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Mercy cover art

Mercy

By: Jussi Adler-Olsen
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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Publisher's Summary

The unabridged, digital audiobook edition of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Mercy, Scandinavia’s new bestselling crime phenomenon.

Read by the actor Steven Pacey. 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 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?

©2012 Jussi Adler-Olsen (P)2012 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Mercy

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Give it time to warm up!

Where does Mercy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best. I'm going to listen to the other 4 or 5 in the series, so good to know you can have more of the characters you have gotten to know.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mercy?

Getting to know the characters and the unwinding of the story, how the seemingly unrelated separate stories come together, but the author doesn't treat you like a ninny, he knows that you know and you keep up together.

Which character – as performed by Steven Pacey – was your favourite?

Assad! Brilliant Steven! Made me laugh. I was even speaking to myself in 'Assad' by the time the book finished..

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Love the gritty irony of Carl and how things can't get any worse. Made me feel better about my own life...

Any additional comments?

Steven Pacey's narration made it feel as though there was a cast of 100's. His best and most 'natural' voice was that of the main character, it was easy to listen to, and then, Assad's character brought a bright ray of orange zest, although he too was a survivor and that made his character brilliant. The author kept the suspense up until the end. As this was the first book in the series, I decided to start with it, so I would understand how the characters first began. There was a lot of 'setting up the story' at the start, and I had to persist with that, but after the first third of the book, it warmed up and the characters came alive. I am now working my way through all 5 books.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Nordic noir

dark theme - plot was gripping

I have listened to all the books on the series up to buried (book5).

in general the plots are good, usually a race to catch a criminal(s) in time on cases.

I'm not sure if it's because the books lost some vibrancy in translation but the characters can feel quite one dimensional and sometimes it's hard to imagine anyone behaving quite like them in real life, and in other ways they are quite hackneyed caricatures, the divorced smoking grumpy detective who clashes with his superiors is hardly revolutionary.

however the plots and the baddies in the books are great and I've enjoyed listening.

if you're not sure you're going to like them, I think you probably won't, but if you like the killing and steig Larsson you probably will.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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Could not stand it and I hate writing this

Could not stand the character. The guy seemed like a twit. The storyline seemed like it was going to be a great listen.

The narration was decent

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Tim
  • 03-02-2016

Ripping good stuff

A fantastic novel that blends humour with dark crime mystery. Great work by the author and the utterly engaging narrator. Highly recommended. Looking forward to the rest of the Department Q series!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well worth listening to.

What did you like most about Mercy?

It was a little slow to start with, but the story was woven together with interesting complexity, leaving the listener with the feeling there was definitely more beneath the surface. The reader was excellent too, very clever with his accents. The only incongruous thing was that it's set in Denmark, yet all the characters have regional English accents!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Assad! There is much richness to be discovered here as the series develops I'm sure.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Hard to find a particular scene that was more noteworthy than others.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I had all the time in the world, yes, I'd want to listen from beginning to end. But stopping draws out the tensions too.

Any additional comments?

As a fan of Steig Larson, this author fills the space left by him adequately.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great storytelling let down by inappropriateness

pros: Assad and storytelling cons:the story didn't need main character's harassment of women or racism

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book

The performance is great and one is lost in the story, which is enthralling to the end.
Even if you know 'who dun it" your enjoyment does not waver.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A seriously good book!!

Although it took a little while to get into this book, it was well worth it!
Strong characters, good storyline. Left me thinking about the story once I had finished it.
Just loved it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic Read

This is the first time I have listened to any of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s books and I wasn’t disappointed. The story line was gripping and suspenseful and occasionally rather amusing ☺️! I have listened to books read by Steven Pacey before and he is an excellent narrator.. one of the best! Highly recommend this book!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Detection with a difference

If I had to sum this up, it's a cross between "a man called Ove" and "Harry Bosch". That is a bit of a simplification, but might help. Loved the book and its characters, especially the cleaner/sidekick character. I'll buy the next in the series.

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