A Conspiracy of Faith: A Department Q Novel

A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler Olsen
5 Stars

This is the third appearance of Carl Mørck, head of Department Q, the group that takes care of closed cases. Along with his mysterious assistant, Assad, and his eccentric secretary, Rose, they try to solve the mystery of an old message in a bottle that comes to them through a long, circuitous route. It contains a plea for help that's been written in blood, sealed in the bottle with tar, and thrown into the sea many years ago.

Soon we meet a man who targets children who come from families of unusual and small religious sects. He holds them for ransom in a hidden boathouse and tells the parents that if the police are called or anyone is told of the crime, the other children in the family show more will be killed. We also meet two interesting women. The first is Mia, a housewife and mother, who lives with her husband who is often missing on some important work and she's had about enough of it. The second is Isabel Jønsson, a lonely single woman who often makes bad choices in her love life.

Carl and Assad are also working on a second case involving series of arsons. In each case a single body is found with same signature, suggesting they are all connected in some way even though they've taken place years apart.

Many of the characters we met in the prior two novels appear here in expanded roles. Carl's assistant Assad is a Muslim from Syria who started out as Carl's janitor and is becoming a rising star due to his ability to see clues others can't see. Rose goes on leave and sends in her twin sister, Yrsa, to take her place for awhile. We see more of Hardy Henningson, Carl's ex-partner who was shot in the spine and is now a quadriplegic. He lives with Carl and Carl's friend, Morten, who also shares the house, cares for him and does the cooking.

I could have done without some of the minor plot lines like the return of Mona, the psychiatrist who helped Carl in the past and whom he still longs for, and his not-yet-ex-wife, Vigga, and stepson Jesper.

The primary driver of the book, that of the kidnappings, is exciting to read. The characters are all action oriented, with first person dialogue, and whole episodes are devoted individually to each of the main characters which I really like in a book. I like to see the action from each character's perspective.

Loved the book and the characters and can't wait for the next one to be released here in America. show less

The best in the Department Q series so far. Not as horrific as the first novel and not as bloated as the second installment. A good mix between humour and tension as we revisit the quirky characters of the Department Q team, some of whom themselves are shrouded in mystery. An old message, written in blood, is found in a bottle floating off the coast of Scotland. Scottish forensics discovers the message is in Danish and the bottle lands on the large pile of cold cases languishing in Department Q. While the reader knows the back story of the message and that the killer is still at large, the tension builds as the Department Q team slowly piece the story surrounding the message together. The reader waits with bated breath for the team to show more connect the dots and make the breakthrough and when it happens the pace is taken up a notch with a very tense race against time. An excellent third installment to a very enjoyable series. I listened to the audio version of this, which was superbly narrated by Steven Pacey. I must have made quite a spectacle of myself in traffic, jumping up and down in the car, shouting and waving my fists at the radio! show less

You many remember me raving about the first two books in this wonderful series. The third book in Jussi Adler-Olsen's series has just released in North America - A Conspiracy of Faith.

Detective Carl Morck works for Department Q - housed in the basement of the Denmark Police Department. Department Q deals with old and cold cases. The department isn't very large - it's Carl and Assad - an enigmatic Syrian who started off as the cleaner, but has proven to be invaluable to Carl. They have been joined by Rose - and her sister Ursa this time 'round - both decidedly 'different'.

Adler-Olsen hooked me right from the start. A pair of boys is being held captive in a remote boathouse. The older brother knows they are going to die, but show more ingeniously manages to put together a message in a bottle and toss it through a crack into the ocean. Years later the bottle finally makes it's way to Carl's desk. And the hunt begins for a killer.

Now, we as readers, know who the killer is - and that he is still operating. His chapters are especially chilling. Adler- Olsen paints a particularly frightening picture of a sociopath. The hunt is on and we can only urge Carl and team to hurry - another pair of children are being held in the same old boathouse.

Adler-Olsen's plotting is excellent and the action and sense of urgency translated into late night reading for me. But what makes this series really shine are the protagonists. Carl is a brilliant investigator but is a man with a complicated personal life. The secondary storyline gives him more depth as a character, rather than just confining him to the police station. Assad is still a mystery, but Adler-Olsen has let a few more details slip about this intriguing character's background. The interplay and dialogue between the two pulls the reader in.

I've read the first two books, but chose to listen to this third entry. I didn't realize who the reader was until the opening lines of the first disc - then realized it was one of my favourites - Graeme Malcolm. He has such a rich, full sonorous voice. He has a Scottish accent, but bends it to fit Carl's personality. The voice he chose for Assad also worked well. Malcolm uses his voice very effectively - the killer's mind set was all the more chilling with the dispassionate tones employed. His voice was easy to listen to, extremely expressive and really brought the book to life.

