Buried

Department Q, Book 5

De: Jussi Adler-Olsen, Martin Aitken

Narrado por: Steven Pacey

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Buried, the fifth installment of the Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen, read by Steven Pacey.

More than three years ago, a civil servant vanished after returning from a work trip to Africa. Though he's missing and 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 worth killing him for?

Please note: This book has also been published under the alternate title The Marco Effect.

©2015 Jussi Adler-Olsen (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Enthrawling

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I have enjoyed every book in this series - Jussi keeps you engaged right from the get go, his characters are endearing and each have their own personalities with wonderful sense of humours.

Any additional comments?

Keep writing Jussi I love your books

Good

The Dept. Q books are consistently good and this is no exception. Narration is perfect.

Buried Marco Effect

If you could sum up Buried in three words, what would they be?

Marco Effect re-done

What other book might you compare Buried to and why?

Marco Effect

What does Steven Pacey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His characters are very distinct

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

laugh

Any additional comments?

This book is the same book as Marco Effect. Different name different narrator. It was interesting to see how the two narrator portrayed the characters. I downloaded this in error thinking that audible made a typo with it listed also being book fiveof dept Q. I could have returned it but did not. I am a fan of Dept Q. Very unique group of investigators. Assad and his camel colloquialisms make me laugh out loud.

Excellent work

The story is complex, engaging and keeps the reader either interested or tense as the complex plot unwinds. A good listen

Better than previous installment

Still no detective brain work here. But nice believable story. Sometimes very funny when Asad is on the scene.

The Marco Effect British Style

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. I listened to "The Marco Effect" Narrated by Graeme Malcolm before listening to Buried. Same story different Narrator. I thought Steven Pacey's narration has a distinct British feel. I much prefer the Danish accent of Graeme Malcolm. I am returning "Buried". "The Marco Effect" I shall keep.

Any additional comments?

I hope the Department Q Series shall continue to be narrated by Graeme Malcolm. I enjoy this series and this reader. Jussi Adler-Olsen's writing and Malcom's narration are exceptional and well matched.

It is interesting that Audible released the same story with different titles and different narrators. Seems Audible, the publisher, or the author are experimenting with reader reviews. Could someone at Audible please explain the motivation for releasing this story as separate entities?

Fantastic

A superb author with the best sense of humour! many laugh out loud moments. Narrator brings each character to life and is an exceptionally talented man. Would have liked him to have read every book in the series. Changing the reader aged Assad by at least 20 years. Nevertheless, shall be looking for more books by Jussi Adler-Olsen.

Be Forewarned....

Would you try another book from Jussi Adler-Olsen and/or Steven Pacey?

This book has ALREADY been offered under the title The Marco Effect. The story is great, and I love this author. So I was very excited to see a new title!! But sadly, it is new in title alone. I was so disappointed. If you haven't heard book 5, then definitely get this. But if you're an Adler-Olsen fan just check that you haven't already purchased book 5. (This isn't the first time I've run into this so of thing with audio books.)

Something Rotten in Denmark!

Hey — Did you know that they have crime in Denmark? I have grown so accustomed to America and Americans getting criticized for everything — our greed, our laziness, our obesity, and our crime levels — and getting compared to Europe, where they do everything right — ride bicycles, ban GMOs, and practice mercury-free dentistry — that I had almost begun to think that Europe has none of the socio-economic-environmental problems that we do here in America. Okay, I am exaggerating: All of the wonderful crime novels coming out of Scandinavia — including works by authors like Jo Nesbø, Henning Mankel, Stieg Larsson, and Jussi Adler-Olsen — show that Scandinavia, at least, must have some crime. Of all those Scandinavian authors that I have read so far, I like Adler-Olsen’s work the best, because of the wry humor that he weaves into his writing. (The other Scandinavian authors get so serious and dark, don’t they?) For example, our protagonist in Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series — Detective Karl Mørk — has two civilian assistants — Hafez Al-Assad and Rose Knudsen — who drive Mørk nuts, incidentally solve all the cases, and provide endless understated humor. Assad (inexplicably pronounced “ASS-add” by Buried’s British narrator, Steven Pacey), in particular, brings a mystery-within-a-mystery to the Department Q series: Who is he, and how did he get into Denmark? How did he gain such expertise in the martial arts and in the art of interrogation? Where does he actually live, for Pete’s sake? What connection does he have to Iraq and to the Abu-Ghraib prison? Each episode in the Department Q series reveals an ever-so-tiny bit more about Assad, in a deliciously frustrating tease. For this reason — among others — I recommend that you start listening to the Department Q series at the beginning, with The Keeper of Lost Causes — where we learn how Department Q got established, and how Mørk got assigned to head it — and then listen to the series in chronological order. It will help you to appreciate the humor — and the on-going sub-plots — better, and it will help you to acclimatize to the funny names.

I suspect that Adler-Olsen must attribute some of his popularity in English-speaking countries to his excellent translator, Martin Aitken. Aitken has the perfect translator’s touch: He knows when — and how much — to deviate from the exact translation in order to convey the real meaning of Adler-Olsen’s Danish words. For example, he needs to translate Danish slang into approximately equivalent English slang; and he needs to translate Assad’s Danish idiomatic blunders into approximately equivalent (and equally funny) English idiomatic blunders: “Log, stick, and barrel”; “Like minds think greatly.” Translators don’t often get sufficient acknowledgement for their skill; but — to my mind — translator Martin Aitken and narrator Steven Pacey deserve almost equal credit with author Jussi Adler-Olsen for making Buried the wonderful audiobook that we get to listen to here.

Speaking of narrators: I, too — like several of Buried’s other reviewers — failed to notice that Buried is the same novel as The Marco Effect (even though it says so right up there ⬆︎, for Pete’s sake!); but I do not regret having downloaded both versions of this audiobook: The Marco Effect and Buried have two different — equally good — narrators. I love good acting, so I enjoyed listening to both versions of this audiobook one after the other. However, if you cannot afford to download both versions, then I would recommend choosing Buried to download … only because narrator Steven Pacey has a bit wider range of voices and accents than does The Marco Effect’s narrator, Graeme Malcolm. On the other hand, Mr. Malcolm reads a bit faster than Mr. Pacey, and Malcolm has the more beautiful voice; so you may want to listen to Audible’s 4-minute samples of each version, before you make your decision. I do not think that you can go wrong with either version.

In summary, I recommend Buried to all fans of crime fiction with just a soupçon of humor, and to all aficionados of good acting. Just remember to start the series at the beginning, and listen to the series in sequence.

Dept Q... a winner

Where does Buried rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

a top ten for sure. This is my 3rd Dept Q books. Love the characters, love the dialogue, and enjoy the plots as well

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It's not an edge of the seat book. This is one that is to move along through characters, and events to a logical conclusions. Yes, some doubts, some tension, but great story, and I enjoy the journey.

Which scene was your favorite?

Enjoy Marco sitting in the safe hiding from Zola's thieves were looking through the house for him

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Happy when the paralyzed detective was able to move, and felt bad when the main character's girlfriend dumped him.

Any additional comments?

These are the kind of character driven plots, ( like Len Deighton books) that are plausible, and travel at an enjoyable pace. Good stuff!!