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 writing

Not for those looking for light reading. Plot twists, misdirection, complexity, and thought-provoking stories within the larger story.

This novel could be considered frustrating by some. But I really enjoyed it.

I love Nesbo's writing and the narrator is very talented.

Good story. Great performance.

This is the type of story that you appreciate a lot more when you make it to the end. A second read might also be more enjoyable than the first. Very integral to the Harry Hole story, so thia one is very important to read for the sake of that. The story drags amd crawls until the pieces start to come together. I feel like the book is a bit too long, however I look at most of the build up areas to be important to set the stage for the finale. A slow burn that gets red hot. Love it or like it. I recommend. RIP Robin Sachs. Fantastic narration. Will look for his other performances.

Excellent

I love Jo Nesbo’s books. They keep you glued to the story. I have a hard time keeping the Norwegian names straight through. There are lots of exciting twists to this book and I really like Harry, the main character. I plan on reading further books in the series

Narrator is superb

Read this years ago. Loved it. Jo Nesbo is the best. Robin Sachs does the narration to perfection.

Love Harry Hole!

Would you listen to The Redbreast again? Why?

Another good novel from Nesbo. Can be compared to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.I have not read them in sequence but I love Harry more with each page. I don't normally reread books. There are too many out there.

Very complex thriller

This is one of those complex type of thrillers, that you have to listen to every word closely to know what is going on. When they say it's the next Stieg Larson, that's is a very good comparison, as the characters are Norweigen, Austrian,with a good helping of Nazi's. The modern story and the background from the 1940's jump back and forth from chapter to chapter, with an abundance of characters to keep track of. It's a good story and an interesting one, but I have to say that I did a better job of understanding what was going on, when I switched over to my kindle and read the last half. The narrator did a fine job though. It is just easier to comprehend all the time jumps when I can see it in print. (that's just me) There must be a book or two before this one however, because of some reference to Harry's past experiences that are never clarified in this book, but it doesn't ruin anything, just makes you wonder at times what they are referring to.
All and all it's a good book, and I'll probably read the next of the series.

two-part book be sure to listen to the right part

listen to the book thought it was weird felt like it was in the middle of the story by the time I got to the end of it felt like it got Quentin Tarantino's when I finished all the chapters I realized it was a two-part book and I was listening to the second one first and then it slipped to the beginning of the book I also thought the narrator was very dry

Reaching His Stride

Yes! With this #3 book in the Harry Hole series, Jo Nesbo has reached his stride and has written a tense and exciting thriller/crime novel. I particularly liked this book because the reader gets to see how Harry Hole meets Raquel (the woman he is so in love with in later books) and find out Raquel's "interesting" background. Having started with some of the later Harry Hole books, I was disappointed when I went back to the beginning with the #1 and #2 books (The Bat and The Cockroaches), but having enjoyed this book so much, I'm now ready to continue on to #4, Nemesis.

I'm hooked on Nesbo

Once again I'm taken with the story leading me back in time. Will be on to the next book.

still deciding what I think...

This review has three stars, because I am still not sure what I think of this book.



I admit there were times when I laughed out loud at the humour written into this story (e.g.., asking the woman he thinks is attractive, to help him push his Ford Escort because he forgot to park on a hill..., and rather than saying this happened, he simply makes mention of the dirt on her clean white gloves from pushing on the trunk.).



However, I was so confused at the start of the story, because it flashes backwards and forwards, tying the plot together, so that I wondered if it was mere convention to entice the reader. I also had a very difficult time keeping track of who was who, and that may be my fault, but I actually couldn't remember who the villain was supposed be, and it turned out I may have been wrong.



Norwegian writers are gaining a reputation as great mystery-thriller writers, but in this case I was more confused than surprised. I will definitely try another book by Nesbo, and feel confident that I will either love it or hate it.