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The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

Crazeedi, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, Butterfinger, Marina_h

AnneCecilie If they continue solving cold cases in this tempo, it will be hard to close down. 5y

EadieB I think they are a very successful group that seem bound and determined to solve the crimes they are given. (edited) 5y

Butterfinger With the addition of Rose, it starts to feel like a real department. It is no more a place to shove an unwanted detective. She brought in new furniture and a filing system. 5y

Crazeedi I really enjoyed this book, dept Q will definitely continue! 5y

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The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

This post contains spoilers

Crazeedi, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, Butterfinger, Marina_h

AnneCecilie Yes, I gave this a pick. I like the writing and the characters in Department Q. 5y

EadieB I did like the story but felt the book unnecessary long and drawn out. 5y

Butterfinger The violence just left a bad taste in my mouth. This is not my favorite genre. Kimmie definitely needed therapy. They all needed therapy. It just makes one wonder why the boarding school did not catch their bullying. 5y

Marina_h I like Carl, Assad and Rose, but the overall plot in this book didin't really do anything for me. So it's not that I don't like the series, so far it's just one case I didn't find myself interested in. 5y

Crazeedi Yes, I really enjoyed this book 5y

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The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

This post contains spoilers

Crazeedi, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, Butterfinger, Marina_h

AnneCecilie The trio that continued doing this even into their late 30s. Their attitude were incredible. 5y

EadieB I didn‘t care for Bjarne Thøgersen. (edited) 5y

Butterfinger I agree with @AnneCecilie - they just continued to have a thrill with their abuse whether it was toward human (slaves and attacks) or animals. Why did all these people accept money just to let the group best them? 5y

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The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

This post contains spoilers

Crazeedi, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, Butterfinger, Marina_h

AnneCecilie I‘m not sure, but we do get some glimpses into how some of the people grew up. They were shown the brutal side of life and no empathy. If you don‘t learn to be kind as a child from the people closest to you, how are you to show it as an adult? They are brought up in environment where the facade is everything and where everyone can be bought to silence. As teens and adults, they bring this to the ultimate test again and again 5y

EadieB People learn by example and if they don‘t have good role models then they learn by what they see and experience. Evil begets evil. 5y

Butterfinger I agree with both @EadieB and @AnneCecilie - I can understand in Kimmie's case. It seemed everyone abused her. The only person that would have loved her unconditionally was the baby who was taken so violently. Adding to the 4th question, Kristian was evil. 5y

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The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

This post contains spoilers

Crazeedi, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, Butterfinger, Marina_h

AnneCecilie I love Rose and I think this is just what Department Q needs. She is someone who answers back and is not afraid to say her opinions 5y

EadieB I like Rose too. She is a big help to Carl and Assad. 5y

Butterfinger Rose is very likeable and I like how she stood up to Carl. 5y

Marina_h Rose is a fun character. I like that she doesn't put up with everything and can tell Carl off. I look forward to get to know her better. 5y

6 likes4 comments

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

This post contains spoilers

Crazeedi, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, Butterfinger, Marina_h

AnneCecilie That‘s a though question. Considering what we get to know about her childhood, beaten, have her hair pulled and locked into closets, by her parents and stepmother, I think life would have been hard on her from her though upbringing. Getting the friends she did at the boarding school, probably didn‘t help. So I‘m leaning towards the second (edited) 5y

EadieB I would agree with @AnneCecilie She was a victim of her early circumstances. 5y

Crazeedi I will be answering these after I read!! Thank you @Tove_Reads for leading the group! Appreciate you a bunch!😘🥰 5y

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Butterfinger Yes, she was abused. By her parents. Controlled by the men. But I know many who do not beat up strangers and give the killing hit. The rape and Kristina's beating drove her over the edge and I think the author did a great job describing her in a way that readers could empathize. But, she was still part of the group that abused people for fun. She collected mementos. 5y

Marina_h I agree with @Butterfinger . I don't think you can blame everything on her surroundings. I know she had a tough upbringing, but in some ways I still feel like she chose to become the perpetrator. I just think there's a long way from what happened to her as a child to killing people and seem to enjoy it.
@AnneCecilie @EadieB 5y

EadieB @Marina_h very true! 5y

AnneCecilie I‘m not defending anything Kimmie did, but I don‘t think she was born a bad person. I think it was her upbringing and meeting the wrong kind of people. She and her friends created a new normal. (edited) 5y

Crazeedi My heart was very sad for broken Kimmie, she was abused completely as a child, and it twisted her forever 5y

6 likes8 comments

AnneCecilie

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

pick

I love how Adler-Olsen writes his characters and the crime. Carl Mørk, Assad and the new addition to the group, Rose, are just wonderful characters.

