The Purity of Vengeance

A Department Q Novel

By: Jussi Adler-Olsen

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

International superstar Jussi Adler-Olsen, with more than fourteen million copies of his books sold worldwide, returns with the fourth book in his New York Times best-selling Department Q series, about a perplexing cold case with sinister modern-day consequences.

In 1987, Nete Hermansen plans revenge on those who abused her in her youth, including Curt Wad, a charismatic surgeon who was part of a movement to sterilize wayward girls in 1950s Denmark.

More than twenty years later, Detective Carl Mørck already has plenty on his mind when he is presented with the case of a brothel owner, a woman named Rita, who went missing in the eighties: New evidence has emerged in the case that destroyed the lives of his two partners - the case that sent Carl to Department Q.

But when Carl's assistants, Assad and Rose, learn that numerous other people disappeared around the same weekend as Rita, Carl takes notice. As they sift through the disappearances, they get closer and closer to Curt Wad, who is more determined than ever to see the vision of his youth take hold and whose brutal treatment of Nete and others like her is only one small part of his capacity for evil.

With The Purity of Vengeance, Jussi Adler-Olsen delivers a thrilling and shocking addition to his best-selling Department Q series.

©2013 Jussi Adler-Olsen (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"This installment of the Department Q series excels in audio and literary talent." (AudioFile Magazine)

"Another accomplished exercise in three-decker suspense" (Kirkus Reviews)

"Adler-Olsen merges story lines...with ingenious aplomb, effortlessly mixing hilarities with horrors...This crime fiction tour de force could only have been devised by an author who can even turn stomach flu into a belly laugh." (Publisher’s Weekly, starred review)

Those Danes Are Tough

A xenophobic group dating back decades has a history of eliminating those it deems not worthy of being Danes. The blond, Teutonic members decide it's best to just not let the unworthy be born, so poor women are secretly sterilized, or their fetuses aborted without their consent. A detective and his assistants run up against the group when trying to track down people who went missing over two decades ago. I love the main characters. They are caring, determined and often ironic. The saga of one of the women mistreated is almost too much to consider. I'm going back for the other books in this series. I'm hooked.

My Favorite of the Department Q Books

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I'm very fond of all of Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q books, but this one was I think the best of all. In addition to the usual well-drawn and quirky cast of characters, and engaging plotting, there was an historical underpinning woven through the narrative that added a layer of all-too-believable foreboding to the suspense.

Which character – as performed by Graeme Malcolm – was your favorite?

They're all excellent but Assad continues to be good and his complexity built in this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There was one moment that made me tear up, yes.

Love it

I can't help but love these novels, and the dark humour of Mr Adler-Olsen.

I would highly recommend any of his books!!

Dept Q!

Being a crime thriller genre fan I think I would've bought a book titled "The Purity of Vengeance" just due to the title. That it was written by one of my new favorite authors, Danish author Jussi Adler-Olson, was just an added benefit. It didn't disappoint. Department Q is the misfit police department that only works the coldest of cold cases. The three people in the department have their own definitions of weird but the author makes it work. In this story, there are 5 people that disapeared on the same day over 20 years ago and no one has ever tied them together until Dept Q gets involved. It turns out there is a young Danish girl who loses her mother at a young age and nothing good happens to her as she grows up. Throw in a right wing Danish doctor that has created an organization that does forced abortions and sterilzations on "undesirable" women and you have the plot set for "The Purity of Vengeance". As always the author has a witty writing style and tells a good story.

Good mix of humor and action

Having read/listened to each of the earlier books of the series, this one continues to develop the key characters as well as give a fresh adventure. I enjoy that the Dept. Q stories are of a place and society other than the US, London, Paris -- often the locations of American novels. Good twists of plot and story, fun characters.

Luscious Revenge Story - with Quirky Dept. Q

If you liked the first Dept. Q book, you will like this one. The characters working with Carl are more finely drawn, and the "bad guys" part of the story is completely engaging.

The PLOT is my favorite so far because I so completely rooted for the "bad guy" who was seeking revenge. Of course I also voted for Carl and friends to solve the crime!

I strongly recommend. GO IN ORDER.

Another winner from Jussi Adler-Olsen

What did you love best about The Purity of Vengeance?

Complex story keeps you guessing, with an unexpected twist at the end. I've listened to so many books it's hard to find any where I have do idea what's coming. Characters are interesting and well developed, and each book you learn more about them.

Any additional comments?

Books that jump back and forth from past to present are not my favorite so I couldn't give it 5 stars, but this wasn't too bad.

5 stars!

Excellent book and narration! Great author I highly recommend this book. Great twist at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Dark mystery with humor, though twisted I luv it!

More Department Q, full of flawed characters like myself. Very interesting combination of mystery/thriller with elements humor. I refer to the series as a darker Danish Barney Miller. Looking forward to the next installment from Adler Olsen.

Good Characters, Dark and Grim Subject Matter

This is a great series with interesting characters and an ongoing mystery. But this is not a comfortable story, perhaps we should not shrink from the darker emotions and evil in the world but it was tough going at times to listen to this tale of depravity, callousness and vengeance. But Assad and Rose, minor characters are more developed and mysterious here. There are also nice twists in the story.