A five star read and series for this reader. I can't wait to read the next Department Q book! show less

A Conspiracy of Faith is the third in the Department Q mystery series by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. A family man who has cautioned his wife that he can't tell her about his business turns out to make his living on the ransom from kidnapping children. The book kicks off with a kidnapped boy being held in a hut near a fjord writing a mesage in blood and sending it onto the water in a bottle. Dept. Q investigates what we might call cold crimes, and the bottle eventually ends up with its eccentric head, Carl Morck. He is assisted by Assad, a mystery man from Syria who started as a janitor, and Rose, a punkish independent who has no qualms about telling Carl where he can stuff it. Gradually they decipher the waterlogged message and show more begin to assemble the clues necessary to bring down the meticulous and elusive kidnapper.

We get to see what drives the religion-hating villain, and the harm he causes all around him. But most of the fun derives from the interactions of crusty, wise-ass, bureaucracy-bucking Carl, the suspiciously competent but language-hampered Assad, and the ball-busting Rose, along with her quite different twin who fills in for a while. There are back stories arcing through the books, and in this one we get more tantalizing information about the ambush that crippled Carl's colleague Hardy, international intrigues involving Assad, and a surprising home life for Rose. There's good action, particularly as two women imperiled by the kidnapper race through the night trying to take him down. Meanwhile, Carl continues to evade his now regretting separated wife, and it looks like his awkward attempts to romance self-possessed psychologist Mona may be making some headway.

I've not really gotten caught up in the Scandicrime craze, but the wit and shenanigans of this series have hooked me. Looking forward to number 4. show less

Having read and enjoyed two previous books by Jussi Adler-Olsen (Mercy, Disgrace) I looked forward to this one with equal glee. Redemption is the third novel in the Department Q series featuring cold case detective Carl Mørck. While Adler-Olsen's books tend to be on the long side (this one runs to 632 pages), I never felt this to be excessively long and I pretty much enjoyed it from start to finish. In fact it is one of those books that builds nicely, culminating in a tense race-against-time-type finish. He is a quality writer and a good storyteller who can comfortably mix suspense, mystery and humour, pleasing the reader on several fronts all at once. The plot here is well thought out and developed, and centers on the disappearance of show more a number of children over time, the investigation of which is triggered by a message in a bottle washed up on foreign shores. And while you the reader know that the killer is still active, the investigating team do not and for some time are not even sure if a crime has in fact taken place. Being privy to the present day activities of the killer, you wonder when and if the investigating team will ever make the necessary breakthrough and if they will in time to stop the killer adding to the number of his victims. You, meanwhile, will spend a lot of time in the company of the killer, and your fascination with him will grow accordingly, rest assured. Add to the story mix a troubled childhood and religious sects mindful of their privacy and you begin to see how a serial killer is born and can thrive while remaining largely anonymous. Some scenes border on harrowing, the subject matter of harm to children never being an easy one to digest, but the book is thankfully not overly graphic. As the story develops and builds, so does the action and the pace, and I felt it less easy to put the book down the further I progressed.

The humour meanwhile, and indeed much of the mystery in the book, concerns the members of the Department Q investigating team, two of whom are civilians but who of themselves are quite mysterious, quirky and colourful characters.

Enough said, I can well recommend, so get reading! show less

Scandi crime is a genre known for its horrific content but Adler-Olsen is able to inject humour into his stories through his delightfully quirky characters. After a terrific start to the series I was disappointed with the second book that was filled with gratuitous violence. In this one the author has redeemed himself with a solid story that includes more about Morck's sidekick Assad and secretary Rose (Yrsa). Despite a rather sluggish middle section, the story builds up to an exciting finish.

I am really loving this series! There is a lot going on here. First, there is the crime, then there are the characters and finally there is a whole background story that is slowly unfolding in the series.
I think for me it is not about the crime. We know right from the start what the crime is and who is behind the crimes. We get a little bit about why the "poor criminal" has become such a monster. Boo hoo! For me the meat of the crime portion of the story is how Carl and team are going to end up finding out what EXACTLY the crime is, who did it and how to catch him. Luck and intuition play as much a part of solving this as does police procedure.
Next up is the characters and this is where this series has me sold. Carl thinks he is a show more simple man who just wants a worry free day and a nice woman. Fortunately for us he is anything but. Carl is a trouble magnet, loyal to his own and is hiding secrets even from himself. I suppose that is why Carl is tolerant of Assad who very obviously is hiding secrets and identity. Assad's attention to detail has helped in every case so far, including this one. Rose, OMG that Rose! She was a thorn in Carl's side in book two and here it is no different. Rose could be a case study for the DSM-5 but once again Carl surprises me by his acceptance of her. He even pushes her out of her comfort zone and she helps gain key evidence needed to capture the criminal. Hardy is the key to Carl's past and possibly the future.
Finally, the nail gun murders have been mentioned in every book. Last book we learn that Hardy gave in his statement that Carl knew more about the case than the other two partners did. This is brought up again. Carl confronts Hardy about this. Hardy doesn't deny it and is surprised that Carl is denying knowing more than they did. Carl is forced to examine himself. Does he have a secret so dark that he is keeping it even from himself? There are also questions about Carl having a relationship with Hardy's wife in the past. Is it just in the past? This case is going to drag out.
I loved this book. I kept turning the page to see how Carl and team were going to catch on and catch the bad guy. I laughed out loud so many times. My geeky fan love of Department Q was not disappointed! show less