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the complete review - fiction

The Redbreast

by
Jo Nesbø

general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

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Our Assessment:

B+ : a lot of coincidences and a bit far-fetched, but a solid read

See our review for fuller assessment.

  From the Reviews:

• "Jo Nesbø has a credibly scary line on the power of corruption, and his complex plot culminates in a nail-biting episode with overtones of The Day of the Jackal. The descriptions of sub-zero horrors in wartime Leningrad are superb, but the modern narrative rests on some absurd coincidences, plus the stereotypical character of the embittered loner detective. This book has a flawed brilliance." - Jane Jakeman, The Independent
  
  
• "(A)n elegant and complex thriller (.....) While giving his ambitious book the form of a police procedural, featuring Harry Hole, an attractive if familiarly flawed loose cannon of a cop, the author expands his street-level subplots into a narrative that reaches all the way back to World War II, when Norway was under German occupation. (...) Pristinely translated by Don Bartlett, Nesbo’s book eloquently uses its multiple horrors to advance a disturbing argument: suppressing history is an open invitation for history to repeat itself." - Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
  
  
• "Although some crime writers slip up trying to combine social commentary with old-fashioned thrills, one feels here that Nesbø has settled on absolutely the right genre to suit his talents. His book is exciting, witty, melancholy and thought-provoking, and he is well served by his elegant translator, Don Bartlett" - Jake Kerridge, The Telegraph
  
  
• "The narrative moves between Harry's present-day inquiries and the Eastern front in 1944, where a small group of Norwegian Nazis are fighting alongside the Germans. It requires some skilled plotting, but Nesbø brings it off, and Harry, with his quirky sense of humour, is a likeable hero despite his many flaws." - Susanna Yager, The Telegraph
  
  
• "The Redbreast was recently voted Norway’s best crime novel yet." - Marcel Berlins, The Times
  
  
• "Author Jo Nesbø's scenes are so vivid that you can imagine them playing across the big screen. The pacing is swift. The plot is precise and intricate. The characters are intriguing. And the novel combines two of the best cinematic genres: war sagas and crime thrillers." - Dennis Moore, USA Today
  
  
• "(A) fine novel, ambitious in concept, skillful in execution and grown-up in its view of people and events. In important ways it's also a political novel, one concerned with the threat of fascism, in Norway and by implication everywhere. All in all, The Redbreast certainly ranks with the best of current American crime fiction." - Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.

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The complete review's Review:

       The Redbreast centres around Harry Hole, and begins with the justifiable but inconvenient mistake he makes that leads to his promotion to Inspector in the Norwegian Security Service. (This is the second Harry Hole-novel to appear in English, but in their infinite wisdom the British and American publishers are bringing them out in what appears to be completely random order.) Harry is your usual problem-character -- a brilliant investigator, with a fondness for the bottle and some emotional baggage. He's not very social, and having his own office at the end of a hall where he can cloister himself suits him fine. Among the few people he can work with is his (former) police partner, Ellen.
       The Redbreast also centres around Norway's past, focussing on a group of Norwegians who volunteered to fight on the Eastern front during World War II, with a considerable number of scenes in the book set in those times. Some of the survivors have fared better than others, but one is out for a final revenge. Through some neo-Nazi contacts he makes a very big purchase, a Märklin rifle. With its 16 mm bullets it is: "the ultimate professional murder weapon, and it had already become the world's most sought after assassination weapon by 1973."
       When Harry finds out that a Märklin has made it into the country he becomes very suspicious, and wants to figure out who purchased it and for what purpose. Harry doesn't have to worry too much about outside interference, as he's allowed to do pretty much as he pleases; it's only when someone perceives him as a romantic rival that he's shunted off (briefly) to a posting in Sweden. He flies to South Africa and Vienna, but events unfold -- and the bodies pile up -- faster than he can put the pieces together.
       There are a few too many coincidences in the book, but at least Nesbø is willing to take a few unpredictable steps -- including murdering off at least one character of the sort that is usually off-limits in such series (though that death, in particular, comes about as a result of several coincidences and miscues that seem particularly unlikely). It's also a book about moral ambiguity, as those young Norwegians were branded traitors yet often just did what they did without thinking through all the moral implications. And good does not too-easily prevail: the novel does not neatly tie up all its ends, as the role of one of the bad guys -- arguably the most dangerous -- remains unrevealed, a menace no doubt lurking over Harry's future.
       Nesbø presents his story fairly well, though the police procedural part is a bit easy and convenient -- everything is almost effortless, a model of efficiency (even when, like right at the beginning, it goes very wrong). Having two men wield their considerable power to try to maneuver unwilling women into their beds also seems a bit much.
       The Redbreast moves at a good pace, and the story -- in the past and present -- is fairly gripping throughout. The crimes along the way are more interesting than the criminal's ultimate goal, but it's all engaging enough. A good, solid thriller-read.

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Links:

• HarperCollins publicity page
• Vintage minisite
• Aschehoug & co. publicity page
• List publicity page

• The Book Jotter
• Curled up with a Good Book
• Detectives Beyond Borders
• Euro Crime (1)
• Euro Crime (2)
• The Independent
• International Noir Fiction
• Kat Loves Books
• Kirkus Reviews
• krimi-couch.de (German)
• lost in books
• Material Witness
• Murder by Type
• Novel Heights
• Publishers Weekly
• reviewingtheevidence.com
• Rhapsody in Books Weblog
• Seeing the World through Books
• Sometimes I make lists for fun
• TracyReaderDad
• USA Today
• The Washington Post
• Written Gems

• Official website

• The Devil's Star
• Headhunters
• The Leopard
• Macbeth
• Nemesis
• The Night House
• The Snowman

• See Index of Mysteries and Thrillers
• See Index of Scandinavian literature
• See Index of Series and Sequels under review

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About the Author:

       Norwegian author Jo Nesbø was born in 1960.

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© 2008-2023 the complete review

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