The Redbreast
By Jo Nesbo
(Harper Paperbacks, Paperback, 9780061134005, 544pp.)
Publication Date: December 4, 2008
Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover (November 1, 2007)
Categories: Thrillers
![]() |
Detective Harry Hole embarrassed the force, and for his sins he's been reassigned to mundane surveillance tasks. But while monitoring neo-Nazi activities in Oslo, Hole is inadvertently drawn into a mystery with deep roots in Norway's dark past—when members of the nation's government willingly collaborated with Nazi Germany. More than sixty years later, this black mark won't wash away, and disgraced old soldiers who once survived a brutal Russian winter are being murdered, one by one. Now, with only a stained and guilty conscience to guide him, an angry, alcoholic, error-prone policeman must make his way safely past the traps and mirrors of a twisted criminal mind. For a hideous conspiracy is rapidly taking shape around Hole—and Norway's darkest hour may still be to come.
Jo NesbØ is a musician, songwriter, economist, and author. He is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Glass Key, the Riverton Prize, and the Booksellers Prize, and one of his Harry Hole novels was voted best Norwegian crime novel of all time by Norwegian readers. He lives in Oslo.
"Exciting, witty, melancholy and thought-provoking."
-Daily Telegraph (London)
"Original.demands concentration but it's worth the effort."
-Literary Review
"[A] bold, ambitious thriller."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Certainly ranks with the best of current American crime fiction."
-Washington Post Book World
"Paced to grip and twiddle with your insides, this is a fine thriller."
-Sunday Sport
"Reading THE REDBREAST is like watching a hit movie. Author Jo Nesbo'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."
-USA Today
"Shifting effortlessly between the last days of WWII on the Eastern front and modern day Oslo, Norwegian Nesb spins a complex tale of murder, revenge and betrayal. . . . Perfectly paced and painfully suspenseful."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An elegant and complex thriller . . . Ingenious design. . . . Harrowingly beautiful scenes."
-New York Times Book Review











