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Marco Jameson is in an impossible situation. Brought to Denmark as part of a clan led by his uncle, he has no legal citizenship, no legal identity, and no real education. Everyone in the clan is at the mercy of Marco’s uncle, including Marco’s own father. So when Marco makes a dangerous discovery that threatens his very life, he has no one to turn to. Alone and on the run, Marco vows to do the right thing but now the very people he once called family are out for his blood.

Meanwhile, Department Q is about to undergo a bit of a change. The head of homicide is stepping down and Carl Mørck’s own worst enemy has been put in charge. Mørck is pretty well determined to continue on as usual until ordered otherwise. After all, his department has a highly successful solve rate and is the frequent praise of local media.

After solving yet another case, one bungled by Department A, Mørck reluctantly allows his assistants to choose their next case. It’s a missing persons almost three years old involving a ministry employee who vanished after returning from a trip to Africa. The case is as cold as can be and there are no real leads to speak of. Not until Marco Jameson crosses their paths, that is.

My favorite grumpy detective and his crew are back! Yes, Mørck’s gruff and brash nature is one of the things that makes this series a favorite of mine. He’s just a fascinating character – one that Adler-Olsen does a truly wonderful job giving the reader real insight into. Mørck’s own inner monologue throughout the narrative shows that in spite of being a clever detective, he’s a bit clueless when it comes with interacting with other people.

Part of it, of course, comes from the events laid out in The Keeper of Lost Causes – the case that cost him a colleague and left his partner paralyzed from the neck down. Since then, Mørck has taken it upon himself to give Hardy a home and plays a pretty big role in the man’s recuperation. He does have redeemable characteristics after all.

And while all three of the main characters – Mørck, Assad, and Rose – continue to grow and evolve as the series progresses, Adler-Olsen always has a great cast of supporting characters in each book. In The Marco Effect it’s Marco himself who really shines.

Another excelling addition to the Department Q series, and one that can easily be read as a stand alone if you’re new to Adler-Olsen’s work.

09/14 Becky LeJeune

THE MARCO EFFECT by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Dutton Adult (September 9, 2014). ISBN 978-0525954026. 496p.

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Kernick delivers another fast paced engrossing novel concerning an attack on London by a terrorist group. He uses characters from a previous book but without having read that, the allusions to people and events in that book are sufficient to allow the reader to understand enough to enjoy this one as almost a stand alone.

Deputy Commissioner Tina Boyd and Detective investigator Mike Bolt of the London police are brought into the investigation of an explosion in a London cafe set by terrorists who had previously attacked a hotel in. The terrorist,s in a phone call to the authorities, announce another attack in twelve hours time from the cafe atrocity.

William Garrett, nicknamed “The Fox,” captured by Tina after the events in Siege,  indicates that he knows who the bombers are and will only talk to Tina.  He will reveal who they are, but only at a price.

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Charlotte Alton is leading a double life; the well known London socialite is also known in criminal circles as Karla, a fixer who specializes in information of the most sinister kind. Karla can wipe out all traces of a person and conversely can reincarnate them into someone else with a few strokes of a keyboard.

No one knows of her dual identity save one man, Johanssen, who needs her help to break into an experimental prison to kill a woman housed there. Unfortunately, the prison is run by Quillan, a man who would dearly love to kill Johanssen, and Karla can’t find any trace of the targeted woman.

Not only does she need to get Johanssen in, she also has to get him out, at seemingly impossible odds. Determined to keep her client safe, Karla keeps digging and doesn’t like anything she finds.

Most of the characters are duplicitous in this very complex layered story, but Giltrow keeps it tight and moving. The graphic violence and torture has this thriller bordering on horror, like Douglas Clegg or Chelsea Cain books, so be forewarned that it is not for the squeamish.

Copyright ©2014 Booklist, a division of the American Library Association.

9/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE DISTANCE by Helen Giltrow. Doubleday (September 9, 2014). ISBN 978-0385536998. 368p.

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It’s rather hard to believe that this is the 19th book in the Jack Reacher series, which doesn’t even count the Kindle shorts (short stories) that Child’s put out. And somehow, this series doesn’t grow stale, doesn’t get tiresome, and the predictability is always enjoyable.

The book opens with Reacher wandering, toothbrush in pocket, riding a bus. He finds an issue of the Army Times, and takes a look at the personals. He’s a bit surprised to find an ad with his name, but since he realizes it’s from a General that he owes a favor to, he follows it up and finds himself flying on a private jet to the Pentagon.

One of America’s best military snipers had killed a man, and Reacher was the military cop who proved it. John Kott served 15 years in prison, and a year after his release was suspected of attempting to assassinate the President of France. Since Reacher caught him before, he’s asked to try again. Except they are not 100% sure it’s Kott – it could also be a Russian or British sniper.

Reacher is off to Paris and London, with the usual double crosses, near misses, and plenty of action. He is teamed up with a young, inexperienced woman, who brings back memories of another young woman that was killed. Reacher still feels guilt about her death, so he’s extra cautious with his new partner, who appears to deal with stress via pharmaceuticals.

I loved the bad guy, Little Joey, who towers over Reacher and lives in a giant’s house. Child created some really vivid scenes between these two; what he didn’t create was any Reacher romance. Maybe next time.

It would be simple to say that this is just another chapter in the Reacher series. Personal is exciting as expected, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, but that is no easy feat to pull off. If you read any series, you know how difficult it is to create nineteen books that are really all terrific.

If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll love it. If you haven’t read any, this is a fine place to start.

9/14 Stacy Alesi

PERSONAL by Lee Child. Delacorte Press (September 2, 2014). ISBN 978-0804178747. 368p.

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Daniel Trent and his fiancee are partners in the unusual business of guiding families of kidnapped victims when dealing with the kidnappers. They have the expertise to help the families understand what the kidnappers really want, and what amount of money they will accept to return the victim unharmed.

The action of this very fast and taut novel is set in Marseille France.

Aimee, Daniel’s fiancée,  has just advised him that she is pregnant when she mysteriously disappears. Daniel knows that she has been in contact with Jerome Moreau to sell him a policy to protect him and pay a certain amount if he is kidnapped. Daniel proceeds to follow Jerome to find out where his fiancee is when he witnesses to Jerome being kidnapped as he is driving to his home with his wife.

Daniel contacts the wife indicating that he knows about the kidnap policy and is obligated to help them recover Jerome. Events move rapidly as clue after clue to Jerome’s location surface with no success.

Ewan is a master at keeping the reader up all night biting his or her nails while devouring the book. The ending may allow the situation to allow a followup book to appear, and if so I would expect anyone reading this to grab it and get into it immediately.

8/14 Paul Lane

DEAD LINE by Chris Ewan. Minotaur Books (August 5, 2014). ISBN 978-1250047076. 352p.