Nemesis

Starred review from November 24, 2008
Two thrillers with the same title—one a contemporary Norwegian crime novel, the other a historical featuring legendary lawman Eliot Ness—are due in the new year.
Nemesis
Jo Nesbø
, trans. from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett. Harper
, $25.95 (480p) ISBN 978-0-06-165550-0

When a bank teller is shot during a holdup at the start of Norwegian bestseller Nesbø's beautifully executed heist drama, Oslo Insp. Harry Hole investigates, along with Beate Lønn, a young detective with the ability to remember every face she's ever seen. Meanwhile, Harry receives a call from Anna Bethsen, a woman he hasn't seen in years. After he meets Anna, recovering alcoholic Harry awakens the next morning with a hangover and the news that Anna is dead, apparently by her own hand. While Harry quietly looks into Anna's death, he and Beate uncover ties in their bank robbery case to one of Norway's most notorious bank robbers, who's currently in prison. The deeper Harry digs, the clearer it becomes that Anna's death is linked to the robbery. Expertly weaving plot lines from Hole's last outing to feature the inspector, The Redbreast
(2007), Nesbø delivers a lush crime saga that will leave U.S. readers clamoring for the next installment.