The Keeper of Lost Causes

Department Q, Book 1

De: Jussi Adler-Olsen

Narrado por: Erik Davies

Get to know the detective in charge of Copenhagen's coldest cases in the first electrifying Department Q mystery from New York Times best-selling author Jussi Adler-Olsen.

Carl Mørck used to be one of Denmark’s best homicide detectives. Then a hail of bullets destroyed the lives of two fellow cops, and Carl - who didn’t draw his weapon - blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing he expects. But Department Q is a department of one, and Carl’s got only a stack of cold cases for company. His colleagues snicker, but Carl may have the last laugh, because one file keeps nagging at him: A liberal politician vanished five years earlier and is presumed dead. But she isn’t dead...yet.

Darkly humorous, propulsive, and atmospheric, The Keeper of Lost Causes introduces American listeners to the mega-bestselling series fast becoming an international sensation.

©2011 Jussi Adler-Olsen (P)2011 Penguin

Dark, Cold, and Danish

Nice sense of Danish culture surrounds a dark procedural noir detective tale. After listening to Stieg Larsson, thought I'd try Jussi Adler-Olsen. And now I'm thinking that the paucity of daylight and heat up there near the arctic's resulted in writers who lurk in murky rooms. If I outline the plot and story arc... this will sound like... like... depressing. BUT... BUT... it's not. Look, if your seeking a hair-brained romp, go to the Disney section. But if you like puzzles and mazes bathed in challenging grimness.. Hey, this is an interesting trip.

And Erik Davies? I don't agree with some who found him weak. On the contrary, he acts the parts well with clear definition and emotion... at least the emotion you'd expect in those grim, cold, dark places... Brrrrrrrr....

ditto

I try to not repeat the content of other reviews; also I don???t usually review books that I haven???t completely finished. HOWEVER! The narration in this is so annoying, I feel I need to continue the refrain warning listeners away.

I've listened to this narrator in other books, mostly non fiction, and he was quite competent; so whoever was responsible for the direction of the audiobook also made questionable calls about how the characters were to be delivered in those atrocious and distracting accents.

I think? this is a good mystery -- The three stars for the story is arbritary: I can't concentrate on the story enough to decide if I would download a version by another narrator or try a print copy. Usually I can grow accustomed to odd narration styles and eventually get into a novel -- but so far am unable to with this one---not worth the annoyance!

Terrible ending

Good police procedural, close to great. Plot rolls right along, with complex characters. Avoids the obvious pitfalls of loner cop story (not all his bosses are jerks). Well written, well read, well paced. The ending is a mistake. If the story were based on an actual event, I could see it, or if we were dealing with timeless literature. King Lear dies, and so does his favorite daughter. But what if "The Girl Who Played With Fire" was left in a burn unit in a coma? Not saying that happens here, but the equivalent. Deeply unsatisfying, and for an American audience, the sentences are insanely light. The book's a bummer, and there's no reason for it. Wouldn't have bought it had I known, which is why I wrote this, despite its obvious spoiler potential. Brace for the bad, and you won't be disappointed.

Stay with this

What made the experience of listening to The Keeper of Lost Causes the most enjoyable?

It seems like the Scandinavian people are generally an unhappy group of folks. This book starts out with all characters in a black mood which seems to fit the mold for books written by authors from this area. My thoughts for the first few hours of listening were that I wonder if it was time to move on. Stay with this otherwise you will miss out on a first class mystery/action type of book. I’m planning on getting the next in the series.

Great start to the series

What's a historical romance reader like me doing binge reading detective fiction? I discovered Adrian McKinty, Stuart Neville, and Tana French and their Irish noir. I devoured those - mostly in audio format (awesome narrators!) - and from there I was directed to Adler-Olsen. And I'm glad.

This book gives us a flawed character who almost everyone can relate to. Relegated to a make-work kind of job to "keep him out of sight" basically, Carl and his assistant actually make the small Department Q work and they investigate a cold case of the disappearance of a politician. It took me a little while to get into the swing of things but from then on it was great!

The narration was quite good. I honestly don't know how accurate the Danish accents were but each character was a bit different.

I'm glad there are more books in this series.

Don't Expect Jo Nesbo

What did you like best about The Keeper of Lost Causes? What did you like least?

Initially, I was engaged in the dual storylines that toggled between 2002 and 2007. I thought that was well down and effective.

Unfortunately, I found much to dislike about this book. The characters were not well developed and seemed derivative of other, better Scandanavian police novels. Assad is the only truly fresh character in the book. Also, key elements of the plot seemed implausible. Specifically, a member of the Danish Parliament goes missing in 2002 and,at that time, the police conduct a completely inadequate investigation. Seriously, a well-known elected official goes missing and no one digs below the surface to answer questions?

The book also suffers from the narrator's attempt at a Danish accent. This was very off-putting and I almost didn't continue with the book. It would be much better to just speak naturally and focus on adjusting his voice for the characters.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Lose the Danish accent. Make Carl Morck more interesting.

Would you be willing to try another one of Erik Davies’s performances?

Possibly with a different narrator.

Was The Keeper of Lost Causes worth the listening time?

I don't believe so.

Happy to have found this series.

If you could sum up The Keeper of Lost Causes in three words, what would they be?

A good listen.

Any additional comments?

I purchased this book partly because a previous reviewer call it "a total ripoff of the The girl with the dragon tattoo." Or somthing like that. I may be paraphrasing. I think they had meant it as a insult. but I figured what the heck,I loved that book. if this one is half as good I'd be stoked.
Well I was stoked. but really the only similarities it shares with Stieg Larsson's book(s) is that they both are good mysteries and exciting thrillers set in Scandinavian countries.
I should also say I did find the narration with accents was a little odd,especially in the beginning. but it definetly wasn't a deal breaker.

Department Q Rocks!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, Great Characters! Great story line! Set in Denmark which is new. Can you remember the last time Denmark was mentioned in a novel or movie......
Creepy Twisted plot, really just a great book you need to jump into and enjoy

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

at times yes, what it did a great job at is keeping you in flux on who was going to get caught.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Almost did. Listened with my wife on a road trip. we actually drove past our hotel so we could listen a bit longer. Yup, we're dorks like that.

Addicting

This book held my rapt attention and I listened at every possible moment until it ended. Great fun. Buy it

I love this writer and I don't like to complain...

What disappointed you about The Keeper of Lost Causes?

But! I found the narrators varied accents incredibly annoying. Sorry I know he tried hard but the guy who performed THE MARCO EFFECT was so fantastic I went backwards to start over after listening to the Marco Effect. I would never have finished this book except that I want to listen to the entire series. Hoping the next narrators are better.

What didn’t you like about Erik Davies’s performance?

he was fine until he tried to disguise his voice with a weird accent. Very annoying.

Any additional comments?

looking forward to the next in the series. My first was the Marco Effect. Loved that book now I'm working my way through from the beginning