Review of LOCKED IN by Jussi Adler-Olsen

3.5 Stars 

This is the tenth and last installment in the Department Q series; this book brings everything full circle to the first book.

This book begins where The Shadow Murders, the ninth book, ends. Detective Carl Mørck, charged with aiding and abetting a murder, corruption, theft, and drug dealing, is arrested and incarcerated. He knows he has been framed but he doesn’t know by whom or how to prove his innocence. In prison he is in danger from incarcerated criminals and corrupt guards; he learns that there is a bounty on his head. The media is having a heyday, and few in the Copenhagen police department support him. The exceptions are Assad, Rose, and Gordon of Department Q, but they have been given strict orders not to investigate Carl’s case in any way. Fortunately, help does come from unexpected people who feel they owe Carl.

There are lots of connections to previous cases, especially the one central to the first book, The Keeper of Lost Causes. I had forgotten quite a bit but the author provides sufficient information to remind readers of the essential details. Then there’s the case that is mentioned in each of the books, the one which resulted in Hardy’s catastrophic injury and the death of his colleague Anker Høyer. That case is the one that is finally solved.

The novel covers a fairly short time span (Dec. 26, 2020 to Jan. 11, 2021) but several points of view are provided.  Included are the perspectives of various bad guys; tension increases as the reader knows the personalities, motivations, and plans of those interested in guaranteeing Carl’s demise. Carl is in danger from both inside and outside the prison.

The novel is like the previous Department Q books. There are the quirky Department Q staffers; touches of humour, usually via Assad’s misunderstanding of idiomatic expressions; graphic violence; and the untangling of “labyrinthine mysteries.” Though the case that lead to the creation of Department Q is resolved, I did find that some of the secondary characters are abandoned. What happened to “the invisible power behind it all” or Pelle? Their subplots, given more than cursory attention, are not completely resolved.

This book is recommended to those who have followed and read the entire series. I’m actually tempted to re-read the books to see if there are any subtle clues as to the villain’s identity which I missed in my initial readings.