The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen

from goodreads

2 stars

There are a few authors I know if a new book of theirs comes out I will be reading it. Most of them are Nordic crime writers. I love their series, but there are a few others.

Sometimes these authors branch out and do a stand alone book or a book in a different series or even a completely different genre. I am always excited to read those because really its a crap shoot. You never know what you are going to get.

Sometimes it is interesting to see a different thought or side of that author. You are so used to them writing one way that you marvel at their brilliance when they write a different way. Or the flipside happens and you think to yourself, stick to what your good at, which is not this.

I must be difficult for writers, especially those with a huge following to branch out and take a chance. I think they have the furthest to fall and the harshest critics. No wonder J.K. Rowling used a nom de plume for some of her books. Or perhaps, once someone is so well established, they don't worry about it and write for the writing's sake. All I know is, I will keep reading.

Synopsis

Two british pilots are shot down over Germany while on a reconnaissance mission. To evade capture they jump a train. This train happens to be full of wounded SS officiers, some wounds more in the head then anything.

They have to pretend to be sick and a bit crazy at the hospital, but are they the only ones?

My Thoughts

I do love Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q series. I did not like this book as much. The idea was quite interesting. What toll would happen to you if you weren't crazy but were living in an insane assylum. Would you eventually go crazy? Also, you would have to try to figure out if others crazy or are they acting too.

The execution of this story was good, but the pace was slow. Nothing much happened except lying in bed, or trying to figure out how to escape, or steeling yourself up to pretend.

When the story went thirty years in the future it was interesting but weird, and by that point I didn't care what happened. I kept reading anyway. It was sort of weird that James' character didn't do more to try to get out, he seemed more the leader in the beginning and then that died.

Anyway this book was okay, but I probably shouldn't have spent as much time reading it as I did. I will continue to read Adler-Olsen's books, but this one was definitely not my favourite.