Locked in

Adler-Olsen brings the Department Q story full-circle here, summoning a cast of series favorites for the explosive resolution of mysteries simmering in Carl Mørck's past. Mørck has been imprisoned after a suitcase filled with drugs and cash is found in his attic, and fingerprints implicate him in the murder that he and his former partners, Anker Høyer and Hardy Henningsen, found just before they suffered a devastating ambush. Carl's fame works against him when media coverage alerts a violent criminal organization to his involvement in their stolen shipment. They're determined to tie up loose ends, forcing Carl to wield brains and brawn against their hired killers. Meanwhile, Merete Lynggard, rescued by Department Q in The Keeper of Lost Causes (2007), marshals vast resources and partners with Hardy and Department Q to exonerate Carl and unmask his enemies. Adler-Olsen's slow-burning narrative delivers granular investigative detail, punctuated with propulsive action and a satisfying, but bittersweet conclusion to the ten-volume series. Verklempt series fans will want to start this series' ride over again.

In the stellar conclusion to Adler-Olsen's Department Q series (after The Shadow Murders), intradepartmental turmoil rattles the Copenhagen cold case unit. The action kicks off with Carl Mørck, Department Q's lead detective, being taken into custody when a suitcase he agreed to store for a colleague 15 years earlier is opened and revealed to contain large quantities of drugs and cash. Though Carl had just broken up a network of murderers led by a wealthy Danish businesswoman, his colleagues on the police force--with the exception of those in Department Q--turn on him. As he awaits trial, Carl receives anonymous threats from someone who wants him dead before the court can investigate the origins of the contraband. Certain that Carl's been framed, the other members of Department Q--Rose Knudsen, Haffez el-Assad, and Gordon Taylor--defy their bosses to help clear his name, imperiling their own careers in the process. Adler-Olsen sends this excellent series out on a high note, reaping the benefits of his deep character work in the previous novels. Fans will be thrilled. (Dec.)