The Redbreast. - Jo Nesbo

Synopsis: Harry Hole, drunkard, loner and brilliant detective is reassigned to surveillance after a high profile mistake. He's bored by his new job until a report of a rare and unusual gun being fired sparks his interest because of its possible links to Neo Nazi activity. Then a former soldier is found with his throat cut. Next Harry's former partner is murdered. Why had she been trying to reach Harry on the night her head was smashed in? The investigation leads Harry to suspect that the crimes have their roots in the battlefields of Eastern Front during WWII. In a quest that takes him to South Africa and Vienna, Harry finds himself perpetually one step behind the killer. He will be both winner and loser by the novel's nail-biting conclusion. The Redbreast. He's your judge, jury and executioner... And he must be stopped.

Review

Okay, so I have just finished up the last hundred pages or so of The Redbreast and I have to firstly say that for me the conclusion delivered perfectly. I didn't settle into this novel with a blistering pace, even abandoning it for a while to read something fresh. However, once I allowed myself to settle in, the novel got progressively better.

I enjoyed the way Nesbo weaves the different characters' stories into one spectacular story-line which leaves you flipping the pages in anticipation throughout. Those more observant reader will pick up the clever twists and turns, but nevertheless the author delivers them fantastically.

In essence this novel is one of revenge, tragedy, love and heartbreak, as you begin to feel what the different characters are going through. An old man who wants nothing more than to deliver the revenge he feels is necessary; a policeman struggling with the death of a comrade; the strikingly beautiful women he loves but who is also loved by another, a man in a position of high-standing, determined to have her for his own.

The many plots and sub-plots of this novel make for an entertaining read and I think I'll be looking for more of Nesbo's work soon.

4/5.