Blood Ties by Jo Nesbo #bookreview #audiobook #translatedbook #series

Thank you Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC and Knopf, #partner, for the finished copy of Blood Ties in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Knopf

Published: February 11, 2025

 

Summary:

FAMILY COMES FIRST. NO MATTER THE COST.

Brothers Carl and Roy Opgard have succeeded in life. Or at least they’ve had as much success as is possible in a small town like Os, where they’ve killed their way to the top. Carl manages the swanky spa hotel, while Roy has made ambitious plans for an amusement park.

Life’s good at the top. But the local sheriff is looking to bring them down.

Sheriff Kurt Olsen believes he has new evidence that will prove the brothers’ involvement in several past murders – but Carl and Roy are used to covering their tracks, and they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty.

The body count in Os is about to get even higher.

Blood Ties is an explosive suspense novel about family, loyalty, and the lengths someone is willing to go to for both, from crime writing’s king of the cliffhanger.

 

My thoughts:

I am a big Jo Nesbo fan, despite his books being on the dark and gritty side, and make no mistake about it – this one is dark! And it’s also a follow-up to The Kingdom, which I read a while back and really liked. I was thrilled to be back with the Opgard brothers in Os.

I do want to start off by saying that while this book can be read as a stand-alone, there are major spoilers to The Kingdom. So, if you haven’t read that one and plan on it, I would not read this one first. I would then read them in order. If you aren’t sure, then it doesn’t matter. The author does a great job filling in just enough backstory on what happened in book 1 for you to understand what you need to for this second book, but just know certain events are fully revealed.

That being said, this is another book that I again found I needed to take my time with. It’s a layered story filled with secrets and twists that you need time to really digest as they are revealed. Nesbo is such a clever writer and it always shows in his books.

This book, while still a crime novel, delves into the complicated relationships between brothers. This dark family saga has psychological undertones that make for such a riveting, gripping read and the twists and turns really keep you on edge. I loved that we see how sibling rivalry and greed play into these brothers’ daily motivations. While I really enjoyed the first book, I loved this one more!

 

Audio thoughts:

I had both the print and audiobook for this one and loved being able to pair Euan Morton’s narration while following along with the book. Morton is a new-to-me narrator and I thought he did a great job bringing this story to life.

 

Books in this series:

1. The Kingdom
2. Blood Ties

 

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