The Shadow Murders: Department Q #9 by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Published Nov. 4, 2021; Dutton, NetGalley
Genre: police procedural, crime fiction, thriller, Nordic noir
Rating: five stars
Department Q thrillers set in Denmark are always suspenseful and this book is the most suspenseful I can remember reading in the series.
The themes alone are striking: It is 2020 and the police department is hampered by Covid restrictions and lockdowns in the city, but are called to investigate a woman who kills herself many years after losing her young son in an horrific explosion. That explosion at a car repair shop also killed the shop owner and several workers.
It's also Christmas time, so things slow down in the police department. The group of four investigators in Department Q however must carry on, especially when they realize that the car shop explosion is linked to many, many other murder cases, with the culprit or culprits planning a new Boxing Day (Dec. 26) murder.
Vengeance, insanity, misguided religiousness, megalomania, are all mixed up in the case, which challenge Department Q - Carl, Assad, Rose, and George - to the nth degree and threaten their own lives.
Trigger warnings: This series is listed as Nordic Noir, and it is very noir - that is, crazily violent. I enjoyed it, reading nonstop while biting my nails and getting very stressed. I don't know if I'll read another in the series - (I'm showing my age!)
Department Q thrillers set in Denmark are always suspenseful and this book is the most suspenseful I can remember reading in the series.
The themes alone are striking: It is 2020 and the police department is hampered by Covid restrictions and lockdowns in the city, but are called to investigate a woman who kills herself many years after losing her young son in an horrific explosion. That explosion at a car repair shop also killed the shop owner and several workers.
It's also Christmas time, so things slow down in the police department. The group of four investigators in Department Q however must carry on, especially when they realize that the car shop explosion is linked to many, many other murder cases, with the culprit or culprits planning a new Boxing Day (Dec. 26) murder.
Vengeance, insanity, misguided religiousness, megalomania, are all mixed up in the case, which challenge Department Q - Carl, Assad, Rose, and George - to the nth degree and threaten their own lives.
Trigger warnings: This series is listed as Nordic Noir, and it is very noir - that is, crazily violent. I enjoyed it, reading nonstop while biting my nails and getting very stressed. I don't know if I'll read another in the series - (I'm showing my age!)
A romance/chick lit to lighten the mood:
Sweeten the Deal by Katie Shepard
Publication: October 17, 2023; Berkley, NetGalley
Genre: romance, contemporary fiction, chick lit
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The protagonists are 10 years apart in age, but MBA student Caroline Sedlacek loves having Adrian as her "sugar baby," someone she found online to be her paid boyfriend and companion for shows, opera, museums, sightseeing and cultural events. Caroline is not adept socially, doesn't know much about how to dress, attend events, or how to socialize, though she is business savvy and smart in other ways.
We learn later in the book that Caroline is neurodiverse, having a kind of mild cognitive disability, which makes her reliance on her sugar baby, Adrian, plausible as central to the plot. Adrian is a down-on-his-luck artist who can't even pay his rent at the moment.
I liked the ways in which Caroline helps Adrian get back on his feet as an artist, helping him promote and sell his once expensive art work. And of course, it's amusing how Adrian has to coach Caroline on the social front.
An entertaining and unusual contemporary romance written with humor and empathy.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The protagonists are 10 years apart in age, but MBA student Caroline Sedlacek loves having Adrian as her "sugar baby," someone she found online to be her paid boyfriend and companion for shows, opera, museums, sightseeing and cultural events. Caroline is not adept socially, doesn't know much about how to dress, attend events, or how to socialize, though she is business savvy and smart in other ways.
We learn later in the book that Caroline is neurodiverse, having a kind of mild cognitive disability, which makes her reliance on her sugar baby, Adrian, plausible as central to the plot. Adrian is a down-on-his-luck artist who can't even pay his rent at the moment.
I liked the ways in which Caroline helps Adrian get back on his feet as an artist, helping him promote and sell his once expensive art work. And of course, it's amusing how Adrian has to coach Caroline on the social front.
An entertaining and unusual contemporary romance written with humor and empathy.
What's on your reading schedule this week and/or the rest of the month?injuly202
Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday.
