The Shadow Murders: A Department Q Novel (Hardcover)
Staff Reviews
Department Q books, written by Jussi Adler-Olsen are some of my favorite written word treats. Carl Morck is my favorite curmudgeonly detective with his team of Assad (whose camel analogies are brilliant) is on the case looking for a serial killer, one of Denmark's first who has been on the loose for decades. When the suicide of a 60 year old lady on her birthday gets under the skin of Morck's superior as it brings back the case where he first meets this lady and her little boy who is killed in an explosion. The explosion was pretty forthright, right? Or maybe not. Yet not all is well in Denmark because while Carl's homelife seems to have settled, Assad's definitely has not combined with a suitcase of cocaine and money found in Carl's attic. A suitcase that is tied to the death of his partner all those years ago and the reason his other partner is now paralyzed. I waited 18 months to get to read this book, and the ending... oof good readers, it's one I have not stopped thinking about since I finished this book. I love the way Adler-Olsen unfurls his mysteries so that you think You know exactly how it will end. It's not going to end that way but in fact much much worse. I cannot wait to read the next one.
— BethOn 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.
—Wall Street Journal
“This nail-biter offers the best of everything Department Q thrillers promise: compelling team rapport, boots-on-the-ground detection, masterful story construction, and a cliffhanger ending.”
—Booklist (starred)
“Opening teases don’t get much more tantalizing than in bestseller Adler-Olsen’s stellar ninth Department Q novel featuring Copenhagen’s cold-case division.... The climax lives up to the promise of the brilliant opening, cleverly connecting all the plotlines.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
"Every character seemed to come alive.... This police procedural and crime thriller has a stunning and deeply involved plot. The twists and turns will keep readers highly engaged and leads to an action-filled and emotional conclusion."
—Mystery and Suspense Magazine
“Award-winning author Jussi Adler-Olsen delivers another spellbinding thriller, The Shadow Murders, the ninth installment in his popular Department Q series… Readers will find it hard to put the book down because it is so intense, compelling and well done on every level.”
—Book Reporter
“The Shadow Murders is a big, complex creation.... [Adler-Olsen] is an elite writer among a field of exciting Scandinavian suspense writers.”
—New York Journal of Books