Review of THE SHADOW MURDERS by Jussi Adler-Olsen (New Release)

 3.5 Stars

This is the ninth book in the Department Q series.  Readers who are familiar with the series will enjoy being reunited with the members of Copenhagen’s cold case division. 

Carl Mørck, the man in charge of Department Q, is asked by his superior to investigate a case from 1988.  Slowly, Carl and his team of Assad, Rose, and Gordon discover a series of deaths, each with a signature pile of salt at the murder scenes.  Then it becomes evident that another murder is scheduled so the team needs to determine the victim and stop the serial killer.  A race against the clock begins.

The characters we’ve come to know behave consistently with their portrayal in previous books in the series.  There is a sense of familiarity so reading the book feels like revisiting with old friends.  The book makes references to events in the previous book, Victim 2117.  I enjoyed learning about what happened following the end of that book.  Especially, it’s a joy to read about Carl and Mona’s relationship.

Multiple points of view are used; once the identity of the perpetrator is discovered, the perspective of that villain is included, so the reader knows the plans and motivations. 

The question is whether Carl and the others will be able to prevent the murder.  The emergence of an old case has other police investigators looking at Carl’s past while he tries to focus on the present case.  Covid lockdowns also complicate matters; the team is hampered in their work by restrictions because of the pandemic. 

As with the other books, there are touches of humour.  The banter among the team cannot but bring a smile.  Assad, for example, continues to tell camel stories and to misuse idiomatic expressions.

Suspense is gradually ramped up, especially after a team member is placed in serious danger.  Towards the end I was unable to stop reading. 

The ending of this book connects directly to the first book in the series, The Keeper of Lost Causes, and leads directly to the tenth and last book.  I imagine this last book will finally bring closure to the case which left one colleague, Anker Høyer, dead and another colleague, Hardy Henningsen, a quadriplegic.  I will certainly looking forward to that last book. 

If you have not already discovered this Danish mystery series, do check it out.  Be certain to begin at the beginning.  As Queen Elizabeth II says in Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader, “Can there be any greater pleasure . . . than to come across an author one enjoys and then to find they have written not just one book or two . . . “?

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.