The Keeper of Lost Causes (2008)

Carl Morck is just back to work with the detective bureau in Copenhagen. He was shot, one partner killed and another paralyzed from the neck down. To say he’s depressed and feeling guilty is no stretch of the imagination. He’s burned out, tired, and just wants out. Instead he finds himself promoted to head up a new division. He’s locked away in the basement, away from everyone and left to stew alone, with a pile of old unsolved cases.

His only employee, a naturalized citizen from Syria, who is supposed to have been hired to clean, ends up pushing Carl into picking up one of the cases, that of a missing female politician. Carl reluctantly begins to look at the case, but is drawn into it, more by the cleaners plan than by his own, until he begins to think he might have found out where the first investigation went wrong.

Very very noir mystery. Grim situation, horrible bad guys, and a detective who’s barely hanging on to his own sanity, all come together for a nail-biting conclusion.

Great characterization and a fascinating slow but steady build to the finale. ( )

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were very believable. I loved that Carl wanted so much to not care about anything, but his cop instincts (and a little good luck) wouldn't let him ignore the evidence. Myrete was certainly lucky that Carl irritated enough people to make him head of department Q. I wish the rest of the books were translated to english so that I could love them all! ( )

Department Q book #1

It seems to be at top bestseller in Northern Europe your mysteries have to feature a deeply flawed detective as a protagonist and it works. Put into the mix one of the most intriguing story and you have a hit.

This first instalment is very character- driven and centers on a physically and emotionally damaged Copenhagen police homicide detective, Carl Morck who was once one of Copenhagen’s best till a bullet almost took his life and left his two colleagues not so lucky. He never forgave himself for not drawing his pistol ever since. He isn’t one to stick to the rules and soon finds himself “punished” and put to pasture in the basement to run the new formed department Q, a special unit investigating cold cases of missing persons long forgotten. With his one assistant Hafez el- Assad, political refugees from Syria, the duo makes a strangely detective pair. Their first case is a high profile one, the disappearance of Merete Lynggaard, a politician who vanished without a trace five years earlier. The preliminary investigation reveals elementary omissions from the original team and sloppy detective works and opens a ton of questions they want and need answers for…..

The aspect of their investigation is excellent, well-paced and few characters to keep track of which made it easier to place the pieces of the puzzle together as the plot moved on. Different chapters are devoted to Merete from the time before her abduction through her ordeal of being a captive. The story is highly captivating and I was hooked immediately and spellbound till the end. The characterization is dynamic and brilliant, painting the perfect odd couple (Carl and Assad) with all the funny moments that goes with it. A little humour served to create breathing room where the tension is too high, combine to it is a good portion of satire and self-irony and you have all the important components to set you characters into a most gripping of plot. ( )

This is the first book I read from this author but I am an avid reader of Scandinavian authors. I liked the way the book draws you in from the beginning and I like the way the main characters, Meret and Carl are developed so that you really get to know them. Others have already gone into the details of the story. I found it exciting and creative. I'll read more of his books. ( )

After a shoot-out which left his team decimated, Detective Carl Mørck is “promoted” to the basement to run Department Q, but with Mørck’s stubbornness and office assistant Assad’s shady skills, the two of them may just surprise all the naysayers. This one takes a little while to get going since Mørck starts off quite an off-putting character, but once we're up to speed with all the different voices, it becomes extremely engaging. Even after the beginning, Mørck can get a little too negative at times, but Assad's semi-(or is it pseudo-?)innocent charm and murky MO easily balances it out and the combination of the two together is why the story works so well - the sum is much greater than the total of the parts. And, although what actually happens to Merete Lynggaard beggars belief on a major scale and the ending veers slightly toward convenient, I'm enamored enough with all the characters to suspend my belief and be horrified on her behalf. Beware that there are some cruel torture scenes in this one that might not be for the faint of heart - there's especially one scene involving a tooth that had even me gagging a bit. Highly recommended for my fellow grim-and-gruesome mystery fans. Note that I read this in Swedish and can't vouch for the English translation. ( )