This detective series follows Carl Mørck, a Copenhagen police detective who becomes the head of Department Q, specializing in cold cases. His team, including his assistants, seeks to uncover the truth behind old crimes that have been neglected. The series blends suspense, psychology, and humor as Mørck grapples with his own demons. Each case presents new challenges and revelations that change the lives of those around him.
Copenhagen detective Carl Morck has been taken off homicide to run a newly created department for unsolved crimes. His first case concerns Merete Lynggaard, who vanished five years ago. Everyone says she's dead. Everyone says it's a waste of time. He thinks they're right. The voice in the dark is distorted, harsh and without mercy.
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, until one of their numbers confessed and was convicted. So why is the file of a closed case on Carl's desk? Who believes the case is not solved?
Jussi Adler-Olsen's internationally bestselling Q series returns with a gripping installment for fans of Scandinavian crime thrillers. Two brothers wake tied in a boathouse by the sea, abandoned by their kidnapper but aware he will soon return. With only a bottle and tar, they craft a desperate plea for help using blood for ink. Meanwhile, a woman is trapped in a tumultuous marriage, enduring her husband's secrets and threats. Determined to uncover the truth, she is prepared to confront the consequences. In Copenhagen's cold cases division, Carl Morck discovers a bottle containing a decayed message written in blood—a cry for help from the boys. He questions its authenticity, their identities, and whether they are still alive. In 2013, the creators of the Stieg Larsson films and The Killing will adapt Adler-Olsen's Department Q novels, including this one, for the big screen. Praise for Adler-Olsen highlights his status as a rising star in Nordic Noir. His exploration of abnormal psychology continues to captivate readers. Born in Copenhagen, he studied various subjects and worked as a magazine editor before embarking on his writing career, with all three Department Q thrillers achieving bestseller status in Denmark.
Nete Rosen thought she'd put her traumatic youth behind her. Her caring foster parents and loving husband helped her start again. However, when a man from her past reappears one night, Nete's new life could be shattered. But she won't be drawn back into that nightmare - she won't be a victim again...
Over three years ago, a civil servant vanished after returning from a work trip to Africa. Missing, presumed dead, the man's family still want answers. It is one of the many unsolved crimes left for Department Q, Denmark's cold case unit headed up by Detective Carl Morck. But what Carl doesn't know is that the key to the investigation is in Copenhagen. Fifteen-year-old Marco Jameson is tough, smart and suspicious of police. Sleeping rough and hiding in the shadows is his way of life. But what is he running from - and what does he know that's worth killing for?
Internationally bestselling author Jussi Adler-Olsen returns with the sixth book in his exhilarating Department Q series, featuring much-loved series character Detective Carl Mørck.
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.
In the heart-pounding new installment of the No.1 bestselling DEPARTMENT Q series, a terrifying international investigation reveals the complex backstory of one of the department's own - the enigmatic Assad. The newspaper refers to the dead body only as Victim 2117 - the two thousand, one hundred and seventeenth refugee to die in the Mediterranean Sea. But to three people, the 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 Morck, 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 a troubled Danish teen, the death of Victim 2117 becomes a symbol of everything he resents and is the perfect excuse to unleash his murderous impulses. For Ghallib, a brutal tormentor from the notorious prison Abu Ghraib, the death of Victim 2117 was 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 to the family he assumed was long dead.
In the exhilarating penultimate thriller of the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling Department Q series, the team must hunt for a nefarious criminal who has slipped under the radar for decades. 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 gripping conclusion of the Department Q series sees the team facing a personal crisis as they work to uncover the truth behind a cold case that has led to their leader's imprisonment. With enemies lurking and time slipping away, the stakes have never been higher. The narrative promises intense suspense and a deep exploration of loyalty and justice as the team races against the clock to save one of their own.
