The Redeemer - Jo Nesbo

The Redeemer is the 4th book starring Harry Hole, the alcoholic/recovering alcholic (depending on his mood) Inspector. As usual Jo Nesbo has an imaginative plot that is well thought out, and full of twists and turns.

We start at Salvation Army Summer Camp where a 14 year old girl is raped. We don't find out by whom, but the repercussions of this event take us into the present day. The story then skips to a young Croatian boy caught up in war, and known as the Redeemer. The start of the book took me a while to get used to, the story intentionally flips from one character to another without a clear break in between but once you realise what is happening, this style helps build up suspense.

In the present it’s a freezing cold December in Oslo in the run up to Christmas. A Salvation Army Officer at a concert is shot in the middle of a square in front of many people. The police have few clues to follow, and are completely unsure as to whether this is a lone gunman or an organised gang. The story follows the contract killer, who is quite confident his work is done and is on his way to the airport to leave the country. However the snow causes a flight delay, leaving the killer stranded. He checks into a hotel and catches the news, but it’s not the news he wants to see...

Harry Hole is lead on a mission facing a contract killer, a rapist, a psychotic and mistaken identities. During this he is fighting his alcoholism, coming to grips with a new boss, and thinking of his recent ex-girlfriend and her son. The story was exciting and full of action; it kept me hooked from one page to the next. The story contains almost everything a crime fiction book could contain a bit of gruesomeness here and a murder there, a crazed gunman on the lose to a victim in hiding, Jo Nesbo is one of the best of this genre. I also feel a learn more and more when I read each of the books in this series, each is carefully researched and contains plenty of detail without boring the reader. The twist at the end was brilliant, and I found myself thinking back to earlier events in the book and it all suddenly fell into place.

I look forward to reading the next in series, The Snowman. I wouldn’t say you need to start from the beginning with this series, but to get the full benefit of Harry Hole’s back story then I highly recommend it.