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 Mørck has been taken off homicide to run a newly created department for unsolved crimes. His first case concerns Merete Lynggaard, who vanished five years ago. Everyone says she's dead. Everyone says it's a waste of time. He thinks they're right.

***

The voice in the dark is distorted, harsh and without mercy. It says the prisoner's torture will only end when she answers one simple question. It is one she has asked herself a million times:

WHY is this happening?

FROM THE 10 MILLION COPY, NO. 1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DEPARTMENT Q SERIES

A GRIPPING TREAT FOR FANS OF SCANDANAVIAN THRILLERS

One boy is on the run from an international conspiracy . . .

Over three years ago, a civil servant vanished after returning from a work trip to Africa.

Presumed dead, his family still want answers.

It's up to Department Q, Denmark's cold cases department, to find out the truth. But what Detective Carl Morck doesn't know, is that the key to the investigation is right here in Copenhagen . . .

Fifteen-year-old Marco Jameson is tough, smart and very suspicious of police. Sleeping rough and hiding in the shadows is his way of life.

But what does he know worth killing for - and will the police find him before whoever he is running from?

Praise for Jussi Adler-Olsen:

'The new 'it' boy of Nordic Noir' The Times

'Gripping story-telling' Guardian

'As impressive as it is unnerving' Independent

Jussi Adler-Olsen's internationally bestselling Q series returns with Redemption, a gripping treat for all fans of the Scandinavian crime thriller.

'For those suffering withdrawals from The Killing' - The Times

Two boys, brothers, wake tied and bound in a boathouse by the sea. Their kidnapper has gone, but soon he will return. Their bonds are inescapable. But there is a bottle and tar to seal it. Paper and a splinter for writing; blood for ink. A message begging for help . . .

Her husband will not tell the truth: where he goes, what he does, how long he will be away. For days on end she waits and when he returns she must endure his wants, his moods, his threats. But enough is enough. She will find out the truth, no matter the cost to him - or to herself.

In Copenhagen's cold cases division Carl Morck has received a bottle. It holds an old and decayed message, written in blood. It is a cry for help from two boys. Is it real? Who are they and why weren't they reported missing? Can they possibly still be alive?

In 2013, the makers of the Stieg Larsson movies and The Killing will bring Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q novels, including Mercy, Disgrace and Redemption, to the big screen.

Praise for Alder-Olsen:

'The new "it" boy of Nordic Noir' The Times

'Engrossing' Sunday Express

'Adler-Olsen's fascination with abnormal psychology once again pays off' Sunday Times

Jussi Adler-Olsen was born in Copenhagen and studied medicine, sociology, politics and film. He worked as a magazine editor and publisher before starting to write fiction. So far he has written three Department Q thrillers, which all hit the Danish bestseller lists on publication and stayed there ever since.

FROM THE 10 MILLION COPY, No. 1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DEPARTMENT Q SERIES

A GRIPPING TREAT FOR FANS OF SCANDANAVIAN THRILLERS

1987

Nete Rosen thought she'd put her traumatic youth behind her. Her caring foster parents and loving husband helped her start again.

But then a man from her past reappears, who threatens to destroy her new life.

She won't be drawn back into that nightmare - she won't be a victim again . . .

2010

Detective Carl Mørck from Copenhagen's cold case division is looking into the disappearance of Rita Nielsen, an escort agency owner.

But as he investigates, he discovers that Rita is only one piece of the puzzle.

It's not a one-off incident, but part of a disturbing pattern that's been hidden for over 20 years . . .

Praise for Jussi Adler-Olsen:

'The new 'it' boy of Nordic Noir' The Times


'Gripping story-telling' Guardian


'As impressive as it is unnerving' Independent

Jussi Adler-Olsen's Disgrace is the stunning follow up to Top Ten bestseller Mercy.

Kimmie's home is on the streets of Copenhagen. To live, she must steal. She has learned to avoid the police and never to stay in one place for long. But now others are trying to find her. And they won't rest until she has stopped moving - for good.

Detective Carl Mørck of Department Q, the cold cases division, has received a file concerning the brutal murder of a brother and sister twenty years earlier. A group of boarding school students were the suspects at the time - until one of their number confessed and was convicted. So why is the file of a closed case on Carl's desk? Who put it there? Who believes the case is not solved?

Carl wants to talk to Kimmie, but someone else is also asking questions about her. They know she carries secrets certain powerful people want to stay buried deep. But Kimmie has one of her own. It's the biggest secret of them all.

And she can't wait to share it . . .

Disgrace is the second terrifying episode in the Department Q series, following the No. 1 international bestseller, Mercy. The darkness continues with Redemption, available from Penguin in April 2013.

Praise for Jussi Adler-Olsen:

'The new "it" boy of Nordic Noir' The Times

'Gripping story-telling' Guardian

'This pitch-black novel will have readers hungry for more' Independent

Jussi Adler-Olsen was born in Copenhagen and worked as a magazine editor and publisher before starting to write fiction. Mercy, Disgrace and Redemption are the first three in currently four novels in the Department Q series. He holds the prestigious Glass Key Award, given annually for a crime novel by a Scandinavian author, and is also winner of the Golden Laurels, Denmark's highest literary accolade.

Un psicópata astuto y despiadado mata desde hace tres décadas. Nadie puede detenerlo. El nuevo caso del Departamento Q.

El día de su sesenta cumpleaños, una mujer se suicida. Su muerte conduce a la reapertura de un caso sin resolverdesde 1988. Con gran estupefacción, Carl Mørk y el equipo del Departamento Q descubren que, durante treinta años, un asesino particularmente astuto ha elegido a una víctima en una fecha señalada, haciendo pasar el asesinato por un accidente o un suicidio. Y siempre deja en la escena del crimen un montoncito de sal. En el contexto de las restricciones sanitarias debidas al covid-19, que dificultan aún más su trabajo, el Departamento Q se embarca en una investigación cuyo alcance no pueden ni imaginar.

Das Buch zum Film des SPIEGEL-Bestsellers

Marco ist fünfzehn und hasst sein Leben in einem Clan,dessen Mitglieder von ihrem gewalttätigen und zynischen Anführer Zola in die Kriminalität gezwungen werden. Als er sein Sklavendasein nicht mehr aushält und flieht, stößt er ganz in der Nähe von Zolas Wohnsitz auf eine Männerleiche …

Die Suche nach dem Mörder führt Carl, Assad, Rose und Gordon, den Neuen im Sonderdezernat Q, tief hinein in das Netzwerk der Kopenhagener Unterwelt, in den Sumpf von Korruption und schweren Verbrechen in Politik und Finanzwelt– und sie zieht Kreise bis in den afrikanischen Dschungel.