The Right Book at the Right Time

Title: The Keeper of Lost Causes

Author: Jussi Adler-Olsen

Publisher: Dutton, 2011 (originally published in Britain with the title “Mercy” by Penguin Books)

Summary: Ever since Stieg Larsson’s wildly popular “Millennium Trilogy,” it seems that any crime/mystery writer that hails from Scandinavian can’t escape being held up in comparison.  It does seem, though, that Jussi Adler-Oslen has what it takes to live up to the promise of being the next  Stieg Larsson.  “The Keeper of Lost Causes” is a police procedural that is suspenseful, well-written and sufficiently creepy enough to keep the reader on edge all the way to the end.

“Keeper” is the first novel in a planned series by Adler-Olsen entitled “Department Q,” which also happens to be the name of a newly-created “unsolved crimes” squad of the Copenhagen Police Department in the book.  Carl Morck, our flawed and surly lead detective, has been appointed head of Dept. Q, mostly to get him out of the way.  He’s still recovering from being wounded in a shootout that left his best friend dead and another colleague paralyzed.   So when he’s placed in charge of the department, he’s less than enthusiastic.  His lone assistant, Assad, seems more mysterious than anything else, although it isn’t long before Assad proves to be quite the capable detective, which only adds to the mystery about him. Banished to the basement with stacks of cold case files, Morck and Assad begin to investigate the case of Merete Lynggaard, a beautiful politician who disappeared five years earlier.  What follows is a chilling and gripping thriller that is entertaining, disturbing and completely satisfying – and will leave you anxiously awaiting the next installment.

Who will like this book?  Fans of Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell.

Recommended by: Mary, Branch Reference

Does this look like a book you’d like to read? Visit the Fairfield Public Library catalog here, where you can check availability and place a hold.

Title: Stolen Souls: A Jack Lennon Investigation

Author: Stuart Neville

Publisher: Soho Press, October 2011

Summary: A young Ukrainian sex slave escapes from her captors only to find an even greater horror awaits her.
    Soon after the brother of a Lithuanian crime boss is found dead, three of his business associates are murdered. Detective Inspector Jack Lennon must work quickly to stop the situation from spiraling out of control while trying to find the young woman who may hold the key to the brutal killings.
  Stuart Neville is by far one of the greatest crime fiction writers I have ever read. Starting with “The Ghosts of Belfast” and “Collusion”, Neville continues his Jack Lennon series with this new novel, again set in Belfast. “Stolen Souls” delivers non-stop action from first page to last. In fact, I was lucky to find a good stopping place in the middle so I could get some sleep because once back into it, I was in until the end. Neville’s protagonists are far from perfect. They are deeply flawed and living on the edge. Do these faults make us love them any less? Absolutely not. This is one of Neville’s gifts. We can forgive his heroes anything, because there is always someone out there darker and more evil than they could ever be.

Who Might Like This?: Fans of excellent crime fiction.

Recommended by: Sue B, Circulation Coordinator

Does this look like a book you’d like to read? Visit the Fairfield Public Library catalog here, where you can check availability and place a hold.