The Redbreast

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.

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.

it's Harry HOOLA!!

Thank goodness!! It was painful to hear such an rich character called such a ridiculous name. Oh...sorry, you will find that out in the next book “Nemesis”. The reviewers for Nemesis object to the reader, Norwegian Thor Knai, but pay no attention. He is a fine, I am happy. Thus only 4 stars for wonderful Robin Sachs, who should have ASKED. "The Redbreast"...Hoola does not compare to Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander. Harry has a sweetness and humor (wait for the moving series of calls to a dead friend's answer machine) where Wallander tends to wallow in whiny self pity. Nesbo compares best to Barbara Vine aka Ruth Rendell. All their characters come to life, their thoughts and deeds, sometime horrific, are made understandable, and you can’t wait to find out where they are leading you.
It was slow and confusing to start....bouncing from WW2 to 1990/2000....then the characters burst into my consciousness and I had to restart as I grew to understand. Loved it.