Synopses & Reviews
The
New York Times and internationally bestselling Danish crime writer Jussi Adler-Olsen returns with the third thriller in his exhilarating Department Q series.
Detective Carl Mørck has received a bottle that holds an old and decayed message written in blood. It’s a cry for help from two young brothers, tied and bound in a boathouse by the sea. After floating in the ocean for years before turning up, the bottle sat forgotten, unopened, on a police department windowsill, before the seal was cracked and the gruesome message, written in Danish, was analyzed. Could it be real? Who are these boys, and why weren’t they reported missing? Could they possibly still be alive?
Carl’s investigation will force him to cross paths with a woman stuck in a desperate marriage: Her husband refuses to tell her where he goes, how long he will be away, what he does while he’s gone — or even what he does for a living. Isolated after choosing him over family and friends, she waits for days on end, and when he returns she must endure his wants, his moods, his threats. But enough is enough. She will find out the truth, no matter the cost to him — or to herself.
In this heart-pounding thriller, Carl and his colleagues Assad and Rose must use every resource available to uncover the horrifying truth set adrift in that bottle all those years ago.
Review
“A shattering parable of honest individuals caught up in the corruption of our times.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
"Adler-Olsen's cast might seem like stock crime-fiction characters at first glance — the curmudgeonly detective, the flighty secretary, the suspiciously resourceful assistant — but in his hands they are unpredictable and entertaining. This series has enough twists to captivate contemporary mystery readers and enough substance and background to entertain readers with historical and literary tastes." Library Journal (starred review)
Synopsis
The New York Times and # 1 international bestselling author Jussi Adler-Olsen returns with another shocking cold case in his exhilarating Department Q series. Detective Carl Morck holds in his hands a bottle that contains old and decayed message, written in blood. It is a cry for help from two young brothers, tied and bound in a boathouse by the sea. Could it be real? Who are these boys, and why weren't they reported missing? Could they possibly still be alive?
Carl's investigation will force him to cross paths with a woman stuck in a desperate marriage- her husband refuses to tell her where he goes, what he does, how long he will be away. For days on end she waits, and when he returns she must endure his wants, his moods, his threats. But enough is enough. She will find out the truth, no matter the cost to her husband--or to herself.
Carl and his colleagues Assad and Rose must use all of their resources to uncover the horrifying truth in this heart-pounding Nordic thriller from the #1 international bestselling author Jussi Adler-Olsen.
About the Author
Jussi Adler-Olsen is Denmark's #1 crime writer and a New York Times bestseller. His books routinely top the bestseller lists in Europe, and he's won many prestigious Nordic crime-writing awards, including the Glass Key Award — also won by Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbø, Stieg Larsson, and Peter Høeg. He lives in Denmark.