The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Summary:
Original title: Woman in a Cage

Carl Mørck used to be one of Copenhagen's best homicide detectives. Then a hail of bullets destroyed the lives of two fellow cops, and Carl--who didn't draw his weapon--blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing he expects. But Department Q is a department of one, and Carl's got only a stack of Copenhagen's coldest cases for company. His colleagues snicker, but Carl may have the last laugh, because one file keeps nagging at him: a liberal politician vanished five years earlier and is presumed dead. But she isn't dead . . . yet.

Jussi Adler-Olsen is Denmark's premier crime writer. His books routinely top the bestseller lists in northern Europe, and he's won just about every Nordic crime-writing award, including the prestigious Glass Key Award-also won by Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson, and Jo Nesbo.

Original title: Kvinden i buret

Published in the UK as "Mercy" and in United States as "The Keeper of Lost Causes".

My take: 4 looks
I am giving this one 4 looks based on the fact that I could not put it down. It is fast paced and the characters are intriguing. I had a little trouble with Carl's overactive, if unrequited, libido, but that was minor.

In comparing this to Stieg Larsson's "Dragon Tattoo" trilogy, I appreciated that there was just as much drama, mystery, and reader-stress without the violent and sadistic sexual component that Larsson's books contained.

The characters were excellent. Carl is intriguing as a seasoned cop with plenty of baggage. I can't wait to find out more about Assad, Carl's assistant, and his dark Syrian past. Will Hardy be present in subsequent books? Will he ever walk again? Did Jepson pass his math finals?

I will definitely read more in this series, and highly recommend it.