Born on 2 August 1950 in Copenhagen, he was the youngest of four children and the only boy. Son of the successful sexologist Henry Olsen, he spent his childhood with his family in several mental hospitals across Denmark. In his late teens, he played in several pop groups as lead guitar. After graduating from the state school in Rødovre, he studied medicine, sociology and film making. In the late 1970s, he worked in various areas of publishing including cartoon-scripting, proof-reading and journalism.

In 1980, he embarked on the compilation of Denmark's first cartoon encyclopedia, Komiklex, which he completed in 1985. He went on to write two books about Groucho Marx (1984—1985). In 1989, he published Fred på tryk, the only widely quoted Danish bibliography on literature dealing with peace and security.

His first successful novel, Alfabethuset (The Alphabet House), followed in 1997. It tells the story of two British pilots on a secret mission who are shot down in Germany during World War II. It was followed in 2002 by Og hun takkede guderne (The Company Basher), a thriller set in Iraq in which an Indonesian specialist in destroying large corporations is persuaded to bring down an oil company.

In 2006, Washington dekretet (The Washington Decree) begins with the assination of the democratic forerunner on the eve of an American presidential election.

His first novels in the crime-thriller series about Department Q, Kvinden i buret (The Woman in the Cage) and Fasandræberne (The Pheasant Killers) were both published in 2008. Both are set in Denmark where they enhanced his popularity, appearing at the top of bestseller lists. The last in the series, Flaskepost fra P (Message in a Bottle) appeared in 2009.

Adler-Olsen's novels have been translated into several languages including Dutch, German, Swedish and Norwegian, but not yet into English. The Alphabet House has however appeared as a movie.

Works by Jussi Adler-Olsen:

• Groucho: ...en Marx Brother bag facaden, Donna, 1985, 118 pages, ISBN 8788287068, ISBN 9788788287066
• Videocounter, Donna, 1985, 115 pages ISBN 8788287025, 9788788287028
• Alfabethuset, Cicero, 1997, 393 pages, ISBN 8777142608, ISBN 9788777142604
• Firmaknuseren, Egmont Bogklubberne, 2003, ISBN 8763202379, ISBN 9788763202374
• Washington dekretet, Aschehoug, 2006, ISBN 8711292229, ISBN 9788711292228
• Kvinden i buret, Politiken, 2007, ISBN 8756783965, ISBN 9788756783965
• Og hun takkede guderne, Politikens paperbacks, Politiken, 2008
• Fasandræberne, Udgiver Politiken, 2008, 399 pages, ISBN 8756787278, ISBN 9788756787277
• Flaskepost fra P., Politiken, 2009 , ISBN 9788770655392