The villains in this crime are just that, it‘s been a long time since I read about someone this despicable. They‘re rich and therefore think they‘re untouchable, and used to take what they want.

Towards the end, I was glad I knew this series continued.

#NordicNoir

Crazeedi, eanderson, Tove_Reads, Andrew65, EadieB, gradcat, Marina_h

Andrew65 A great review! 5y

Crazeedi Can't wait to read 5y

gradcat Good review, and can I just say how happy I am that you liked it? I love these characters! ♥️♥️ 5y

AnneCecilie @gradcat Thank you. I have understood from previous discussions of his books, that you enjoy them. I love these characters too (edited) 5y

gradcat @AnneCecilie Yay! I have company!! 😂🤣😂😉 5y

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AnneCecilie

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

#BookReport

These was the books on last week‘s weekly forecast

? I read Mothering Sunday
? Just finished The Absent One
? Will start The Preacher today

? Finished My Story Northug
? Started Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrøm ( Winner of the Nordisk råds litteraturpris and Kritikerprisen)

So finishing The Absent One and reading The Preacher is my tbr for #alternate24in48

Cinfhen, ferskner, Librarybelle

Librarybelle Sounds good! 5y

Cinfhen Great week!! Good luck with the readathon 💚☘️ 5y

ferskner Extra points for Scandinavian books 😉 5y

43 likes3 comments

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

Remember we‘ll be discussing this one on Sunday! #NordicNoir Did I tag everyone reading this series?

Crazeedi, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, gradcat, Marina_h

GatheringBooks did you all read the first book as well? 5y

Tove_Reads @GatheringBooks Yes, but you could read it before, after or skip it all together if you want to read this one with us. 5y

GatheringBooks @Tove_Reads thank you! i like translated/international lit so this intrigued me - perhaps the next one. but thanks for alerting me to this series. 5y

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EadieB Just got the audio from the library. I have finished

The Nightmare: A Novel

EadieB Finishing this today

The Preacher

Tove_Reads @eadieb Oh wow, already! I guess we‘ll decide as a group if we should go on after that one. They are supposed to get better. 5y

Tove_Reads @EadieB I‘ll start reading Läckberg after I‘ve taken the dogs for a walk. 5y

EadieB @Tove_Reads It was a good story but still too wordy. (edited) 5y

EadieB @Tove_Reads I like Lackberg's books the best. 5y

Tove_Reads @EadieB I have two work trips in a week, 8 hours on the train all together. I think it might be a book for that trip. 5y

Tove_Reads @EadieB Most def. She beats the crap out of the others, IMHO. 5y

EadieB @Tove_Reads Sounds like a good plan to read The Nightmare on the train! 5y

Tove_Reads @eadieb I want to read a book called nightmare on the train! 😂 5y

Marina_h I just finished it today. I think I need to read something else before I start the next Kepler 5y

Tove_Reads @Marina_h I just started Läckberg‘s second. 5y

AnneCecilie I started thin one today, and should be finished in time for our discussion 5y

Andrew65 Like with the last book still waiting the hold at the library. 5y

Butterfinger I plan to read it. I checked out The Keeper of Lost Causes. The other one hasn't arrived at the library yet, but I'm expecting it soon. 5y

Crazeedi @Tove_Reads @AnneCecilie @Marina_h @EadieB @Andrew65 I'll start this one tomorrow, hopefully finish this week, then on to the next lackberg. I can't keep up with y'all!! 5y

Tove_Reads @Crazeedi No worries, the question will still be there when you‘re done 🙂 5y

Tove_Reads @Butterfinger 👍🏽 5y

Andrew65 @Crazeedi Me either I‘m struggling to just stay behind! 😂 (edited) 5y

Crazeedi @Andrew65 😉😂🥰 5y

gradcat @AnneCecilie @Marina_h @Crazeedi @Tove_Reads @EadieB @Andrew65 Oh 💩! I forgot! I hope you guys can forgive me, but I seem to be awful at this!! I will try harder...😏 5y

Andrew65 @gradcat Always 😍 5y

Crazeedi @gradcat no problemo! Life happens and s___ happens and we just get on with it!💖💖 @Andrew65 @AnneCecilie @Marina_h @EadieB @Tove_Reads 5y

gradcat @Crazeedi & @Andrew65 Thanks for that, y‘all! I think once I start reading along with you guys, I‘ll remember the discussion appointments. ♥️ 5y

37 likes27 comments

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

Not allowed to use my right arm, so in bed reading today. Reading next week‘s #buddyread for #NordicNoir. Not much left. I‘m having this love/hate relationship with his books. I like the banter and all, the story is interesting, but it seems to go on and on, without having those real moving forward events written in an exciting way. Big things happen, but not with an intensity or expected excitement. Hard to explain.

