THE REDEEMER
Except for a short journey to Croatia, Nesbo's THE REDEEMER sticks pretty much to Norway. It's also more of a traditional mystery.
The big surprise is what Nesbo seems to be saying about overtly religious people, primarily those who run the Salvation Army. If Nesbo sticks to reality, the Salvation Army would seem to have much more influence in Norway than it does here. I had never heard of officer training school for Salvation Army leaders for one thing. Norway also tolerates drug abuse but specifies one small area of the city of Oslo for their nefarious doings. The Salvation Army tries to provide food and shelter for them.
Okay, so here's the theme: Salvation Army leaders are pretty much just like the rest of us. They have their faults, too. They are also capable of pride, envy, sex abuse, and even murder. There are two brothers that play vital roles in the story; both are very much misunderstood.
At the beginning of the story a Croation hit man murders one of the brothers, Robert Karlsen. Almost immediately he realizes he got the wrong brother, and he sets out to find the other one, John. John is in line to become the new territorial commander of the Salvation Army. At first, our hero, Harry Hole, who's on the wagon for a change, thinks Robert hired the hit man and was hoisted on his own petard. So to speak.
Harry must also learn to live with a new boss, Gunner Hagen, a former member of special forces with his own ideas about how to run the homicide department. Harry pretty much had the run of the place prior to Gunner. But Gunner isn't stupid; he realizes Harry's the best detective he's got; he just wants him to keep up to speed on the case and follow orders once in a while. He's also more hands on than Harry's previous boss.
Harry's girlfriend, Rakel, is currently dating a doctor, but one of the Salvation Army workers, Martine Eckhoff, the daughter of the current territorial commander, has the hots for him. She is a much younger girl, but seems to like older men, especially macho, sensitive types like Harry.
I've read two previous Nesbo mysteries, and I liked this one the most. Harry stays on the trail of the killer; there aren't that many subplots where Harry goes on a coke binge or whatever. He does get drunk once, but it doesn't stop him from finding the killer and making a questionable moral decision, as he does in most of Nesbo's books.
The big surprise is what Nesbo seems to be saying about overtly religious people, primarily those who run the Salvation Army. If Nesbo sticks to reality, the Salvation Army would seem to have much more influence in Norway than it does here. I had never heard of officer training school for Salvation Army leaders for one thing. Norway also tolerates drug abuse but specifies one small area of the city of Oslo for their nefarious doings. The Salvation Army tries to provide food and shelter for them.
Okay, so here's the theme: Salvation Army leaders are pretty much just like the rest of us. They have their faults, too. They are also capable of pride, envy, sex abuse, and even murder. There are two brothers that play vital roles in the story; both are very much misunderstood.
At the beginning of the story a Croation hit man murders one of the brothers, Robert Karlsen. Almost immediately he realizes he got the wrong brother, and he sets out to find the other one, John. John is in line to become the new territorial commander of the Salvation Army. At first, our hero, Harry Hole, who's on the wagon for a change, thinks Robert hired the hit man and was hoisted on his own petard. So to speak.
Harry must also learn to live with a new boss, Gunner Hagen, a former member of special forces with his own ideas about how to run the homicide department. Harry pretty much had the run of the place prior to Gunner. But Gunner isn't stupid; he realizes Harry's the best detective he's got; he just wants him to keep up to speed on the case and follow orders once in a while. He's also more hands on than Harry's previous boss.
Harry's girlfriend, Rakel, is currently dating a doctor, but one of the Salvation Army workers, Martine Eckhoff, the daughter of the current territorial commander, has the hots for him. She is a much younger girl, but seems to like older men, especially macho, sensitive types like Harry.
I've read two previous Nesbo mysteries, and I liked this one the most. Harry stays on the trail of the killer; there aren't that many subplots where Harry goes on a coke binge or whatever. He does get drunk once, but it doesn't stop him from finding the killer and making a questionable moral decision, as he does in most of Nesbo's books.
No comments have been added yet.
