Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Published: September 9, 2014 (first published 2005)
Source: Personal copy
SUMMARY
A fantastically gripping thriller from the best-selling author of The Snowman.
Christmas shoppers stop to hear a Salvation Army concert on a crowded Oslo street. A gunshot cuts through the music and the bitter cold: one of the singers falls dead, shot in the head at point-blank range. Harry Hole—the Oslo Police Department’s best investigator and worst civil servant—has little to work with: no suspect, no weapon, and no motive. But Harry’s troubles will multiply. As the search closes in, the killer becomes increasingly desperate, and Harry’s chase takes him to the most forbidden corners of the former Yugoslavia.
Yet it’s when he returns to Oslo that he encounters true darkness: among the homeless junkies and Salvationists, eagerly awaiting a savior to deliver them from misery—whether he brings new life or immediate death.
With its shrewdly vertiginous narrative, acid-etched characters, and white-hot pace, The Redeemer is resounding proof of Jo Nesbø’s standing as one of the best crime writers of our time.
***Short & Sweet Reviews are short, quick reviews. These will mainly be used for series books where I have already done full reviews on some of the earlier books or for books that I feel will suffice with a quick review. These will not be used for review requests or blog tours.
My thoughts:
As I continue to make my way through this series, one book a month, I have to say I am really enjoying these books and I think this plan works. I have other series I am really behind on and this is definitely the way to go as I don’t feel like I am burning out on it – I actually look forward to picking up the next book each month.
I have to say, as I get further into this Harry Hole series, I find myself falling more and more in love with the genius that is Jo Nesbo. These books are complex and dark, and while each book could technically be read as a stand-alone, to really understand Harry Hole for all that he is and how far he has grown, you really need to start at the beginning, in my opinion anyway. He is such a tortured soul and there is a reason for it, yet it works to his advantage at times.
As I find with all these books, this one is a layered story that is fast-paced and very complex. Using the religious theme with the Salvation Army Church, we also have themes of forgiveness and redemption woven into the story. I love that these two themes are not only applied to the case but also to Harry himself.
The next book up is the one made into the movie…cannot wait to read it and then possibly watch the movie!
Books in this series:
- The Bat
- Cockroaches
- The Redbreast
- Nemesis
- The Devil’s Star
- The Redeemer
- The Snowman
- The Leopard
- Phantom
- Police
- The Thirst
- Knife
