Jussi Adler-Olsen

A U.S. release of a first installment in a top award-winning Danish series introduces chief detective Carl Morck, who after recovering from what he thought was a career-destroying gunshot wound is relegated to cold cases and becomes immersed in the five-year disappearance of a politician.

The Keeper of Lost Causes

Haley Murray

I definitely enjoyed the film adaption more but that may have been because I watched it before I read this. While I was reading this I kept on comparing it to the film. I did enjoy getting the victim's perspective from the book which helped me understand her more as a character. I was not really a fan of how Carl acts in the book in certain parts and much prefer how he is portrayed in the film.

Anna Berg

4.5

A young, beautiful Danish politician called Merethe Lynggaard goes missing on her vacation to Berlin. What happened to her is a mystery even five years after the incident. Since then, the media suggested everything from drowning to suicide. No one seemed to know what happened to Merethe, but she sure had a lot of political enemies and unknown enemies from a haunting past. 

The book is mainly about the newly established police department, Department Q, also known as the keeper of lost causes. Carl Mörck, appointed chief of Department Q and previous homocide detective, is not very liked amongst his colleagues. With only two men running the new department Carl decides to look into the casefile of Merethe Lynggaard. Throughout the book we get to know Carl’s associate Assad and their friendship becomes one of my favorite parts of the book. Assad is not what one would characterize as a traditional police officer, but gets to work closely with Carl through the case. Throughout the case Carl resolves big mistakes made by the previous investigation. 

I’ve not read that many thrillers just yet, but of the few that I’ve read this is my favorite. I read the last 150 pages not blinking. Carl is an odd figure going through the process of a divorce and has deep psychological issues. Despite all, he’s a hilarious figure, and together with Assad they make a great team. I loved it.

Tracey O’Rourke

This is a pretty good mystery/thriller. The end is particularly good thriller material.

My only real problem with it was that I had figured out the bad guy long before the cop or the victim had. This is always frustrating.

Allyson Marrs

3.5

The only thing that stopped me from giving this four stars was the slow pace in the beginning. But once it picked up, I couldn't put it down. I absolutely loved how everything ended up connecting, and I think it was smartly done. The characters were painted well, and Assad offered comedic relief. It was definitely a great mystery/crime novel, and creative in its...torture. I'll definitely try out the sequel!

Lynn Braden

Carl Morck was once a good homicide detective working in one of the police departments in Copenhagen until the day that he was shot, while he watched one of his colleagues get killed and the other paralyzed. Carl blames himself for not drawing his weapon that day, and since his recovery, he has been very difficult to work with. His superiors decide to promote him to run a special investigative unit that consists of just him and is housed in the basement, where he is to work on solving unsolvable cold cases. His plan to spend the rest of his career killing time falls apart when his new assistant/janitor begins sorting through some of the cases and selects one regarding a politician who has been missing for five years and is presumed dead.

The Keeper of Lost Causes is told in two voices - Carl's in 2007 and politician Merete Lynggaard's from 2002-2007. Both are filled with a sense of loss and anger which the author seems to have added on purpose to show the similarities in their lives. Clues trickle into the early part of the story, but most of it is comprised of Carl's and Merete's backstories. As the plot reaches is climax, new clues are presented in a fast and furious manner, making the culprit clear, although by this point in the book, it is apparent who it has to be. The only real mystery is the character of Assad, who is evidently more than he seems to be. Overall, this story left me with mixed feelings due to all of the political content that had to be waded through, which had nothing to do with the story, to get to the actual mystery, but the pieces did come together in the end to form a satisfying conclusion.

Randy Robbins

The only part of this book I was interested in was what happened to the woman. I found the storyline and investigation to be uninteresting and far too long. This book really needed to be edited down. Not my cup of tea. It was well-written though.

The Keeper of Lost Causes

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