• The Redbreast

  • By: Jo Nesbø
  • Narrated by: Robin Sachs
  • Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (2,344 ratings)

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The Redbreast  By  cover art

The Redbreast

By: Jo Nesbø
Narrated by: Robin Sachs
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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

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What listeners say about The Redbreast

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,076
  • 4 Stars
    801
  • 3 Stars
    329
  • 2 Stars
    92
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Performance
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    1,198
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    44
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    25
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    935
  • 4 Stars
    648
  • 3 Stars
    272
  • 2 Stars
    91
  • 1 Stars
    35

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Out of order...

Harry Hole is great regardless of the order you read him in!! So glad I went back to the beginning!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • KP
  • 12-22-14

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.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Just NOT a great story line

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No I would not. it was too lengthy and kept jumping from one time period to another in short spurts ... I did not like that at all. It makes it really hard to listen and to the story line.. dragging. on.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jo Nesbø again?

Oh yes. LOVE the Snowman.

What about Robin Sachs’s performance did you like?

All of it. such a wonderful energy to his voice.

Do you think The Redbreast needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Nope.... its too long and dragging as it is ..

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Nesbo

If you could sum up The Redbreast in three words, what would they be?

Intense, Brilliant, Nesbo

Which character – as performed by Robin Sachs – was your favorite?

Harry Hole

Any additional comments?

Take your time. The plot twist and turns. There are flash backs which sometimes makes it difficult to follow the story line. I even went as far as to use a character chart to better understand the story line.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

slow and somewhat disjointed

What disappointed you about The Redbreast?

took a long time to really connect where the plot was taking us

What do you think your next listen will be?

unsure

How could the performance have been better?

reader didn't really give a sense of "here's another person talking" -- voice inflection was just ok.

Any additional comments?

will want to try a different reader for future books

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Norwegian Nazis and switched identities

This is my first Jo Nesbo. Of course now I have to read more to find out how the subplot plays out. And yes, there is one. But mostly I enjoyed this one because it gave me a glimpse into a sidebar story of WWII that I had never paid any attention to. The fact that Norway surrendered to Germany and Norwegians ended up fighting in the German army in Russia. Made sense as Russia had always been a more obvious enemy for Norway, but the whole Nazi think complicated it of course. Anyway, definitely an entertaining story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exciting and gripping Thriller

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes- To anyone who likes murder mysteries and espionage, this is the best of both worlds.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Of course Harry Hole. He is just such a unpredictable predictable character. Gentle but raw; loving but also full of angst. He is great!

What does Robin Sachs bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has all of the nuances down to a science. Awesome narrator! I can't imagine anyone else doing quite the performance he does for these Nesbo stories.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A story of extreme love and harbored hatred

Any additional comments?

Yes, the way the book ended I know there has to be a story to follow. Are any of the books he has written a sequel to The Red Breast? I am blind so it is difficult for me to read through the summaries of some of his other books.I would just like to know as I am hooked and would like to follow the story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Robin Sachs is the voice of Harry Hole.

I love the Harry Hole series. May I have more please and if you can have the books narrated by Robin Sachs. The other narrators suck.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderfully complex Plot

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

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Harry Hole does it again

I did solve the who done it before Harry. So I only gave it 4 stars. Narration was excellent.

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