Crazeedi, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, gradcat, Marina_h

Tove_Reads @EadieB I have a feeling you‘ll be put off by some of the sexual content. It‘s weird in many ways. 5y

Tove_Reads One of the most disturbing and raw violence books I‘ve ever read. Humans are the most evil creatures. 5y

EadieB @Tove_Reads These books are interesting but too wordy and long and I can do without the explicit sex. I can understand love/hate! 5y

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Crazeedi @Tove_Reads why does there have to be the explicit sex, I'm not a prude but it doesnt move the story most times. I havent gotten to this book yet 5y

Andrew65 @Tove_Reads This sexual content also bothers me as books don‘t need it. Sounds heavy this one. @crazeedi @EadieB (edited) 5y

Andrew65 I thought we were reading book 2 the first week in February, I,e, two weeks time. Have I got my dates wrong? @Tove_Reads @EadieB @Crazeedi (edited) 5y

Tove_Reads @andrew65 I posted the dates last week. I checked the calendar for the year and decided it‘s better this way. First Sunday of the month. 5y

EadieB @Andrew65 No that‘s when we are suppose read it but I think Tove is reading it early. 5y

Andrew65 @EadieB I‘m struggling to keep up at the moment, especially with other challenges. When I saw Tove was reading I thought...hheeelllppp! 😂 (edited) 5y

Tove_Reads @andrew65 My plan is to mess with your head!! 🤪😱🤫 5y

Andrew65 @Tove_Reads Job done! 😂🥵🤯👍😊 5y

EadieB @Andrew65 Just go at your own pace! I‘m sure you will catch up. Isn‘t it time for 24b4mon this weekend. 5y

Tove_Reads @andrew65 I figured better to read it now while on sick leave. Next week I do not have the time. It takes longer to read than other similar books for some reason. The next one is 500 pages... 5y

Andrew65 @EadieB It is @eadieb, although we are also busy researching and visiting dealers looking for a new motorhome. 5y

Andrew65 @Tove_Reads These #nordicnoir books do seem to take more effort to read. 5y

EadieB @Andrew65 Sounds exciting! 5y

Andrew65 @EadieB It would be if we could decide which one we wanted! 🤯 Had our previous one for 14 years. 5y

EadieB @Andrew65 It‘s hard to decide when you have many choices. 5y

Andrew65 @EadieB Still yet to find the one that meets all our criteria! 5y

EadieB @Andrew65 Are you buying new or used? 5y

Andrew65 @EadieB Always go for new and seek to keep it long term (14 years this time), been saving for a long time, and hold resale value well. 5y

EadieB @Andrew65 That‘s good because when you buy a new car it depreciates as soon as you pull off the car lot. 5y

Andrew65 @EadieB It does but would still go that route every time. Work very hard so deserve the best! All about fighting for a great deal in the first place and I drive a very hard bargain. Regularly walk away and wait for that phone call! We will be going to big motorhome show at half term where will get all dealers fighting each other for our business! This weekend is about identifying the model we want in preparation for that. 5y

EadieB @Andrew65 Ha Ha! Sounds good! 5y

Crazeedi @Andrew65 wow Andrew I'm jealous! I would love to cruise the states in a motorhome. I'd even give up a house and live on the road, but alas hubby is a home body. Good luck on your hunt and bon voyage!!❣ 5y

Andrew65 @Crazeedi Thanks, tell your hubby it‘s a home. Love ours, best place ever to read overlooking the sea in the comfort of your own home on wheels! 5y

Crazeedi @Andrew65 that sounds divine! I may have to sedate him and use subterfuge to get him to ever agree!! Lol 5y

Crazeedi @Andrew65 and it would be so easy to care for! And roll into a little town , visit a used book store, read a book, donate to goodwill or somewhere and roll on to the next destination!! 5y

Andrew65 @Crazeedi Heavenly. This is what we do on the school hi,days. I can do any work I need to via laptop and Wi-fi. 5y

Marina_h @Andrew65 @Tove_Reads funny, I find these books really easy to read. I feel like they are pretty straightforward and the language is simple so if I had better time I would read it in a day or two. 5y

Tove_Reads @Marina_h I think I space out more often when I read his books. The story should have more action and dialogue. For example, I read Läckberg‘s books in a few hours. @Andrew65 5y

Andrew65 @Tove_Reads @Marina_h The language etc makes them easy to read in one way I just feel the pace is a bit slow, and could do with more action and tension. 5y

gradcat @Tove_Reads You know, I think I can understand your exasperation with the way these novels play out. The development of the crime, given that they are mostly historical, takes a lot from the pacing. I have to say that I remember the interpersonal relationships (and banter) much better than I do the crimes. I, too, don‘t really like hyper-sexualized and overly violent stories. I‘m the one who thinks the Kepler books are so violent. I guess it 👇🏻 5y

gradcat 👆🏻 @tove_reads all boils down to how it hits me at the time. 5y

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The Reckoning: Children's House

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

#NordicNoir #BuddyRead books for February. I‘ve heard that the Kepler books get better (most definitely hope so). I hope Läckberg keeps her style, and that Adler-Olsen gets straight to the point without long back stories.

