Keeper of Lost Causes
by Jussi Adler-Olsen
2011 Penguin Group (USA) / Dutton
An excellent story, an entertaining read.
If you're looking for another Stieg Larssen book, this isn't it. The flawed hero isn't as charismatic, but the side-ways humor is better. The female protagonist is NOT Lisbeth, but she's not intended to be as central to the day-to-day plot.
But the good news: the interaction between Carl, the protagonist, and his side-kick Assad is rich, and the combination (especially considering Assad's mysterious background and uncanny skills) offers a new perspective for the enjoyment of the reader. And the construct of a Department Q, the department consisting of one detective assigned important cold cases, offers many opportunities for many fine reads to come.
Best of all, Jussi Adler-Olsen is still with us, and will hopefully prove to be a prolific writer. I'm ready for the sequel.
What's different about this book:
It's by an international author, in an international setting, and it feels different to those in a North American context. But the complex plotting and the rich humor make it worth the reader's while to spend some time outside the expected comfort zone.
Evaluation, or what I'll do now that I've read the book:
This would be a good (and appropriate) read for my crime novel fanatics in my high school library community. And it will be a great recommendation for others, like me, who enjoy the thrust and parry of an anarchistic, iconoclastic individual with little patience for the Establishment's way of doing things.
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