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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Not my favorite of this series. There were too many storylines and it took my a very long time to understand what was going on. It was very repetitive. Marco would go into hiding, people would find him, Marco would narrowly escape, repeat 50 times. It ended well as they all have but the rest of it was not very exciting. Loved all the Karl, Assad, Rose stuff as usual.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Just before typing this review, I checked what other readers thought of the book.
It seems that the general opinion is that this fifth installment was not as good as the first four.
I disagree
I had been rather disappointed with #4 and personally found this book to be closer to what a thriller should be : a book with some pace... At least I need this ... as well as a nice plot obviously. And this book has both.
Also I find it an interesting twist that the reader is not really looking for who's done it since we actually know.
So the author obviously moved away from the "gore heavy" first books in the series, but again, I liked it.
(Read in the French translation)
It seems that the general opinion is that this fifth installment was not as good as the first four.
I disagree
I had been rather disappointed with #4 and personally found this book to be closer to what a thriller should be : a book with some pace... At least I need this ... as well as a nice plot obviously. And this book has both.
Also I find it an interesting twist that the reader is not really looking for who's done it since we actually know.
So the author obviously moved away from the "gore heavy" first books in the series, but again, I liked it.
(Read in the French translation)
Rating 3* out of 5. After the first four brilliant books in this series, this fifth one was disappointing. Not that I'm particularly surprised, I try to avoid any book which involves any sort of mafia or criminal network. I picked this up solely for having loved the first four so well. The other thing I'm beginning to notice after 35 hours of Swedish audio books in three weeks is that my Norwegian is becoming considerably worse. The two languages are closely related and difficult to keep apart even on a good day. The reason I listen to Swedish - or read Swedish editions of Scandinavian books - rather than Norwegian is simple: price.
Anyhow, I digress. In this fifth installment about the police department Q they start to look at the disappearance of the banker/politican/whatever William Starck several years ago. After a trip to Africa he disappeared, despite having a close relationship with the daughter of his girlfriend. Out on the streets, there is a boy on the run, Marco. He has fled his clan because Zola, the "god father", has decided he must be made more lucrative for begging by handicapping him. Hearing this, Marco runs away. He accidentally ends up hiding William's grave. When he notices, he takes a piece of African necklace hanging around the neck of the corpse and flees. But now the clan are no longer interested in just handicapping him, no, now they want to kill him.
There are endless scenes of running, fleeing, chasing involving Marco, the clan and the henchmen of the latter. Eventually it become bothersome. I spent plenty of time rolling my eyes wishing Marco would finally go to the police. He has other ideas, since he's afraid that being an illegal immigrant he'll just be thrown out of the country.
There's plenty of action in this book, but it mostly moves in circles. I haven't been put off Jussi Alder-Olsen by any means, but I do hope the next book is better.
Anyhow, I digress. In this fifth installment about the police department Q they start to look at the disappearance of the banker/politican/whatever William Starck several years ago. After a trip to Africa he disappeared, despite having a close relationship with the daughter of his girlfriend. Out on the streets, there is a boy on the run, Marco. He has fled his clan because Zola, the "god father", has decided he must be made more lucrative for begging by handicapping him. Hearing this, Marco runs away. He accidentally ends up hiding William's grave. When he notices, he takes a piece of African necklace hanging around the neck of the corpse and flees. But now the clan are no longer interested in just handicapping him, no, now they want to kill him.
There are endless scenes of running, fleeing, chasing involving Marco, the clan and the henchmen of the latter. Eventually it become bothersome. I spent plenty of time rolling my eyes wishing Marco would finally go to the police. He has other ideas, since he's afraid that being an illegal immigrant he'll just be thrown out of the country.
There's plenty of action in this book, but it mostly moves in circles. I haven't been put off Jussi Alder-Olsen by any means, but I do hope the next book is better.
This Carl Morck book felt a bit different from the rest. It allowed for a temporary character to be a narrator for a good chunk of the book. Thankfully, Marco was an interesting character whereas Morck fell a bit flat this time. He wasn't his usual witty self.
The story was still enjoyable and it was easy to root for Marco and hope that he wins. This one isn't really a "who-done-it" since you know what happened, but more "how are they going to catch them". There were some good twists at the end!
The story was still enjoyable and it was easy to root for Marco and hope that he wins. This one isn't really a "who-done-it" since you know what happened, but more "how are they going to catch them". There were some good twists at the end!
This fifth Department Q mystery is a tale of thievery, blackmail, enslavement, corruption, extortion, and murder. Marco Jameson is a teenage beggar who decides to flee from his Uncle Zola’s clan when he discovers the extent to which his relative, a modern-day Fagin, will go to increase the amount of money his gang of beggars and pickpockets brings home each day. While escaping, he inadvertently discovers that Zola was involved in a murder. Marco wants to see Zola punished, but he fears the police because he has no legal documentation. In the meantime, Detective Carl Mørck decides to resurrect a missing person case, an investigation that uncovers a complicated banking scam disguised as foreign aid from the government department for which the missing man worked. Obviously, Marco and Carl’s paths eventually cross and interesting connections develop.
