The scarred woman : a Department Q novel
(Book)

The legions of readers still enjoying the Millennium books will devour this seventh in a series starring the officers of Copenhagen's cold-case unit, Department Q. The labyrinthine novel features several crimes that may or may not be related the murder of an elderly woman, possibly by a fed-up granddaughter; the similar-appearing demise of a young woman years before; and a spree by a serial killer who's tired of Denmark's overly generous social system. And those crimes are just the start. It's unfortunate that misogyny rears its head here equally so that the only minority characters are a Middle Eastern officer who mentions camels far too often and a Somali man who makes an appearance for less than a page to sell a gun. The book also takes too long to get going and is too long overall. Still, it's being marketed to Stieg Larsson's fans and may well appeal to them.--Verma, Henrietta Copyright 2017 Booklist

Scottish actor Malcolm returns to ably narrate the latest installment of the Department Q series by bestselling Danish crime novelist Adler-Olsen. The series stars Carl Morck, the cantankerous middle-age head of Copenhagen's Department Q, a neglected cold-case division housed in the basement of police headquarters. As the book opens, Morck and his team are investigating several unpromising and seemingly unrelated cases, which turn out to be linked. They're also facing budget cuts, bureaucratic rivalries, and the disappearance of a mentally ill colleague. The book's many subplots keep the listener attuned, and the resolutions are satisfying. Malcolm is an excellent stand-in for Morck in both tone and temperament, and he also skillfully represents the book's other characters, many of whom are young women. He's called upon to employ a range of accents, including German and Icelandic, and rises to the challenge. This seventh outing for Morck will delight Adler-Olsen's many fans, and Malcolm once again delivers as narrator. A Dutton hardcover. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

The seventh book in the best-selling "Department Q" series finds Copen-hagen Det. Carl Morck contending with an unsolved murder case, the troubled past of a member of his team, and the possible end of his department. [See Prepub Alert, 3/13/17.] © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Given the crowded field of wounded, murderous females on display in this seventh case for Copenhagen's Department Q (The Hanging Girl, 2015, etc.), it's hard to know just where to pin the title in this cavalcade of woman's inhumanity to woman.Whoever struck the blow that killed Rigmor Zimmermann and took 10,000 kroner from her handbag seemed to be copying the murder of substitute teacher Stephanie Gundersen more than 10 years ago, with one important difference: Gundersen's killer didn't go the extra mile in humiliation by pissing on her corpse. Carl Mrck, who heads Department Q, seizes the possible connection as avidly as a spaniel on a scent because solving another cold case would be the perfect way to keep Copenhagen's tightfisted budgeters from shutting his unit down. Unfortunately, Carl's boss, Lars Bjrn, has his own idea of the perfect way: allow meddlesome TV crime documentarian Olaf Borg-Pedersen unobstructed access to Department Q's inner workings as they plod from one crime scene to the next. Meanwhile, social worker Anne-Line Svendsen, reprieved from the death sentence she feared her cancer diagnosis spelled, has decided to go ahead anyway with her plan to execute some of the prostitutes she counts among her most worthless clients: Michelle Hansen, Jazmine Jrgensen, Birna Sigurdardottir, Senta Berger, and Denise Zimmermannsome of whom turn out to be quite as homicidally inclined as she is, and one of whom will have a crucial connection to Carl's cold case. The only thing needed to bring the whole mixture to a full boil is the mental breakdown of sorely tried Department Q staffer Rose Knudsen, whose suicide attempt ends up plunging her into the heart of this banquet of mostly female felonies.Instead of focusing on a single high-concept case, Adler-Olsen lays out several florid plotlines and sets his crime-solvers the daunting task of gathering all the threads together. It's such a varied smorgasbord that even readers who'd prefer to skip a given dish will find plenty to sate their appetites. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The legions of readers still enjoying the Millennium books will devour this seventh in a series starring the officers of Copenhagen's cold-case unit, Department Q. The labyrinthine novel features several crimes that may or may not be related—the murder of an elderly woman, possibly by a fed-up granddaughter; the similar-appearing demise of a young woman years before; and a spree by a serial killer who's tired of Denmark's overly generous social system. And those crimes are just the start. It's unfortunate that misogyny rears its head here—equally so that the only minority characters are a Middle Eastern officer who mentions camels far too often and a Somali man who makes an appearance for less than a page to sell a gun. The book also takes too long to get going and is too long overall. Still, it's being marketed to Stieg Larsson's fans and may well appeal to them. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

The body of an elderly woman is found in a Copenhagen park, and since this book features Det. Carl MØrck of Department Q, Copenhagen's cold cases division, you can bet the case bears resemblance to an unsolved murder dating back a decade. The race is on, and if MØrck doesn't win this one, Department Q will be closed.

The seventh book in the best-selling "Department Q" series finds Copenhagen Det. Carl MØrck contending with an unsolved murder case, the troubled past of a member of his team, and the possible end of his department. [See Prepub Alert, 3/13/17.]

Scandinavian crime fiction fans will find bestseller Adler-Olsen's seventh Department Q novel (after 2015's The Hanging Girl) satisfyingly dark, both in tone and content. Carl Mørck, the cantankerous head of Department Q (Copenhagen's cold-case division), seeks a connection between the murder of an elderly woman and a similar crime more than a decade earlier. With looming budget cuts threatening the very existence of Department Q and a crime documentary program's production crew dogging his every move, Mørck must also deal with the mental unraveling of his assistant, Rose Knudsen, whose nightmarish past comes to light after she inexplicably vanishes. When Mørck and his team discover that a series of brutal hit-and-run murders targeting young women are connected with not only the cold case but Rose's disappearance, they must locate her before it's too late. The parallel story lines make this an undeniable page-turner, but the portrayal of female characters as morally bankrupt and/or irreparably damaged may strike some readers as chauvinistic. (Sept.)