Review:
THE REDBREAST by Jo Nesbo
Review by Theodore Feit
During World War II, Norway was occupied by the Nazi army, and the head of the government lent his name to the English language synonymous with traitor˜Quisling. About 400 Norwegian youths volunteered to fight with the Germans on the Eastern front against the Russians. Most of them did not survive the war. But those that did and returned to Norway were branded traitors and sentenced to years in prison.
It is against this challenging backdrop that the author has created a superb mystery novel equal to the best of the Scandinavian writers. He introduces Harry Hole, an irreverent, alcoholic detective on a par with Harry Bosch and his contemporaries. The story moves from events during the war to present times and back and forth. A series of murders takes place in Oslo, and little by little Harry follows the leads subtly provided, ignoring the powers that be who tell him to ignore his intuition and „be a good boy.‰
The roots of the story are gleaned from the author‚s own background˜his father served in the Leningrad siege and his mother in the resistance. The novel was first published in Norway in 1997 and won the Glass Key Award for best Nordic crime novel and later voted the best Norwegian crime novel ever written. It is the author‚s second book, and we look forward to many more. Highly recommended.