The Purity of Vengeance, Adler-Olson - C+

                                          This is the fourth novel in the Dept. Q series set in Copenhagen, and it appears as if the series has reached a comfortable cruising altitude.  The characters are more established and less erratic, although unresolved questions about the Lebanese assistant, Assad, and a possible dramatic and mysterious background could provide for interesting future diversions. The author uses this book to go back quite far into a very bleak chapter in Denmark's history.  Like many countries, Denmark hospitalized and sterilized woman they considered retarded or of loose moral character.  The site was an institution on the island of Sprogo in the Baltic Sea. One of the victims of this institutionalized cruelty seeks and achieves vengeance against those who put her there. Her targets are a physician, her first lover, a guard, a lawyer, and a fellow inmate. There are some fascinating twists and turns, along with a pretty thorough exploration of modern right-wing nationalist politics in Europe.