Jussi Adler-Olsen: Bestseller author terminally ill with cancer

Different diagnosis for one of the most successful crime writers in the north: The Danish bestselling author Jussi Adler-Olsen (74) is terminally ill. “I’m fine. According to the circumstances,” said the creator of the successful “Carl Mørck” series. “So I will die from this disease. It is incurable. At least until further notice.”

As the author reports, he was admitted to the clinic in early 2024. After first treatment in the Herlev hospital, there was an almost six -month stay in the specialized department of the renowned Copenhagen Clinic. Adler-Olsen still has to undergo chemotherapy and get morphine.

The author had already had to cancel all appointments last March, including a planned reading trip through Germany. At that time there was officially talk of severe back problems. It was not Adler -Olsen’s first encounter with the serious illness – he was already diagnosed with colon cancer in 2000, followed in 2009 the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Despite his serious illness, there is a glimmer of hope for fans of the “Carl Mørck” series: As Adler-Olsen announced in the interview, the successful crime series is continued by the authors Line Holm and Stine Bolther-with him as a consultant in the background. The eleventh band is said to appear in Denmark under the title “Dead Souls Singing”. A special innovation: the main character will be a woman for the first time.

Adler-Olsen’s crime series around the Copenhagen investigator Carl Mørck of the special department Q is one of the most successful thriller series in recent years. In Germany in particular, the books celebrated great success. The tenth and so far the last band “betrayed” he wrote himself was only published in March 2024.