The Keeper of Lost Causes

Department Q, Book 1

By: Jussi Adler-Olsen

Narrated by: Erik Davies

Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Get to know the detective in charge of Copenhagen's coldest cases in the first electrifying Department Q mystery from New York Times best-selling author Jussi Adler-Olsen.

Carl Mørck used to be one of Denmark’s best homicide detectives. Then a hail of bullets destroyed the lives of two fellow cops, and Carl - who didn’t draw his weapon - blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing he expects. But Department Q is a department of one, and Carl’s got only a stack of cold cases for company. His colleagues snicker, but Carl may have the last laugh, because one file keeps nagging at him: A liberal politician vanished five years earlier and is presumed dead. But she isn’t dead...yet.

Darkly humorous, propulsive, and atmospheric, The Keeper of Lost Causes introduces American listeners to the mega-bestselling series fast becoming an international sensation.

©2011 Jussi Adler-Olsen (P)2011 Penguin

WHY must the narrator read with accents???

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I hate the accents when people are talking. Why are the characters speaking in accented English? It drives me crazy.

If you’ve listened to books by Jussi Adler-Olsen before, how does this one compare?

This is the first one I've listened to. The story is good, but I absolutely hate the narration.

What didn’t you like about Erik Davies’s performance?

It's ridiculous to have the characters speaking in accented English. They are presumably speaking in Danish, so lose the accents. It's extremely distracting and annoying.

Did The Keeper of Lost Causes inspire you to do anything?

Yes, to make sure that I don't select any books in the future that have narrators reading dialogue with accents!

Favorite in this series except narration

This is the first of Department Q series and was my favorite. The exception is the narration. Some of the accents are sort of strange. So if you listen to series in order you will notice the change in narration style to the following books in the series. Each one has a different narrator which breaks up the consistency.

However the story line is really good and keeps you guessing until the end. The book starts kind of slow so you have to make it to about hour 2. Although if you listen to this series in order it may be better, but you don't have to. Each book stands on its own and there is not much rehash of old story lines. This is a good alternative to the John Nesbo Series if you like Scandinavian crime thrillers.

Read this!

If you could sum up The Keeper of Lost Causes in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, well-written, good thriller

Have you listened to any of Erik Davies’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Any additional comments?

I read some comments criticizing the performance of the reader. I think these comments do a disservice to this excellent mystery.

Great story, plot, and I didn't mind the narrator

I really liked this story, and the characters are 3-D - I especially love the assistant brought into the story line. The author is very observant of people and uses that ability to full effect.

The reviews I read before buying this book were often disparaging of the narrator's accent. I did see their point, however, I didn't mind it so much. The narrator did an excellent job of conveying emotion and humor at the right times.

The story itself is brilliant.

Worth the slow start

Starts slow. Takes a bit too long to get going but once it does, it’s hard to put down. The narrator was fine narrating but I could do without the attempt at the characters voices.

Keep Listening

Overall this series is fantastic, but I almost abandoned it because the narration of the 1st book was so problematic for me. The narrator was good, but spoke with a mixture of American & (presumably) Danish accents which was a bad choice IMO. Thankfully I kept going because it gets much better. Very compelling characters, good stories. Just keep listening.

Excruciating, Meticulous, Satisfying

I am new to Jussi Adler-Olsen, and wow, this was a real attention getter! It is a bit gruesome in detail, and when I tried to explain the plot to friends it sounded ridiculous. But it held together in Adler-Olsen's telling, as an incredibly suspenseful and compelling story, riven through with dark humor. It is also very well-researched - and I am glad Adler-Olsen is an author rather than a psychopath, because this is a very original crime. Detective Mørck continues a well-trod path of flawed sleuths with messy personal lives (John Rebus, Harry Hole, etc), yet he is appealing and complex. I especially look forward to reading more about the "assistant," Hafez el-Assad, who is a thoroughly overqualified and delightfully unpredictable character. I found this when I needed to take a break from Jo Nesbø, and it is a welcome (though disturbing!) discovery. The narrator was fine, in my opinion. No Robin Sachs, but okay by me.

story is interesting, but big picture is missing

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

maybe. Story is interesting, characters are well developped. So it is a still good past-time book.

If you only want the thriller from a crime noval, not demanding more substrance from a book, then it is for you.

If you’ve listened to books by Jussi Adler-Olsen before, how does this one compare?

Comparing to The Purity of Vengeance, this book lacks big picture. For example, Purity of Vengeance did pinpoint a dark part of Danish history in the back drop, and showed us the consequences of this part of historical event. Also comparing to his scandinavian peers like Stig Larsson, and Henning Mankell, who always stage their books under certain bigger social problems (e.g., neo nazi, attitudes towards immigrants, cold war etc), this book is "thin" in that it is just a well written crime novel.

Have you listened to any of Erik Davies’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The reader is good, but maybe can reduce some breath-ness. I loved that he can master the accents tho.

Gripping unable to put down accent takes some time

After getting used to the accent, I could not put the book down. I recommend it

Compelling--but...

I couldn't stop listening...but I really didn't buy the villains' level of hatred/revenge. I know they were psychopaths but even psychopaths need to have twisted logic that hangs together.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.