Victim 2117: A Department Q Novel Hardcover – March 3, 2020

This is a true “page turner.” I was reading as fast as I could to get to the climax of this excellent thriller.

479 pages5 starsSince he joined the Department Q team, Assad has always been a somewhat mysterious person. He never speaks of his past. He is always upbeat and energetic.This book tells the story of Assad’s past. It is scary, harrowing and very sad. When Assad’s past comes back to haunt him, Carl quickly gets involved. They must travel to Germany to further investigate the case.A couple of subplots are present. Carl’s girlfriend has announced her pregnancy - at age fifty-one! It could be very dangerous. It sure is scary.Also, a young man called Alexander has fixated on one of the reported victims of the ongoing Cyprus boat life. She is called Victim 2117. Alexander plays an online video game and has decided that when he reaches win number 2117, he will kill his parents and then set about causing mayhem in the city of Copenhagen.Assad knows who Victim 2117 is. She sheltered him and his family when they were running from Saddam Hussein’s henchmen. There is a significant backstory to Assad’s and Hussein’s foremost henchman, Ghaalib. Ghaalib is out to get Assad at any price. And the price he has named is awfully and astoundingly high. Assad is a mess. It’s a good thing he has Carl at his side.Rose has rejoined the team and she and Gordon are handling Alexander’s case. Who is this boy? Will he really kill his parents and others? How do they find him?This book is very close to being non-stop action. It was wonderful to learn about Assad’s past. But it was pretty awful and hard to read. I was so glad that Rose rejoined the team. I have to admit that I wasn’t sure about her at first, but I like her now. It will be interesting to see how Assad’s life changes now. I have read all of Mr. Adler-Olsen’s Department Q books, and I have liked them all very much.Now, to wait for the next one.

All of Jussi Adler Olsen's novels featuring Detective Carl Morck and his Department Q Team (Copenhagen's cold case squad) are very good, but the last two, The Scarred Girl (2017) and now Victim 2117 (2020) are a cut above the rest, because they focus on members of the squad. The Scarred Girl focused on Rose, Carl's efficient and outspoken assistant. (She is the scarred girl of the title.) And now, in Victim 2117, we finally get what we have been waiting for since the first book: the backstory of Assad, Carl's right-hand man. And it is even more horrifying than I ever imagined. We, and Assad, learn that Assad's family, whom we have assumed to be dead, are in fact still alive. They are captives of a man from Assad's past who is using them as pawns in a deadly game to wreak vengeance on Assad. Some reviewers have criticized this book for having a far-fetched plot, particularly in regard to one of the secondary characters, and for being short on action. The first may be true to an extent, but I don't think it matters; the story of Assad, his family, and the enemy who is out for revenge on Assad, is heart-rending and gripping. Yes, the plot is a little slow developing, but this is partly because Assad's enemy is very deliberately laying out the pieces of a puzzle to get Assad's attention and then draw him into a deadly trap. In order to figure out what is going on Assad and Carl must travel from Denmark to Cyprus and finally to Germany, where Assad's enemy and his terrorist colleagues are waiting, planning to even both personal and political scores. This may not be the cup of tea for some Department Q fans, but I was not let down at all. I can't wait for the next book in the series to find out how everyone is coping after the events at the conclusion of this one.

For those unfamiliar with Department Q, this review may not make much sense and it's such a great series that it could take up some significant quarantine time but it's worth it. In Victim 2117, readers finally learn the backstory of Assad, the mysterious middle easterner who is one of the 4 detectives which constitute Department Q. You may think you're unshockable and maybe after reading this novel you will be. The story begins as an underachieving freelance reporter believes he has scored the story of a lifetime when he snaps a picture of a group of refugees staggering ashore from a capsized boat, at the center of which is an elderly woman, apparently drowned. As it turns out, the woman was stabbed repeatedly. When the story appears, along with the photo, on newspaper front pages, Assad recognizes the people in the photograph and knows it was carefully staged as a message to him. He warns Carl Morck, the lead detective, that a man visible in the photograph is a vicious terrorist who is planning something catastrophic, probably with Assad himself meant to be among the dead. As Assad and Carl try to run down the photographer in hopes of gaining a lead to the terrorist group, the other detectives of Department Q, Rose and Gordon, are back in the basement in a race against an unknown timetable. Gordon has received short phone calls from a young man threatening to exact revenge for perceived injustices when a goal is reached that only he understands. The main story, of course, is the terrorist plot, which when completely revealed is truly depraved. Not since the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has this reader given 5 stars to a suspense novel and before that it may have been Thomas Harris' Red Dragon. If a movie were to be made of this story, the suspense would be almost unbearable, but it's probably already in production.

As described. Quick shipping.

First let me state that I read all of Olsen's Dept. Q and enjoyed all of them except The Marco Effect. Like the latter this book is also a dud! The story line is contrived, predictable and sadly boring. The dialogue is so incredibly stilted that I suspect the translator was using a How To Speak Danish cheat sheet. The Assad plot is so mechanical that Ghallib (the villian) should be wearing a Middle Eastern equivalent of a Snidely Whiplash suit reminescent of a penny dreadful!! The constant wailing and angst is unbearably tedious and cartoonist- even the character of Rose is flattened and defanged and the old Carl is AWOL. 2117 was definitely not worth waiting for Two stars for sentimental reasons.

If you are a fan of Department Q books, you will finally read about Assad and his back story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As usual, there are the humorous parts, although with this story there were points where I literally laughed aloud (a couple times embarassingly so, in places I was supposed to be quiet). I don't want to give anything away! This is definitely my favorite in the entire series. I just wish I hadn't read it so fast...

We all await with anticipation new books form this author in the famous Dept. Q series.What a HUGE disappointment.Three aspects of a story jumping from one to another each chapter - with the author seeming to be political and now adding issues of and commentary on social justice, immigrant issues, Syria atrocities, and Assad's lengthy background (boring, and has now shattered the mystery of Assad). At the 40% read point, I seriously thought of setting the book aside.The joys of a true Dept. Q. crime and mystery are largely absent in what really is a bizarre novel.I truly hope Olsen returns to his roots in his next offering.

It’s been a long time since the last Department Q book. It was worth the wait. We get to know Assad’s story which is exciting. The climax is fast paced .

Yet another great read from a master. Thanks, Mr Olsen. Found it to be a bit slow starting out, but it picked up and grabbed you and never let go until the grand finale.