Here, in case you missed our meeting or want to see it again, is the March Author Video of Jussi Adler-Olsen. Thanks to all of you who attended especially to Sally Sapunor for such a great job facilitating.
Don’t forget to click on the CC icon or the Gear icon for subtitles.
Department Q
Deputy Chief Inspector Carl Mørck—the head of Department Q, an unsolved crimes (cold case) unit of the Copenhagen Police HQ; HQ is on the second floor, and Department Q is in the basement
Hafaz el-Assad—a Syrian immigrant and self-appointed investigator in Department Q; his exact background is a bit of a mystery; Carl thinks of him as “Curly”
Rose Knudsen—an office-worker-turned-investigator in Department Q; she appeared in Department Q in 2008, having previously flunked out of the police academy after failing the driving test
Gordon Taylor—on long-term “loan” from Bjørn’s team; he sticks around because he’s smitten with Rose
Others Connected to Copenhagen Police HQ
Marcus Jacobsen—the former head of homicide in the now-defunct Department A and Carl’s former boss; now retired for four years but obsessed with the Gundersen case
Lars Bjørn—Jacobsen’s successor and Carl’s current boss; officially in charge of the Rigmor Zimmerman case, the Gunderson case, the nightclub robbery, and the hit-and-run cases
Bente Hansen—police superintendent
Terje Ploug—an investigator on the nightclub robbery case
Lars Pasgård—lead investigator on the Zimmerman case
Catarina Underberg Sørensen—a gatekeeper on the second floor
Lis—secretary for homicide department
Tomas Laursen—the canteen manager at Police HQ; he was formerly a forensic technician with the police
Janus Staal—head of communications for police
Oleg Borg-Pedersen—Station 3 TV producer to whom Bjørn has given permission to “shadow” Department Q on their investigations
Mona Ibsen—police psychotherapist with whom Carl was previously romantically involved, although he hasn’t spoken to her in years
The Zimmermans
Fritzl Zimmerman—the patriarch, a former German (Nazi) army officer (supposedly wanted at one time by Poland for war crimes as Sturmbannführer Bernhard Krause); dead under unusual circumstances in 2004
Rigmor Zimmerman—Fritzl’s wife and Denise’s grandmother; she’s murdered early in the story
Birgit Zimmerman—Denise’s mother and Rigmor’s daughter
James Lester Frank—aka Mark Johnson; Denise’s father and Birgit’s ex-husband (divorced when Denise was 7 years old); an American serviceman and subsequently a U.S. Army deserter
Dorrit “Denise” Frank Zimmerman—Rigmor’s granddaughter and Birgit’s daughter; she is also a client of Svendsen’s at the social security office
Connected Through the Vesterbro Social Security Office
Anne-Line “Anneli” Svendsen—the unhappy case worker
Michelle Hansen—one of Svendsen’s clients; she’s been living with Patrick Pettersen but illegally claiming benefits for another rented room
Patrick Pettersen—Hansen’s boyfriend; he works as a bouncer at the Victoria nightclub
Jazmine Jørgensen—one of Svendsen’s clients who works the system using serial pregnancy and adoption
Birna Sigurdardottir—a social security office client; she’s purportedly the leader of a girl gang called Black Ladies
Senta Berger—aka Oline Anjou, aka Anja Olsen; a client from the social security office where Anneli worked prior to Vesterbro
Bertha “Roberta” Lind—a client from the social security office where Anneli worked prior to Vesterbro
Connected to 2004 Gundersen Case
Stephanie Gundersen—a temporary school teacher at Bolman’s Independent School in Østre Anlæg; her murder is one of HQ’s older cases but still not officially transferred to Department Q
Mogens Iversen—a 42-year-old man who tries to confess to Gundersen’s murder as well as to Rigmor’s murder
Connected to the Habersaat Case
Christian Habersaat—retired police investigator on the Danish island of Bornholm who contacted Carl to take over a case Habersaat had been obsessed with for over 20 years (the death of Alberte Goldschmid); he committed suicide in 2014 after Carl turned him down, which led to Carl’s team taking the case; his resemblance to Arne Knudsen made this a difficult case for Rose
June Habersaat—Christian’s wife, who confessed to Carl’s team on her deathbed that she’d murdered Alberte Goldschmid
Alberte Goldschmid—the 19-year-old victim of a hit-and-run that threw her body into a tree where it hung for days before someone noticed
(This case forms the basis for Department Q #6, The Hanging Girl.)
Rose Knudsen’s Family & Friends
Arne Knudsen—Rose’s abusive father; he was killed in a 1999 steel plant accident in front of her
Vicky Knudsen—Rose’s next oldest sister, one year younger
Yrsa Knudsen—Rose’s next sister, two years younger
Lise-Marie Knudsen—Rose’s youngest sister, four years younger
Benito Dion—Rose’s former therapist, now dead
Karoline Stavensager—aka Kinua von Kunstwerk; Rose’s best friend in middle school; now a painter
Leo M. Andresen—former steel plant employee and a member of a historical society for retired employees
Benny Andersson—a former steel plant employee
Carl Mørck’s Family & Friends
Hardy—Mørck’s former police partner who was severely injured saving Carl’s life and became quadriplegic (2007); Carl has taken him in and supports his care; Hardy had worked with Jacobsen on the Gundersen case
Morten—Hardy’s caregiver; he also cooks for Carl and Hardy
Mika—Hardy’s physical therapist and masseur; also Morten’s (ex?) boyfriend
Vigga—Carl’s ex-wife; she left him in 2005
Jesper—Carl’s 25-year-old stepson; he continued to live with Carl for years after his mother’s divorce from Carl, but has mostly moved out now
Karla Alsing—Vigga’s mother who’s currently in a nursing home; Carl is her favorite
