Books Reviews

Mercy – Book Review

By Angela Youngman Feb 6, 2012, 15:39 GMT

At first the prisoner scratches at the walls until her fingers bleed. But there is no escaping the room. With no way of measuring time, her days, weeks, months go unrecorded. She vows not to go mad. She will not give her captors the satisfaction. She will die first. Copenhagen detective Carl Morck has been taken off homicide to run a newly created department for unsolved crimes. His first case ...more

Having read this book, it is easy to see why the author has been described as Denmark's king of crime fiction.  It is not easy reading, you need concentration and patience but it is worth it. 

Carl MØrck had been a good homicide detective until a bullet almost killed him.  His colleagues had not been so lucky, and Carl blames himself.  His bosses believe that he still has a role to play within the police force and move him to the newly created Department Q.

This is a department which deals with cases of special focus - such as that of politician Merete Lyngaard who went missing five years earlier.  Now as Carl looks over the case notes, he discovers anomalies and questions that have to be answered.  Just what happened to Merete?  And could it just be that she is still alive?  Soon Carl is involved in a hunt for a kidnapper who possesses little mercy. 

This is a gripping tale, with plenty of action and some strong characterization.  Carl is an intriguing character and it will be interesting to see how he develops in future books.