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Multi-talented Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen contributes to the stellar reputation of Scandinavian crime with this remarkable, tension-filled novel.

2002: Merete Lynggaard is desperate to escape the dark cage that has become her home. She has no idea who her captors are or what they want. 2007: Carl Mørk is an experienced crime detective but after a shooting leaves one colleague dead and another paralysed he is adrift, struggling to find himself. Banished from the criminal investigation team to head up a new cold-case department (Department Q), he determines to do as little as possible. All that changes when he reluctantly takes on the five-year-old case of a high-profile politician who disappeared during a ferry crossing – Merete Lynggaard. As readers learn more of Merete’s fate, Mørk and his versatile though enigmatic assistant, Assad, dig deeper. It becomes clear this was no suicide. The trail is well and truly cold and with the best witness Merete’s brain-damaged brother, the case appears hopeless. Could Merete still be alive or is Mørk truly the keeper of lost causes?

The Keeper of Lost Causes is a quality investigative crime novel. Adler-Olsen is a master at knowing how much to reveal and what to leave out, and the use of Merete’s point of view from the day she disappears adds to the suspense by drawing us into the question of why this happened. Like much Scandinavian crime, the emphasis is upon tension rather than pace. The story moves along while still allowing insights into Mørk’s character, police and government politics, and sharp observations of society all viewed through the cynical eye of Mørk. Assad is an intriguing character and the little we learn of him in this book is enough to hook us into the next. Adler-Olsen’s subtle portrait of a tough man denying his post-traumatic stress until it is thrust upon him is excellent.

The Keeper of Lost Causes is the first in the Department Q series. With three books available in English, I look forward to many days spent in the surly company of Mørk and his more personable assistant Assad.