The Absent One: A Department Q Novel, Book Cover May Vary Paperback – May 7, 2013

Poet and playwright William Congreve once famously wrote that, "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."Perhaps that's true although I think not. In fact, hell would seem to have no fury equal to that of a woman betrayed.Kimmie Lassen, one of the central characters in Jussi Adler-Olsen's "Disgrace," is a woman betrayed and her fury knows practically no bounds. Like Helen King in Sharon Brownlie's excellent murder mystery "Betrayal," Kimmie is a woman who is quite capable of exacting a terrible revenge on those who have wronged her. Like Helen, she is also a survivor who knows her way around the streets; a woman adept at living on the fringes of society, just far enough off the grid to pass mostly unnoticed."Disgrace" is the second book in Adler-Olsen's ongoing series about "Department Q" of the Copenhagen police force. The department, which is based in the basement of the main Copenhagen police station, is run by Carl Morck, one of the most unlovable police officers in popular fiction, but there are no other detectives assigned to it. He does have one assistant, a Middle Eastern refugee whose origins are unclear, and in this novel he inherits a secretary who is clumsy, loud, and - coincidentally - frightfully efficient.The department is charged with trying to solve cold cases that other cops have long since given up on. In "Disgrace," however, Morck and his colleagues are asked to look into a 20-year-old murder in which one man has already confessed and has been behind bars for more than a decade. It soon becomes apparent that there is something going on behind the scenes when Department Q is first warned off the case and then ordered to leave it alone. Morck, who wound up in charge of Department Q because he never learned how to "play nice" with other cops or his superiors, wasn't terribly interested in the case at first since there was already a confession and a conviction but being warned off it ramps up his interest to the point that he's ready to risk suspension - or dismissal - in order to get at the truth.What follows is an intense investigation that reaches into the highest levels of Denmark society, exposing long-hidden secrets and villainy at a very high level. Kimmie Lassen isn't a nice person but she isn't - in my opinion - the worst of the villains in this compelling story."Disgrace" also gives readers a deeper understanding of Morck and his assistant Assad - who almost certainly has secrets of his own. Through the course of the novel readers also have an opportunity to see Morck's character grow and mature some, though he still has a long way to go before he becomes as lovable as fictional detectives like Jim Rockford or Jake Doyle.The narrative is strong, the characters interesting and the plot - at least for those of us who have followed American newspaper headlines over the years - is believable. All in all, an excellent novel that I greatly enjoyed.

I hate giving this book just three stars, especially when I gave Adler-Olson's first book, "The Keeper of Lost Causes," five, but the truth is - I just didn't enjoy it as much. Somehow, any small imperfections I was completely willing to overlook in the first book seemed much more of a distraction this time around.Obviously, Adler-Olson is a terrific writer. Before I was even 1/2 way through "The Keeper of Lost Causes" I had already ordered the next three titles in the series that are available in English. And, as with the previous book, I finished "The Absent One" in just a few days - four, to be exact. However, I realized fairly soon into it that I wasn't enjoying the interactions between the characters, especially those of Carl and his now partner, Assad, nearly as much as I had in his previous book. And since it was exactly those interactions that I was looking forward to, this was a let-down.For me, the introduction of Rose - a secretary who is assigned to Carl's newly formed Department "Q" (think "Cold Case") was definitely a distraction. There was no real explanation given for why she's assigned to this particular department, other than that fact that she passed all of her exams - except the driving one - with flying colors. Her character wasn't very well-developed, true. But honestly, I couldn't really put my finger on what exactly I didn't like about her and maybe this is why I found her such a distraction. To give credit, Carl has a problem with her, too.I also found that I didn't have nearly as many of those laugh-out-loud moments as I did with "The Keeper of Lost Causes." There were some, sure, but not like before. Carl and Assad's relationship does continue to develop, somewhat, but the mystery that is Assad isn't delved into like the last book led me to believe it would be. And this was disappointing, because Assad's is one of my favorite fictional characters EVER! I loved all the little clues dropped in the first book and I was really hoping we'd learn more this time around, but we don't :(!I'll admit now, I don't understand Carl's relationship with the division's therapist, Mona Ibsen. First, her name alone is a distraction, because Mona is also the name of Kurt Wallander's ex-wife in Henning Mankell's popular detective series which is set in Sweden, another Scandinavian country. And, I don't particularly like Kurt's (ex-)wife - she comes across as rather bitchy, although I'd suspect that she's written this way.Second, I am a therapist myself and apparently the rules over in Norway are quite a bit different from those in the States, as Carl frequently daydreams about dating his Mona and her responses seem to indicate that this just might be a possibility. Indeed, they have their first "date" in this book and although it doesn't go that well, Mona leads Carl to believe that there's still hope. Obviously. A therapist dating a client, especially one that s/he still has a therapeutic relationship with, is definitely a no-no in the US. So, I guess the rules are different in Norway. Not sure what to think about this, but definitely disconcerting.Third, I just can't figure out why Carl is attracted to Mona. She's beautiful - ok, but that's it? She doesn't seem particularly smart, witty, fun - honestly we don't get much of a feel for her at all. Since her character was introduced in the first book, I think that it was reasonable to expect that we'd learn a little more about her this time. And looks alone just don't seem like something Carl would choose to build a relationship on, unless I've read him completely wrong.Finally, the violence in this book was very disturbing. I know it was intended to be, but in this case, it made it hard for me to enjoy the story. Maybe because this story centers around the perpetrators of the violence - six fifth-form students who attend a fancy boarding school and become known, collectively, as "The Gang." They are basically a bunch of psychotic barbaric savages who get their rocks off by hurting anything or anyone they perceive as vulnerable and weak.Adler-Olson's last book focused primarily on the stories of Carl, a traumatized detective seeking redemption, and Merle, a smart, savvy, up-and-coming politician who is kidnapped and held without ransom. While Merle's kidnappers are definitely of the heinous sort, there is at least some attempt to explain the source of their pathology. In "The Absent One," there is simply no way to account for the pathological savagery of Kristian, Ulrik, Ditlev, Torsten, Bjarne, and Kimmie. They are evil, period.Adler-Olson makes a half-hearted attempt to give us a back-story on "Kimmie," the sole girl in "The Gang," that will give us some context in which to understand her later acts of cruelty and violence. However, it falls so pathetically short, it would have been better to have left it out completely, but that would have made for a different story altogether.The members of "The Gang," including Kimmie, are far worse than apathetic and ammoral - they actively seek out victims to humiliate and beat, often to death, because they enjoy it. I've got to give Adler-Olson credit here - as at least half of the book is told from their perspectives - he can write and he can draw you in. What's most disturbing about "The Absent One" is just how much. You experience their excitement and heightened emotions so vividly that you catch yourself thinking "wtf is going on here?" It's sick, it's disturbing, and it's brilliant story-telling.Okay, four stars.

