Title: The Redeemer
Review: The Redeemer is technically book 6 in the Harry Hole series, a hard living, hard drinking police detective in Oslo Norway. Unfortunately the first two books are not available in English (at least not readily available), so it is book 4 for me.
At first glance it seems someone walked up to a Salvation Army worker and shot him dead in the street. But as Harry delves into the case t becomes quickly apparent that the murder was an assassination by a professional. Harry starts looking into the victim and the Army itself and gets even more confused as things just aren’t right. They are not adding up.
That is when more bodies begin to appear as our killer isn’t done. Harry chases our killer through Oslo taking a lot of rewarding twists and turns that will keep you guessing at who the sociopath is as he reaches the truth. The beauty of Harry Hole is he realizes through his own struggles that the world is not black and white. While he is not necessarily okay with that, he lives with it, works with it.
The downside of these books is it seems the character can never be happy; it is a part of who he is. In some respects it is a major theme in all Nordic Noir, so be prepared for that non-western concept when you get into these books, there will be no triumphant happiness as our hero wins. That said I find the plots (the mysteries) of the Hole books to be the most western like of all the Nordic books (i.e. sociopaths and serial killers and the like).
Publisher: Vintage
Copyright: 2005 (2009 translated)
Pages: 562
ISBN: 978009950596
ISBN: 978009950596
Quick Review: 4 Stars out of 5.
Why I Read it: I began with the Nordic books with Henning Mankell. Loved them so much I found Nesbo as I expanded to other writers from that area.
Where I Obtained the Book: At the library.
Synopsis: One freezing night in Oslo Christmas shoppers gather to listen to a Salvation Army street concert. An explosion cuts through the music, and a man in uniform falls to the ground, shot in the head at point-blank range. Harry Hole and his team have little to work with: no immediate suspect, no weapon and no motive. But when the assassin discovers he has shot the wrong man, Harry Hole's troubles have only just begun. After some exceptionally shrewd detective work, the team begins to close in on a suspected hit man, monitoring his credit card, false passport and the line to his employer. With no money, only six bullets and no place to stay in the bitter cold, the hit man becomes increasingly desperate. He will stop at nothing to eliminate his target.
Author Biography: Jo Nesbø was born on March 29, 1960. He is a Norwegian author and musician. As of September 2008 more than one and a half million copies of his novels have been sold in Norway, and his work has been translated into over 40 languages. Nesbø was born in Oslo, Norway. He graduated from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration with a degree in Economics. He was a stockbroker before deciding to become a writer.
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