Order of Department Q Books
Department Q is a series of crime thriller novels by Danish novelist Jussi Adler-Olsen. The series follows Carl Morck, one of the best homicide detectives in Copenhagen who has been promoted to the cold case department.
The Department Q series originally began in Danish with Kvinden i buret in 2007. In 2011, it would be translated into English and published in the UK as Mercy and in the USA as The Keeper of Lost Causes. Below is a list of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q books in order of when they were originally published in their English language editions:
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Publication Order of Department Q Books
| The Keeper of Lost Causes / Mercy | (2011) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Absent One / Disgrace | (2012) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| A Conspiracy of Faith / Redemption / Flaskepost fra P | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Purity of Vengeance / Guilt / Journal 64 | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Marco Effect / Buried / Marco Effekten | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Hanging Girl | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Scarred Woman | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Victim 2117 | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Shadow Murders | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Locked In | (2024) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Notes: The Keeper of Lost Causes was published as Mercy in the United Kingdom. The Absent One was published under the title of Disgrace in the UK. A Conspiracy of Faith is titled Redemption in the UK. The Purity of Vengeance is titled Guilt in the UK. The Marco Effect is also known as Buried.
If You Like Department Q Books, You’ll Love…
Department Q Synopses: The Keeper of Lost Causes (aka Mercy) is the first Department Q novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Carl Mørck was once one of best homicide detectives Denmark had to offer. Then several 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 on his mind. But Department Q is a department of one, and Carl’s got only a stack of cold 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.
The Absent One (aka Disgrace) by Jussi Adler-Olsen is the second book in the Department Q series. Carl Mørck is happy to work on cold cases. So he’s naturally intrigued when a closed case lands on his desk: A brother and sister were brutally murdered two decades earlier, and one of the suspects – part of a group of privileged boarding-school students – confessed and was convicted. But once Mørck has his own look at the files, it becomes evident that all is not what it seems. Looking into the supposedly solved case leads him to Kimmie, a woman living on the streets, doing whatever she can to survive. Kimmie has mastered evading the police, but now they aren’t the only ones looking for her. Because Kimmie has secrets that certain influential individuals would kill to keep buried… as well as one of her own that could change everything.
A Conspiracy of Faith is the third book of the Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Detective Carl Mørck holds in his hands a bottle that contains an old and decayed message, written in blood. It is a cry for help from two young brothers, tied and bound in a boathouse by the sea. Is it the real thing? Who could these boys be, and why weren’t they reported missing? Could they possibly still be alive? Carl’s investigation will have him cross paths with a woman stuck in a desperate marriage – her husband refuses to tell her anything about where he’s going or when he’ll be back. For days and days, she waits, and when he comes home she must endure his wants, his moods, his threats. But enough is enough. She will find out the truth – whatever it takes.
I just received a note from Amazon about an upcoming Dept Q book. Love these stories. Even the three foreign movie series were pretty good (Netflix I think).
The Scarred Woman (A Department Q Novel)
Sept 17, 2017
Inspite of just discovering the different titles (saving me from ordering them as if they are different), the one’s in the series I’ve read are wonderful. The stories each gripped me, I was taken by the main characters and often found myself laughing.
My question is, will there be more Department Q books?
is the marco affect and buried the same book
On Goodreads, it says that there are more than four books in this series (?!) I was wondering if anyone had any information on this.
It’s including The Marco Effect (“Marco Effekten” in Danish), which comes out in English later this year – September 9th, to be exact.
The notes section with the UK titles is still quite confusing – and the UK title for the 4th book should be “Guilt” and not “Contempt” (at least with Penguin…)
I’ll fix it so that UK visitors only see the UK titles. Thanks for your feedback – we’re always looking to improve the site.
Oops, it was already like that… Well, I guess I’ll just re-word it then. 🙂
Ok thank you all. I’m reading the first “The Keeper of the Lost Causes” here in the United States and my grandma wanted a christmas list so I was hoping find the next title
On JAO’s website, these have different names again! Arghhhh. Great books though!
I see above A Conspiracy of Faith is listed separately from Redemption but the previous post seems to indicate they are the same book…
Has The Purity of Vengeance been published yet; if so, as an ebook?
I’m a little confused myself. I will do my best to get this straightened out ASAP.
However, I can tell you that The Purity of Vengeance won’t be out until December 31st.
this list is misleading. there are three books so far, and all have different titles for the US. the US series is: The Keeper of Lost Causes, The Absent One, A Conspiracy of Faith (and soon The Purity of Vengeance). In Europe those same books are called: Mercy, Disgrace and Redemption.
Thanks! I didn’t see this post till now, but you’re right. I had a bad source.