The Absent One

By: Jussi Adler-Olsen

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Keeper of Lost Causes, Jussi Adler-Olsen introduced Detective Carl Mørck, a deeply flawed, brilliant detective newly assigned to run Department Q, the home of Copenhagen’s coldest cases. The result wasn’t what Mørck - or readers - expected, but by the opening of Adler-Olsen’s shocking, fast-paced follow-up, Mørck is satisfied with the notion of picking up long-cold leads. So he’s naturally intrigued when a closed case lands on his desk: A brother and sister were brutally murdered two decades earlier, and one of the suspects - part of a group of privileged boarding-school students - confessed and was convicted.

But once Mørck reopens the files, it becomes clear that all is not what it seems. Looking into the supposedly solved case leads him to Kimmie, a woman living on the streets, stealing to survive. Kimmie has mastered evading the police, but now they aren’t the only ones looking for her. Because Kimmie has secrets that certain influential individuals would kill to keep buried... as well as one of her own that could turn everything on its head.

Every bit as pulse-pounding as the book that launched the series, The Absent One delivers further proof that Jussi Adler-Olsen is one of the world's premier thriller writers.

©2012 Jussi Adler-Olsen (P)2012 Penguin Audio

wonderful characterizations

good writing and extremely gripping storytelling. just so dark. I can't take too much of this author at a time. I do plan to read or listen to the rest of the novels in this series, but I'll probably have to space them out.

Characters make the story

A bit too obvious - people are a bit too complacent with the evil ones! The main characters are great! I got caught up in them and would most certainly give this series another chance.

Very different from Book One in the Dept Q series

Having enjoyed the first book in this series, I was disappointed in the second. The author has taken a very different approach to telling the story, and as many others have mentioned, the reader is greeted with several truly brutal scenes.

The first book was narrated with Danish inflections and Assad was portrayed as an agreeable, but somewhat mysterious and perhaps formidable character. In this book, the British narration is a complete departure from the first and does not convey the same feeling. Aside from that, Assad is portrayed in an unflattering, stereotyped way. HIs accent is cartoonish and makes him come across as obsequious and foolish. I actually found myself feeling offended on Assad's behalf.

That said, the narrator is certainly gifted, but was the wrong choice for this book.

I love this author!

Jussi Adler-Olsen is a great author for suspense, intrigue and unbelievable gruesomeness. I've read several of his books. This was a bit more disturbing than some. I love how intelligent Jussi's books are. Smart. Characters are both serious and funny. The narrator did a fine job switching roles.

wonderful

amazing narrator, excellent story, very well written. this author is an excellent story teller. can not wait for the next one.

A British Narrator?????

What did you love best about The Absent One?

The characters and the story line

Who was your favorite character and why?

Moerck

What didn’t you like about Steven Pacey’s performance?

If I wanted a narrator for a Sherlock Holmes book, I would have ordered it. Why wasn't the narrator from "The Keeper of Lost Causes" used, he at least had a reasoanable Danish accent and made the listening more authenic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

sub standard narration

narrator voices Assad as though he is Indian or Pakistani, rather than Middle Eastern, ie Iraqi.

Not a series that improves for me

The first of this series is a really fascinating book, somewhat surreal but also touching and human. The reader uses a scandinavian accent at times, and an american one at others; it worked. The next two have degenerated. I'm not sure if its the sneering BBC uppercrust voice that the new narrator gives the lead character, the fawning and almost racist portrayal of Assad, or the writer. But I'm out of love with these books.

Department Q does it again

The misanthropic detective Carl Morck and his "assistant" Assad once again stumble into a high profile case despite the best efforts of his chief to bury the department. Filled with great characters, drama and action, and touches of humor this book was a great listen.

Addictive

Found this author just a couple of weeks ago. His plots are fresh but his character are so well developed that you need to keeping listening to the next book so you can discover what is happening to the wonderful characters .