Crazeedi, LapReader, AnneCecilie, eanderson, Andrew65, EadieB, Butterfinger, gradcat, Marina_h

EadieB @Tove_Reads You may want to list the titles in English too! Thanks! 5y

Andrew65 🤞🤞🤞 5y

Butterfinger I think the English for Lachberg is The Preacher. 5y

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EadieB @Butterfinger Ok thanks! The 2nd Lars Kepler book is The Nightmare. I just checked. The tagged book is the Jussi Adler-Olsen book. 5y

Crazeedi Thanks for info, I have them! 5y

gradcat @Tove_Reads I think the Adler-Olsen series is going to let you down...that‘s kind of his formula—long backstories! Sorry to say that, but I think it really is the case with those. I only read three (I think?) of Kepler‘s. I liked the first one, but I‘m pretty certain the next two didn‘t make me want to keep going. Same with Erica & Patrick series after the sixth. Of all of them, I think my favorites are Jo Nesbo, Arnaulder Indridason, & Mankell. 5y

Tove_Reads @gradcat Have you read Ninni Sculman, Mariette Lindstein, Cilla & Rolf Börjlind, Pekka Hiltunen, Liza Marklund, Anne Holt? 5y

gradcat @Tove_Reads Yes to Anne Holt, and no to the rest of them. You would recommend them? I‘m always looking for new Scandinavia/Nordic/Finnish etc noir books...I‘d love to read them! Do you have a favorite? I‘ve finished all or most all of my favorite writers‘ novels. ♥️♥️♥️ 5y

gradcat @Tove_Reads Wow! Oops! I looked them up. There are a couple of problems: Schulman-I don‘t read Swedish; Lindstein-only one out in US so far; Börjlind-my German is not good enough for contemporary novels; Hiltunen-yay-two in translation in the US; and there are 7 of Marklund‘s series in translation in US. Did/do you like Marklund? Maybe I could start with hers...I see she wrote one with James Patterson...??‍♀️ 5y

Tove_Reads @gradcat Börjlind books are translated. I love that series! I read Marklund years ago, but they are good. My fave Finnish ones have not been translated. Antti Tuomainen is supposed to be really good and I just got one of his books. Sad that Sculmans are not translated. 5y

gradcat @Tove_Reads Thank you so much for the recommendations. I really love these books, so I‘m really happy to find more, plus they will work so well in my challenges! Thanks again!! ♥️♥️♥️ 5y

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Crazeedi

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

Eadie here's the last one!(I think?)
Thank you again, how many times can I say how special you've made me feel!
@EadieB

EadieB @Crazeedi You should get this book soon too! It's a paperback coming from MA.
The Preacher (Patrik Hedstrom, Bk 2) 5y

Crazeedi @EadieB ok! I didnt look at the post you made, I'll be watching for it , I cant believe you sent all these to me! Ty!! 5y

EadieB @Crazeedi You‘re welcome! 5y

56 likes3 comments

Decalino

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

pick

Danish police detective Carl Morck takes on a cold case that literally appears on his desk one day, leading to a long buried trail of murder and assault. This Nordic-flavored police procedural was a suspenseful and well-plotted read, but it is also fairly brutal, including violence against women, animals, and people in general. This is the second book in the series, but it didn't seem to hurt that I hadn't read the first.

10 likes

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

so-so

Finished this detective novel yesterday. It‘s the second in Adler-Olsen‘s Department Q series, and set in Copenhagen. I loved the first one (The Keeper of Lost Causes) and this one was a bit of a disappointment. The pacing was slow throughout, and I never love the kind of detective novel where you know who the villain is from the start.

#weekendreads #readtheworld #detectivenovel #departmentq #justfinished #librarybook

49 likes

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

Trying to finish this one today — wish I could just stay inside and read, as it‘s so rainy and grey outside.

#mystery #saturdayreads

37 likes

The Absent One | Jussi Adler-Olsen

Still working my way through this one — every time I pick it up I enjoy it, but it‘s not nearly as suspenseful as the first one in the series.

#springreads #librarybook #mystery #readingoutside

51 likes