A Conspiracy of Faith

Department Q, Book 3

By: Jussi Adler-Olsen

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

The New York Times and internationally best-selling Danish crime writer Jussi Adler-Olsen returns with the third thriller in his exhilarating Department Q series.

Detective Carl Mørck has received a bottle that holds an old and decayed message written in blood. It's a cry for help from two young brothers, tied and bound in a boathouse by the sea. After floating in the ocean for years before turning up, the bottle sat forgotten, unopened, on a police department windowsill, before the seal was cracked and the gruesome message, written in Danish, was analyzed. Could it be real? Who are these boys, and why weren't they reported missing? Could they possibly still be alive?

Carl's investigation will force him to cross paths with a woman stuck in a desperate marriage: Her husband refuses to tell her where he goes, how long he will be away, what he does while he's gone - or even what he does for a living. Isolated after choosing him over family and friends, she waits for days on end, and when he returns she must endure his wants, his moods, his threats. But enough is enough. She will find out the truth, no matter the cost to him - or to herself.

In this heart-pounding thriller, Carl and his colleagues Assad and Rose must use every resource available to uncover the horrifying truth set adrift in that bottle all those years ago.

©2012 Jussi Adler-Olsen (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Great Police Work, Clever and Witty

Forgive me for being a bit redundant and repetitive with my reviews of the Dept Q series. Time won't permit me to give each book it's due...

Dept Q is an underfunded department specializing in cold cases. The government has given it top priority, but the police chief gives it litte thought. The department is manned by 3 misfits.

Carl Mork is the lead man, by far the best detective on the entire force, but he is also insubordinate, impossible to work with and impulsive. No one likes him or wants to work with him. So his chief puts him the newly formed Department Q.

Assad is a real mystery figure. He's Syrian, speaks poor English, (this was translated from Norwegian.), and no one seems to know how he came to be employed at all. They don't have a personnel file on him, no one has ever seen the family he speaks of, and no one seems to know where he lives.

Rose is another strange character. She works when she feels like it, is at least Morks equal with insubordination, she wears her emotions on her sleeve, and is just maybe a bit mentally ill.

Carl Mork , Rose and Assad have a charisma and synergy that makes you want see them go at it for years to come. They are smart, resourceful, mysterious, ruthless and hilarious.
I love the entire series.

Jussi's Stories Just Get Better- Need More Dept Q!

This is the 3rd Department Q and I have to say I just love these books and this one is the best so far.

I love the characters and Assad has to be the most entertaining sidekick in all the mystery/thrillers I enjoyed in a long time.

You can read the overview of the book to get the thrust of the story. I will tell you the pacing, narration and story keep you wanting more. This one is hard to stop listening too.

How long do I have to wait for the next Department Q? I'm hooked!

Alternative to Nesbo/Harry Hole Novels

I am a big fan of John Nesbo novels, and having listened to them all had to find an alternative. I read the reviews and this novel, book 3, in the series got the highest rating, so I started there. I did not feel like I missed anything from previous novels, so I feel I can safely backtrack in the listening order. Set in Stockholm, it fits well in the genre of Nordic serial killer books (Nesbo, Girl with Dragon Tattoo, etc.) . If you liked any of those books, you will like this and vice versa. So if you have not read Nesbo, you can listen to this series and then move on to him. That way you will almost a dozen books to listen to.

best so far

What did you love best about A Conspiracy of Faith?

This was the best of the three I have so far read - very little of the silliness that characterized the previous two. Very good plot, performance was, as usual, excellent.

Cannot wait for Book 4

Would you listen to A Conspiracy of Faith again? Why?

Absolutely. I'll leave it to one side so that I can allow my vivid recollections to fade somewhat but the story line, the characters, and the clever slotting of each aspect of the story so that it is unclear whether the good guys are going to be in time to thwart the bad guy and save the day.

What other book might you compare A Conspiracy of Faith to and why?

The two previous books by Jusse Adler-Olsen are so different and yet just the same. These books don't just have a central character they have a cast of characters each richly contributing to the tales. There are great similarities with the books of Jo Nesbo and to a lesser extent Steig Larsson.

What about Graeme Malcolm’s performance did you like?

He has Assad off to a tee, the same character emerges in the narrative and the humour is not lost in translation. His narration is not affected or over done. Very neat performance true to pronunciations Danish throughout. Unrushed and smooth. Excellent, would seek out other books narrated by same.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many, perhaps the most moving the naivety within marginal religeous sects which exposes those groups to abuse and within those groups the abuse meted out in the name of religeon. Terrible and inexcusable behaviour with patriarchs beating their children in the name of God.

Any additional comments?

Really looking forward to the next book in the series.

This series is meant to be heard, not read

Any additional comments?

The reader for this series is awesome. The stories are your basic far-fetched fare but its the interaction between the burned out, non-political, onery but ultimately solid detective Carl and his mysterious but undervalued assistant/janitor/whatever is needed guy Assad, and the ever dysunctional, personality disordered, yet strangely perceptive Rose. The awkwardness between them all makes for a good many chuckles and hours of entertainment.

Best so far! Epic timeline, suspense all the way

I have listened to the first four Dept Q books and this one is my favorite. I thought the suspense was maintained very well throughout the book. It was also a bit more believable a plot that 1, 2 and 4. Characters are well thought out and dialogue is good. Great twists throughout the book without the story going off the rails. Good action scenes also.

One TERRIFIC Book!

This is one of the best if not the best mystery I have listened to. The combination of offbeat eccentric heroes and heroines and totally believable and extremely evil criminals is masterful. The plot is immaculate and the narration superb!

If you like Larsson,Mankell , probably like this.

Stieg Larsson or Nesbo light, quirky characters kinda like Barney Miller with an edge, lots of funny parts I thought. Though some the characters may drive you nuts at times.

The perfect thriller.

Jussi Adler-Olsen's books have been coming up in my suggested list for a long time. I'm not sure what took me so long to give them a try, but I finally took a look and decided to start with this one. The rave reviews were impossible to ignore and after listening, I think it earned every one. Granted it's not literature, but I still had to give it top honors. Here's why:

This is such a perfectly executed thriller that it should be a "how to" manual for writers. It has an underlying tension that never abates. He ratchets it up a notch from time to time, but it never goes back to zero. There are just enough characters to keep it interesting but not make it a difficult listen. (Meaning, I never had to write anything down to keep them straight.) The characters are quirky with dialogue that's clever and witty. (Meaning, I actually laughed out loud.) It's a thriller, so of course there are horrific things - but this author somehow manages to stay on the psychological side, rather than venturing into the disgusting. When you're not listening and thinking about it, it's the characters that stay with you - not graphic scenes. That's impressive.

Graeme Malcolm's narration is spot-on. It's absolutely perfect for the author and the characters. The combination makes this escapism listening at its finest. I'm so glad to discover an author I like as much (or more than) Nesbo and McKinty. Kudos to all for a credit-worthy listen.