Showing posts with label Jo Nesbo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jo Nesbo. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Nemesis-Jo Nesbo



Grainy closed-circuit television footage shows a man walking into an Oslo bank and putting a gun to a cashier's head. He tells the young woman to count to twenty-five. When the robber doesn't get his money in time, the cashier is executed, and two million Norwegian kroner disappear without a trace. Police Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case.
While Hole's girlfriend is away in Russia, an old flame decides to get in touch. Former girlfriend and struggling artist Anna Bethsen invites Hole to dinner, and he can't resist a visit. But the evening ends in an all too familiar way as Hole awakens with a thundering headache, a missing cell phone, and no memory of the past twelve hours. That same morning, Anna is found shot dead in her bed. Hole begins to receive threatening e-mails. Is someone trying to frame him for this unexplained death? Meanwhile, the bank robberies continue with unparalleled savagery.
As the death toll continues to mount, Hole becomes a prime suspect in a criminal investigation led by his longtime adversary Tom Waaler and Waaler's vigilante police force. Racing from the cool, autumnal streets of Oslo to the steaming villages of Brazil, Hole is determined to absolve himself of suspicion by uncovering all the information needed to crack both cases. But the ever-threatening Waaler is not finished with his old archenemy quite yet. (from Goodreads.com)
After I was hooked on Harry Hole series, I couldn't put this book down. It's even better than the first one. 
Three different stories, no one seems to see the connection. Twists around every corner. With every single page it makes you ask yourself what is going to happen next. The story with the gypsies from the Balkans is very well plotted. The robberies, the death of the former girlfriend, the gypsies , the author made an excellent connection. 
The title, "Nemesis", means revenge. Symbolic title.  In Anna's place there is an artistic piece, a statue named "Nemesis".
Who is revenging to who?
My opinion 5/5


Monday, December 19, 2011

The Redbreast-Jo Nesbo



1944: Daniel, a soldier, legendary among the Norwegians fighting the advance of Bolshevism on the Russian front, is killed. Two years later, a wounded soldier wakes up in a Vienna hospital. He becomes involved with a young nurse, the consequences of which will ripple forward to the turn of the next century.

1999: Harry Hole, alone again after having caused an embarrassment in the line of duty, has been promoted to inspector and is lumbered with surveillance duties. He is assigned the task of monitoring neo-Nazi activities; fairly mundane until a report of a rare and unusual gun being fired sparks his interest. Ellen Gjelten, his partner, makes a startling discovery. Then a former soldier is found with his throat cut. In a quest that takes him to South Africa and Vienna, Harry finds himself perpetually one step behind the killer. He will be both winner and loser by the novel’s nail-biting conclusion. (from Goodreads.com)


This is the very first book I read from Jo Nesbo, but since I read it, I bought them all. It's actually the third book from these series, but first one translated in english. The main antihero, Harry Hole, is very good presented. Single, alcoholic, sometimes drug user, but excellent in in his work : solving the crimes. 


When you read the first story, settled in 1944, you might think it's a love story. No,no. It's far away from a love story. The second story, the one in 1999, is a thriller so twisted so you won't put down the book until you finish with reading. This story has it all, crimes, well-plotted characters, twists around every corner. Every single page makes you asking yourself "Did they catch the bad guy this time?". 


And about the name, it's "hu-ul" , or "HEU-leh" in Norwegian, not "ho-ol". I read this book in serbian, it was pronounced well, so I didn't see the problem until I saw the comments on internet on reviews written in english.


My opinion: 4,5/5