The plot is rather convoluted, especially in terms of the banking scam which involves a number of people all of whom try to ensure the cover-up of the crime. The villains are known to the reader throughout so the suspense lies in how Marco will be able to escape Zola’s clutches and how Carl will be able to unravel the intricacies of the missing person/bank scam case which keeps expanding and even ensnares Marco.
Carl remains the same cantankerous guy as shown in the previous books. He cannot refrain from telling others what he really thinks, except when it comes to women. With them he is totally inept at maintaining relationships. His assistants, Assad and Rose, are as quirky as ever and they are joined by a law student assigned to them who may prove to be as interesting.
As expected with this series, there are many touches of humour. Much of the comic relief comes from Assad’s camel-themed axioms: “’You know, when a camel farts there can be two reasons . . . . Either they have eaten too much grass or else it’s just to hear some music beneath the desert sun’” (142) and “’Don’t you know what happens when you give a camel a slap on the backside, Carl? It begins to run and stretch its neck toward where it thinks its goal is. Almost as if having a long neck in itself could make it arrive faster’”’ (246).
There are also observations about Danish society, usually made by Marco, the outsider: “The Dane was at his kindest and most attentive when he was in familiar surroundings with people of the same ilk” (99) and “Danes simply adored spending money, so anything that was more than a few years old quickly became worthless” (195).
There are a couple of problems with the book. One is that Marco succeeds at escaping pursuers too often. He has several groups of people looking for him, yet he manages to evade all of them. It is established early on that he has street smarts, but the number of times he outwits his hunters makes him come across as a superhero. Another weakness is Carl and Marco’s reactions to women. When they see an attractive woman, they seem to fall in love almost immediately. Marco sees a young woman and feels “inexpressible tenderness”: “He wanted to remember [her features] for having just made him feel so warm inside. Even the sound of her voice moved him” (194-195). Carl meets a librarian with “the kind of scent that put every gland in his body on the alert” and “That was when Carl lost all interest in police work” (275 -276).
This book is not great literature, but it is a good police procedural. Its interesting characters who are more developed with each book keep bringing me back to the series.
Please check out my reader's blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
The plot is rather convoluted, especially in terms of the banking scam which involves a number of people all of whom try to ensure the cover-up of the crime. The villains are known to the reader throughout so the suspense lies in how Marco will be able to escape Zola’s clutches and how Carl will be able to unravel the intricacies of the missing person/bank scam case which keeps expanding and even ensnares Marco.
Carl remains the same cantankerous guy as shown in the previous books. He cannot refrain from telling others what he really thinks, except when it comes to women. With them he is totally inept at maintaining relationships. His assistants, Assad and Rose, are as quirky as ever and they are joined by a law student assigned to them who may prove to be as interesting.
As expected with this series, there are many touches of humour. Much of the comic relief comes from Assad’s camel-themed axioms: “’You know, when a camel farts there can be two reasons . . . . Either they have eaten too much grass or else it’s just to hear some music beneath the desert sun’” (142) and “’Don’t you know what happens when you give a camel a slap on the backside, Carl? It begins to run and stretch its neck toward where it thinks its goal is. Almost as if having a long neck in itself could make it arrive faster’”’ (246).
There are also observations about Danish society, usually made by Marco, the outsider: “The Dane was at his kindest and most attentive when he was in familiar surroundings with people of the same ilk” (99) and “Danes simply adored spending money, so anything that was more than a few years old quickly became worthless” (195).
There are a couple of problems with the book. One is that Marco succeeds at escaping pursuers too often. He has several groups of people looking for him, yet he manages to evade all of them. It is established early on that he has street smarts, but the number of times he outwits his hunters makes him come across as a superhero. Another weakness is Carl and Marco’s reactions to women. When they see an attractive woman, they seem to fall in love almost immediately. Marco sees a young woman and feels “inexpressible tenderness”: “He wanted to remember [her features] for having just made him feel so warm inside. Even the sound of her voice moved him” (194-195). Carl meets a librarian with “the kind of scent that put every gland in his body on the alert” and “That was when Carl lost all interest in police work” (275 -276).
This book is not great literature, but it is a good police procedural. Its interesting characters who are more developed with each book keep bringing me back to the series.
Please check out my reader's blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the 5th book in the Department Q Series. While I imagine one could read it as a standalone, I believe one would find it more satisfying to start with the first book to grasp the evolution of the department, the different background stories of the multiple characters. I only started the series in the last month, and so far, my interest has been sustained. I think it's worth it, but it can be dark, graphic and psychologically twisted. I've listened to the series, rather than read, and feel as though I'm watching a movie/show as I listen.
A lot of words but nothing really happening.. this entire series is a bit too wordy.
ļoti vīlos. lasu jau kopš augusta un tikai tagad esmu piebeigusi. kamieļu joki nebija smieklīgi.