The Redbreast

By: Jo Nesbø

Narrated by: Robin Sachs

Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

The Redbreast won the Glass Key prize for the best Nordic crime novel when it was first published, and was subsequently voted Norway’s best crime novel. The Devil’s Star, Nesbø’s first novel featuring Harry Hole to be translated into English, marked Nesbø as a writer to watch in the ever more fashionable world of Nordic crime.

©2007 Jo Nesbo (P)2011 Random House Audio

Excellent listen.

Great performance by Robin Sachs he does a great Harry Hole. I've become a fan of Nesbos work and this is actually a second run through of the series as I listened a few years back.

The series is very entertaining and all the characters are engaging.

Continues to Excite

As with all the other books in this Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbo, this book was enthralling. Exciting from start to finish. Always hard to figure out who the bad guy will be. Love the Harry Hole character.

Not the best book in the series

Would you try another book from Jo Nesbo and/or Robin Sachs?

Yes, I've read the Snowman and then this book. To get the most out of this series I STRONGLY suggest reading these novels in the correct sequence.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story was long and drawn out. I kept waiting for a WOW, however I never got it with this book.

Have you listened to any of Robin Sachs’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The Narrator is phenomenal. Since joining Audible…He’s one of the best I’ve heard so far.

Was The Redbreast worth the listening time?

It is worth the time due to learning the background of the Character Harry Hole.

Not quite his best, but excellent nonetheless

I found the Snowman and The Leopard to be more riveting, perhaps because the switching back and forth between the present day and 1940's World War 2 in this book caused some minor lapses in momentum. Nonetheless, learning about Norway's role in the war and the disillusion it caused some of it's soldiers was interesting. Robin Sachs as always was fantastic as the narrator. It is hard not to identify Harry Hole with Robin's voice. Jo Nesbo has become one of my favorite authors, and I hope new encounters with Harry Hole are in the offing.

Wonderfully complex Plot

Jo Nesbø does it again with a plot that spans a half century. Layered, complex and delightful to weave through.

Enter the Robin

Maybe it's just part of the genre: yet another quirky, somewhat dysfunctional detective with problems. As long as it's well done, I suppose, and this compares favorably with the best of similar characters by other authors.

While Jo Nesbo is a good writer, the voice of Robin Sachs is what drives this book. He infuses a sense of Harry Hole's character into the entire book, not just Harry's spoken lines. I do wish Sachs would have pronounced the name Hole with two syllables, though. Ho - lay or perhaps ho - la instead of the English word "hole." In other names and places Sachs appears to strive to reproduce Norwegian pronunciations without overdoing it. Why not here? There are too many unwanted associations with the English word "hole." Nesbo doesn't mind the English pronunciation, I've read elsewhere, but perhaps he's being too kind.

Stories, such as this one, that connect characters back to WWII activities must be near end. There are fewer and fewer WWII survivors, so we can relax, breath a sigh of relief and be done with ex-Nazis for the most part, so be patient with this one book.

The first part of the story slips in and out of WWII and the present (a present without cell phones--the invention of which significantly changes the world of detective fiction). A certain amount of patience is required with the interludes from the past. Eventually all points from the past connect with the present. These trips to the past are somewhat dry in spite of Sachs's skilled reading.

This is a good listen. You won't be wasting your credits with the download.

This may be my favorite

I really love the series but I think this one is my favorite of all. I still have 3 more to go. What a truly incredible series. Jo Nesbo is a genius. Love the narration.

intricate plot, good listening.

If you can keep track of the time changes, you will really enjoy being involved.

Harry Out of Order

What did you love best about The Redbreast?

Gets the series off to a great start

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Redbreast?

Harry calling Ellen's "answer phone"

Did Robin Sachs do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

For the most part - I still have a bit of trouble with names and keeping characters straight. I wonder if some sort of web page or two could help with this...

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The time with Oleg - and Rakel

Any additional comments?

I read this fourth - I would rank it #2 after "The Leapord"

Great Mystery that Intertwines the Past and Prese

I learned a lot about Norway and WW II. The mystery surrounds grudges held by Norwegian veterans that touch
various characters in the near present. Per usual Harry Hole gets himself into and out of various scrapes and
sort of wins in the end....I enjoy Jo Nesbo's thrillers, fairly gritty with good twists.