q Novel Jussi AdlerOlsen Books

As in a lot of crime novels protagonsist Carl Moerk ( the letters "oe" are the English equivalent of the Danish vowel O with a / through it--so it's Moerk NOT Mork) is a troubled soul. The operation introduced at the very beginning of Adler-Olsen's first book "The Keeper of Lost Causes" has not gone well and Moerk is trying to pick up the pieces. Kicked "up-stairs", or in his case, to the basement, Moerk finds himself in the midst of a five year old missing persons case, thought to be a lost cause. He isn't happy, nor is his mood improved when the powers that be assign him an assistant named "Assad" to his team at "Department Q." They develop a unique relationship which unfolds in "The Keeper of Lost Causes."

"The Absent One" begins where "The Keeper of Lost Causes" ends. Having determined the outcome of their first case Moerk and Assad move on to a different but equally frightening case. Adler-Olsen continues to develop Moerk and Assad as interesting characters, both as individuals and as partners. Assad becomes more than the always cheerful assistant. There is something there. Was he truly a refugee from a repressive Iraqi regime as Moerk assumes? Adler-Olsen hints just enough at the possibility that Assad is not as good a guy as he appears that one will just have to wait til installment three to find out. Then, enters Rose: under-appreciated, but is she an asset or not to the department? Meanwhile Department Q,--and Moerk--must find a trio of serial killers whose decades' spanning heinous acts have gone unnoticed by all but his tiny department, And then they must determine whether or not one of the main characters is a victim or a perpetrator. She is a troubled soul: abused and on the run. Readers might guess but won't find out for certain until the last pages eactly what her behavior means.

I have lived in Denmark and visit it frequently. My dearest friend in the world lives in the same town as Carl Moerk. It is a real place, as are other places Adler-Olsen describes in his book. Reading his books make me feel a little closer to Denmark because I, like Moerk, have struggled to find things after they rearranged the shelves in Qvikly, the newly enlarged grocery store. And like Moerk, my friend has bemoaned the gentrification of what was once a small town north or Copenhagen. So while Department Q might be a figment of Adler-Olsen's imagination, the places he names in Copenhagen, Alleroed, and in Hilleroed (mentioned specifically in "The Absent One") and the Danish countryside are real places. This lends a sense of reality I hope will give Americans unfamiliar with Denmark a taste for this wonderful country.

I would also like to note that Denmark has had a great deal of difficulty coming to terms with its immigration problems revolving around refugees from the Middle East, especially Iraq. Making Moerk's right hand man "Assad" an Iraqi, possibly Kurdish refugee is, in my opinion, brilliant. It, like casting the victim of the first Department Q novel as a person similar to one in a high position of political power in the real Denmark, allows Adler-Olsen to make some subtle commentary on Denmark's current socio-political situation. While that might be lost on the average American reader, do not fear, there is more than enough in both plot and character development to keep an American reader interested.


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The Absent One A Department Q Novel Jussi AdlerOlsen Books Reviews

When Carl Morck returns to work after solving the Merete Lynggaard case (high profile missing persons case he solves in The Keeper of Lost Causes), he finds a mysterious case file on his desk. Mysterious, because the case has already been solved and because nobody is owning up to putting it there. He vaguely remembers the case, but doesn't remember any of the details. Knowing the case file didn't find its own way to his office, he begins to do a little digging just to satisfy his own curiosity. Two young adults (a brother and sister), had been brutally and cruelly beaten to death in their family's summer cottage. After years of interviews and tying up loose ends, police had reached a stand-still. Then out of nowhere, a confession. Morck's curiosity is peeked when he becomes more familiar with the details and the strange confession that was given years after the crime was committed. Why would this man confess years later when there had been no evidence against him? What would possess someone to confess to a crime that they had by all accounts gotten away with? Morck's experience told him that something wasn't right. Something was missing. As he digs for more information, he and his assistants continue to hit walls. Files have gone missing, witnesses are either dead or unwilling to talk, and his supervisors are not happy that valuable resources are being spent on a 'solved' case when there are many unsolved cases that demand attention. What is it about this case that has everyone on edge? What do they not want him to find?

Jussi Alder-Olsen is in a league of his own. The Absent One is an addictive read. The storyline is split between several different parties and skips back and forth between the past and the present (very similar format to The Keeper of Lost Causes). Alder-Olsen keeps you guessing and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Although I did enjoy the plot immensely, it was more predictable and less shocking than the previous novel. I also want to express that there are parts of this novel that are gruesome and heart-breaking. What happened to Merete Lynggaard was terrible, but there is actually a lot more violence in this novel than in the previous novel, so be warned that this is not a book for the light-hearted.

One thing is certain ... If you are a criminal in Denmark, you don't want Carl Morck on your tail!
As in a lot of crime novels protagonsist Carl Moerk ( the letters "oe" are the English equivalent of the Danish vowel O with a / through it--so it's Moerk NOT Mork) is a troubled soul. The operation introduced at the very beginning of Adler-Olsen's first book "The Keeper of Lost Causes" has not gone well and Moerk is trying to pick up the pieces. Kicked "up-stairs", or in his case, to the basement, Moerk finds himself in the midst of a five year old missing persons case, thought to be a lost cause. He isn't happy, nor is his mood improved when the powers that be assign him an assistant named "Assad" to his team at "Department Q." They develop a unique relationship which unfolds in "The Keeper of Lost Causes."

"The Absent One" begins where "The Keeper of Lost Causes" ends. Having determined the outcome of their first case Moerk and Assad move on to a different but equally frightening case. Adler-Olsen continues to develop Moerk and Assad as interesting characters, both as individuals and as partners. Assad becomes more than the always cheerful assistant. There is something there. Was he truly a refugee from a repressive Iraqi regime as Moerk assumes? Adler-Olsen hints just enough at the possibility that Assad is not as good a guy as he appears that one will just have to wait til installment three to find out. Then, enters Rose under-appreciated, but is she an asset or not to the department? Meanwhile Department Q,--and Moerk--must find a trio of serial killers whose decades' spanning heinous acts have gone unnoticed by all but his tiny department, And then they must determine whether or not one of the main characters is a victim or a perpetrator. She is a troubled soul abused and on the run. Readers might guess but won't find out for certain until the last pages eactly what her behavior means.

I have lived in Denmark and visit it frequently. My dearest friend in the world lives in the same town as Carl Moerk. It is a real place, as are other places Adler-Olsen describes in his book. Reading his books make me feel a little closer to Denmark because I, like Moerk, have struggled to find things after they rearranged the shelves in Qvikly, the newly enlarged grocery store. And like Moerk, my friend has bemoaned the gentrification of what was once a small town north or Copenhagen. So while Department Q might be a figment of Adler-Olsen's imagination, the places he names in Copenhagen, Alleroed, and in Hilleroed (mentioned specifically in "The Absent One") and the Danish countryside are real places. This lends a sense of reality I hope will give Americans unfamiliar with Denmark a taste for this wonderful country.

I would also like to note that Denmark has had a great deal of difficulty coming to terms with its immigration problems revolving around refugees from the Middle East, especially Iraq. Making Moerk's right hand man "Assad" an Iraqi, possibly Kurdish refugee is, in my opinion, brilliant. It, like casting the victim of the first Department Q novel as a person similar to one in a high position of political power in the real Denmark, allows Adler-Olsen to make some subtle commentary on Denmark's current socio-political situation. While that might be lost on the average American reader, do not fear, there is more than enough in both plot and character development to keep an American reader interested.