Genre: Nordic Thriller
Norwegian Title: Rødstrupe
English Translation: Don Bartlett (2006)
POV: 3rd Person
Sensuality: Subtle
Violence: A few gruesome scenes
My Grade: A
This is the best thriller I’ve read in years. While I enjoy mystery and suspense novels, I’m particularly picky when it comes to thrillers. I’ve read too many which seem deliberately convoluted and overly long. At 618 pages, Jo Nesbø’s The Redbreast is definitely long, but every page adds to the story.
A brief note on the series: The Redbreast was originally published in Norwegian as Rødstrupe in 2000. The English translation by Don Bartlett was released in 2006. The books in Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series have been translated out of order, and there are currently no plans to translate the first two novels into English. If you can, I strongly urge you to read the books in the order in which they were written so as to avoid plot spoilers for the earlier stories. I’ve provided a list of the books at the end of my review.
The protagonist of The Redbreast is Detective Harry Hole. Harry is a gifted policeman but his career advancement is hampered by his alcoholism, inability to play nicely on a team, and utter lack of interest in office politics. When Harry causes the department a high-profile embarrassment, he finds himself relegated to tedious surveillance work. Working alone is not a problem for Harry. Sticking to his assigned tasks is. It’s not long before he discovers that a rare rifle of a type favoured by professional assassins has been smuggled into the country, possibly by a neo-fascist group with whom Harry is familiar from his time in the crime squad.
When a former Nazi sympathiser is found with his throat slit, Harry doesn’t think it’s a coincidence. As the investigation unfolds and the body count increases, Harry finds himself faced with a killer who seems determined to deliver his own brand of justice. Harry’s only hope of finding the killer is to track down a small group of old men who betrayed their country to fight on the side of the Nazis during WWII.
The Redbreast is a page-turner in the very best sense of the term. For those of you who share my wariness of flashbacks, there are a few in this book, but they add to the story rather than detract from it. There are a few jumping timelines in the first 50 pages or so, but then they are reduced to just two: the present day and WWII. I loved the historical details of Norway’s occupation by the Germans during WWII. Although I’ve read a lot about the war, I didn’t know much about the role played by Norway.
The pace of The Redbreast is very different to that of the average American or British thriller, but it moves along nicely and the story unfolds slowly but surely. It is very much a character-driven tale, with the personalities of the characters lending as much weight – if not more – as the plot itself. Harry is a wonderful protagonist. He’s not the usual grumpy-detective-with-issues. He has a great sense of humour and doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s more amused by than frustrated at his incompetent superiors. I enjoyed spending 600-plus pages with Harry, and I’m looking forward to reading further books in this series. This is a book which I can highly recommend and I’ve added it to my select list of Grade A reads.
Correct Reading Order of Books in the Harry Hole Series:
- Flaggermusmannen (1997) by Jo Nesbø - Not translated into English
- Kakerlakkene (1998)by Jo Nesbø - Not translated into English
- The Redbreast (2006 – translation by Don Bartlett) Original title: Rødstrupe (2000) by Jo Nesbø
- Nemesis (2008 – translation by Don Bartlett) Original Title: Sorgenfri (2002) by Jo Nesbø
- The Devil’s Star (2005 – translation by Don Bartlett) Original Title: Marekors (2003) by Jo Nesbø
- The Redeemer (2009 – translation by Don Bartlett) Original Title: Frelseren (2005) by Jo Nesbø
- The Snowman (2010 – translation by Don Bartlett); Original Title: Snømannen (2007) by Jo Nesbø
- The Leopard (2011 – translation by Don Bartlett); Original Title: Panserhjerte (2009) by Jo Nesbø
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I just finished reading ‘The Redbreast’ and I completely agree with your A-grade. Harry Hole is a great character and I look forward to following his story in the other Jo Nesbo thrillers. I loved the way the book was paced and how all the pieces came together at the end. So often, thrillers quite literally lose the plot and can become tedious as they conclude. That is certainly not the case with this fine example of the genre at its best.
@Trish: Yay! I’m delighted you enjoyed it. I’ve started Nemesis and it’s shaping up to be just as good. I’m so glad I started with The Redbreast, though, as there’s a major plot spoiler for it within the first few pages of Nemesis.
I really enjoyed this book, though there was that one loose end… I do hope the first two books get translated – I want as many of these as possible!
@Lynn Spencer: I have a feeling that the loose end you’re referring to will be resolved later in the series. At least I’m assuming it will be!
YES! *fist bump* Isn’t Jo Nesbo an awesome writer? So glad you all started from the beginning because the loose ends will get resolved in the latter books (Nemesis and The Devils Star). I enjoyed Nemesis (B+ read for me) but it ranks lower in my enjoyment scale when compared to The Devil’s Star and The Redeemer which were both A reads for me. I just recently got the latest translated Harry Hole book, The Snowman but am resisting it right now. I want to read The Redbreast first (yes, I started backwards). Just read where the next Harry Hole book, The Leopard, will be translated for 2011 release. Nesbo is a great plotter. I can’t recall a boring middle in his books. I also love how he has all these dangling threads and how he eventually ties up most of them at the end of the book. The one loose thread that you all are referring to is a really nice one that gets more and more interesting as it goes along with a fantastic ending. Just saying. Take care all.
I’ve been meaning to get to this series, especially after reading what Keishon has had to say about it. Thanks, Sarah for another push in that direction. Gonna head over to the library site to request it!
@Keishon: THANK YOU for suggesting this series to me! I’m delighted to hear that The Leopard will be published next year. It’s already out in German translation. Actually, the entire Harry Hole series has been translated into German, including the first two books. I wonder why they chose not to translate them into English? According the reviews I read, the first book is not as good as the rest of the series – typical first novel flaws – but the second one got really positive feedback from readers. Fingers crossed they are eventually available in English.
@Renee: I’d love to hear what you think of the series. Enjoy!
You and Keishon have convinced me – I’m requesting this one from my library as well. Nemesis was on the shelves when I popped in earlier today, but I’m determined to read this series in order!
@Li: If you prefer to avoid spoilers, do try to start with The Redbreast. I hope you like it!
@Keishon – Am reading Nemesis now and things are getting very interesting with regard to that loose end.
I’m enjoying this book so much, I may have to cave and hit up Book Depository for more of the series since Amazon has so few available in USA.
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