The Redeemer

March 25, 2013
The first chapter of Nesbø’s highly suspenseful sixth Harry Hole thriller introduces 17-year-old Robert Karlsen and his year older brother, Jon, who in 1991 are cadets at a Salvation Army retreat in the Norwegian countryside, where a 14-year-old girl is sexually assaulted. In the next chapter, 22 years later, detective Hole is winding up the investigation of a drug-related murder in Oslo. The main action begins when a Serbian hit man, Cristo Stankic, shoots Robert on a crowded city street, though his intended target was Jon—and that’s when the pace really picks up. As the title suggests, the search for redemption is on—redemption through violence. The deeply flawed Hole is his familiar self: difficult and disrespectful, brilliant and intuitive. At times the book feels padded with lengthy asides and banter, but the primary narrative, told in powerful prose, never fails to grip. Series fans should note that later entries have already appeared in the U.S., most recently Phantom (2012). Announced first printing of 150,000.

July 29, 2013
This sixth installment in Nesbø’s popular series finds Harry Hole, Oslo’s most successful and least collaborative police investigator, spending the Christmas season trying to unravel a knotty murder case while bemoaning the loss of a friendly superior and working around the demands of the strong-willed new boss. The novel alternates between Harry’s sleuthing and a Croatian assassin’s attempt to evade him long enough to escape the city. John Lee selects a properly surly and world-weary voice for Harry, and an accented, desperate one for the killer known as “the little redeemer.” Since the book travels through various strata of Oslo society and even includes a side trip to the former Yugoslavia, Lee is given ample opportunity to display a panoply of Norwegian and Croatian accents. He uses his own rich British accent to guide us smoothly through the novel’s descriptive passages. Since the author packs his fast-paced scenes with crucial details easily missed, Lee’s clear, crisp rendition is a blessing. However, several shifts between Harry’s sections and those of the little redeemer are so abrupt—narrated by that same well-modulated voice—it may take listeners a moment to realize whose story is being told. A Knopf hardcover.

This complex police procedural features a nearly burned-out cop who works in Norway's capital city of Oslo. John Lee's sonorous voice, with just the right blend of European highlights, is perfect for the American ear. His pacing keeps all the action front and center, so the listener never experiences any dragging in the story. He expertly delivers a wealth of voices and accents--from the British-sounding English of the Norwegians to the Balkan accent of the Croatian hit man for whom the work is titled. A surfeit of characters--male, female, kids, junkies, and sundry people of various nationalities--gives Lee full range for his vocal mastery. M.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine