A Conspiracy of Faith: A Department Q Novel Author: Visit Amazon's Jussi Adler-Olsen Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0142180815 | Format: EPUB
A Conspiracy of Faith: A Department Q Novel Description
From Publishers Weekly
In Adler-Olsen's latest Department Q novel, a message in a bottle is discovered 14 years after it was written and tossed into the ocean. The barely legible note, written in blood, is from two kidnapped children begging for help. Detective Carl Mørck and his eccentric team of Danish detectives are tasked with investigating the legitimacy of the note and, once it's authenticity is confirmed, discovering the fate of the two victims. What they ultimately uncover is a serial killer who has kept his criminal activities hidden for over a decade. With his slightly accented reading, Graeme Malcolm does an excellent job of bringing this dark Nordic suspense story to life. His melancholic delivery aptly reflects the story's often-somber content. That said, he fully captures each of Adler-Olsen's quirky characters and, in the case of the Department Q's personnel, allows them to bring sparks of humor here and there before things become too grim. In all, Malcolm's skillful performance lets this mystery unfold at a natural, steady pace with just the right balance between the dark and light, making for a satisfying listen. A Dutton hardcover. (May)
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
From Booklist
Carl Mørck, the cranky head of Copenhagen’s cold-case squad, Department Q, has a knack for catching forgotten cases where lives still hang in the balance. Often the victims are trapped and hidden, as in Adler-Olsen’s excellent The Keeper of Lost Causes (2011)—but if the author revisits the scenes of his fictional crimes, at least he twists the tales in new and devious ways. Mørck is dealing with the usual headaches at work, including the mysterious idiosyncrasies of his assistants, Assad and Rose, when a message in a bottle lands on his desk. Inside is a plea for help, written in blood. The bad guy here, a kidnapper and killer who targets families belonging to fringe religions, is Adler-Olsen’s best yet. The closer Mørck and Assad get to this cunning chameleon with a seemingly endless number of identities and exit plans, the more he eludes their grasp. Series fans may begin to wonder why Mørck doesn’t investigate his own assistants as assiduously as he does his cases, but this mix of offbeat departmental politics, puzzling clues, and pulse-pounding pursuit delivers the goods. --Keir Graff
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
See all Editorial Reviews
- Series: Department Q
- Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Plume (December 31, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0142180815
- ISBN-13: 978-0142180815
- Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
I have been waiting for this novel to be released for almost a year, and I am happy to report that the read was very well worth wait. 'A Conspiracy of Faith' is Adler-Olsen's third installment into the 'Department Q' series. Book three undoubtably steps up to the tempo set by the two previous novels. Although the cases in all three novels are strikingly different in nature, Alder-Olsen's ability to shock, inspire, and mystify continue to impress.
Detective Carl Morck and his assistants Assad and Rose are again given a case that has stumped other investigators. In fact, the case that they are assigned, may not even be a 'case' at all. After nearly ten years of being afloat in the ocean, a glass bottle containing a handwritten message is picked up by a curious scavenger and left to sit in a window seal as a trophy of mystery. Its interest as a conversation piece fades and is forgotten until the man dies years later. Found among his belongings after his death, it is opened and the secrets of it's contents are revealed. Even after years at sea and exposure to the sun, the message's intent is frighteningly clear: HELP. The years of exposure have tainted the vast majority of the written message, but several details are clearly deciphered when the letter is enhanced. Two teenage boys have been abducted, held prisoner, and are begging for their lives. The signature of one of the captives is illegible, but the date is clear - February 1996. Helping is certainly more than a day late and a dollar short if the message's cause and purpose are determined to be legitimate. Is the letter truly a desperate cry for help? Or a sick prank? As Morck and his team of assistants dig deeper, they are also asked to assist in a case involving series of arsons in the industrial sector.
In "The Keeper of Lost Causes," Jussi Adler-Olsen created a fascinating pair--the immature and irritable Inspector Carl M?rck and his insightful Syrian sidekick, Hafez el-Assad. M?rck, who riled his superiors one time too many, is consigned to a basement office with dusty files of old cases. Although Carl is determined to spend his working hours with his feet up, watching television, taking naps, and smoking, Assad, who had originally been hired as a cleaner, is an eager sleuth. He inspires Carl to do his job, and before he realizes what is happening, Carl's old instincts kick in.
"A Conspiracy of Faith," nicely translated by Martin Aitken, begins promisingly. Carl, as usual, is determined to do as little work as possible, while Assad is eager to be productive. They soon become embroiled in two investigations--one involving a series of suspicious fires and the second concerning a mysterious message in a bottle. The message was written using a piece of wood and the writer's own blood. If what the note says is true, the person who composed it was held captive by a maniac who was planning to kill him.
Adler-Olsen delves into Carl's psyche and we discover that behind the facade of laziness and apathy are a sharp mind and compassionate nature. In addition, the author amuses us with Carl and Assad's banter and their efforts to tame the third member of their team, the prickly and unpredictable Rose. We also learn a bit more about Carl's untidy personal life, emotional distress, and need to redeem himself as a man and a police officer.
Unfortunately, at five hundred pages, the book loses some of its steam in the second half.
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