‘Disgrace’ is a novel that can be read as a pure crime thriller in which Carl Morck and his colleagues Hafez Al-Assad and Rose Knudson, investigate some cold unsolved cases that have been brought to their attention. You soon learn who the criminals are and the question is whether or not the cold case team will uncover sufficient evidence to have them arrested for their crimes. As such it is an exciting thriller with a really action-packed if somewhat gruesome and dramatic climax.Atmosphere and characterisation are also notable strengths of this story. Carl, Assad and Rose are three very different individuals, but who together create a formidable team. You slowly learn about their personal lives as well as their backstories that helped shape their personalities and behaviour. Likewise, the criminals are evil personified and some of their thoughts and acts are really horrific. I was particularly impressed by the way Jussi Alder-Olsen portrays, ‘Kimmie’, a key character in the story; he toys with your emotions as he slowly unveils her back story. As for atmosphere, you can easily visualise many of the locations described in the novel, be they the tiny cramped area that houses the cold case unit or the various houses, buildings, etc. where much of the action occurs.However, as I read the story, I found myself wondering if this novel was also a thinly disguised satirical comment about policing in Denmark circa 2012 (when the book was first published). The humour is very dark and irreverent & some of the crimes quite preposterous. For example, Carl and his team exist because the local police division receives a considerable sum of money from Government to have such a department. However the local police chief wants to use the funding for other projects so to keep costs down he places Carl, Assad and Rose in a minute area within the basement of police HQ. Furthermore, the senior brass appear to do everything in their power to thwart any progress that Carl or his team make with their investigations and appear to resent his past successes. The plot is just a little too far fetched to be taken seriously (e.g having five psychopathic individuals who have known each other since their time at boarding school twenty or so years earlier; three of whom became successful business leaders and accepted members of the elite in society). Finally, by today's standards, the politically incorrect way in which Assad and Rose are portrayed and some of the dialogue that takes place between them had me cringing with shock and embarrassment.While ‘Disgrace’ is the second novel in the series that features Carl Morck, it can easily be read as a stand-alone story. So if you enjoy crime thrillers that are atmospheric, with a remarkable cast of characters and a gripping, if somewhat gruesome plot, then I think you will like this dark, thrilling story. As for me, I have already started reading the next book in the series!

i bought 2nd hand . the book is as good as new.Thanks !

This author has become one of my favourites. The Q department is a "throw-away" department formed when a cop goes awry and the police chief needs to figure out what to do with him. The chief puts the cop in charge of a department that only looks into cold cases. As might be expected, the Q department begins having some success. This is a great series with believable characters and stories that hook you on the first page. Adler-Olsen is very easy to read. Highly recommended.

Le style de ce livre est très naturel, avec des "colloquialisms" en anglais (grâce à très bonne traduction) et des métaphores plutôt rares, drôles et efficaces. Le héros n'est pas sans défauts mais les jurons faciles ne remplissent pas les pages comme ceux d'autres écrivains de thrillers, et les personnages sont bien assemblés: les interactions fonctionnant bien. L'intrigue vous oblige à trouver du temps pour lire. Le monde que Jussi écrit est violent (sensibles s'abstenir) mais cette violence n'est pas décorative. Le livre fait réfléchir sur les causes profondes des crimes, au point où sa vision d'innocents face aux coupables, en noir et blanc, se brouille. Je vais adopter Jussi Adler-Olsen comme écrivain à suivre absolument.

Secondo me non è all'altezza del primo romanzo, ma va assolutamente letto per non perdere il filo dello sviluppo dei personaggi di Carl Morke, Rose e Assaf. Dal terzo caso Jussi si riprende alla grande!