Title:	The Hanging Girl
	Author:	Jussi Adler-Olsen
	Published:	2015, Dutton
	No. of Pages:	512
	Cover Price:	$28.00 Hardcover, $13.99 Kindle

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The detectives in Department Q are pulled into a decades-old murder when a policeman commits suicide to get their attention. Carl Mørck, head of the department definitely doesn’t want to get involved, but Rose, Assad, and newcomer (very nerdy) Gordon, push hard enough that he has no choice. As they investigate the death of a beautiful 17-year old student who vanished from school and was then found dead hanging from a tree, they delve into the affairs of a sun-worshipping cult and more characters are brought into the story, not only to complicate the investigation, but to make it even harder for Department Q to solve the mystery and find the true murderer. Things are definitely not what they seem.

While this is not a fast read, Adler-Olsen ropes readers in with detail, interesting twists and turns, and makes it very hard to put down. Since the story takes place near Copenhagen, it is a nice change from books set in familiar places. The different culture is intriguing, and there are all kinds of facts about that part of the country that will be learned.

All told, the Department Q series, and especially The Hanging Girl, are thrillers worth reading. The writing is good, the story-line is good, and the characters are interesting enough to want to read about them over and over in prior and subsequent adventures. Even seasoned thriller readers will find the end surprising, and will enjoy all of the events leading to what may be death to some of the more important characters.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a copy of this book.

This book may be purchased at Amazon:
The Hanging Girl: A Department Q Novel, hardcover
The Hanging Girl (Department Q Series)