The Redbreast (Harry Hole, #3) in Around the World in 80 Books

Aug 28, 2012 Samantha rated it it was amazing

This is excellent. Forget the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
I really shouldn't like an alcoholic detective whose clothes don't seem to fit but Harry Hole (despite the appalling name) is the most intriguing and somehow relatable character I've read in a long time. I was gripped and having such a good time reading this that I forced myself to slow down. I couldn't bear the thought of the books running out.
It's a murder mystery with several sub-plots running through it, a few that are not brought t ...more

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Feb 05, 2019 Astrid Lim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, historical-fiction, thriller-mystery, world-war, europe, twist, crime-action, nordic-noir

Not a typical Harry Hole's book. First, it is quite long. Then, it has many parts about history of Norway during World War II. A quite new topic for me and although it is interesting, there are times when I felt a bit lost because I am not familiar with Norway history.

But, for the first time after the first two books in the series, Harry is back in Norway and the nordic noir vibe is pretty intense here.

Even though the book is too long, and wanted to achieve too much, it is quite enjoyable espec ...more

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Feb 02, 2008 Pam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, norway

03/06/08
TITLE/AUTHOR: THE REDBREAST by Jo Nesbo
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Crime Fiction/2000 Norway, 2006 English translation/618 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: #3 in Harry Hole series
TIME/PLACE: 1999/Oslo
CHARACTERS: Detective Harry Hole
FIRST LINES: A gray bird glided in & out of Hary's field of vision.

COMMENTS: purchased through bookdepositry. A bit long and involved but will definitely look for more by Nesbo. Harry Hole discovers that a specialized assassin's rifle has been smuggled into ...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Saima rated it liked it

Shelves: ebook, mystery

Jo Nesbo's #3 novel in the Harry Hole series. Unfortunately #1 and #2 are still not available in the US. Redbreast is not as fast paced as the later novels in the series but it is an important one since this is where Harry meets Rakel and Oleg.

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Jan 27, 2008 Kay added it

Shelves: fiction, 50-page-rule

I'd been prepared to enjoy this book as it had come highly recommended, but I confess that the first few chapters haven't hooked me yet. It has many of the elements that usually intrigue me: World War II, a Norwegian setting, a flawed but brilliant detective. I'm going to give it a few more chapters and see if it gets its hooks into me before I give up. My impression so far is that it's rather dreary and needlessly complex.

Okay... two weeks have past since I wrote that and I still haven't made ...more

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Feb 03, 2008 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: borrowed-from-mom, scandinavian, world-war-ii

A fascinating slice of little-regarded WWII history - the tensions of the split in Norwegian allegiances during the war make a great backdrop for an exciting and intense mystery. One of my favorite parts of the book are Ins. Hole's epistolary-style voicemail messages - so much is revealed in how he speaks after the beep and the act itself makes a compelling narrative tie. ...more

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Jul 14, 2014 Madeleine rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: series, mystery-thriller, scandinavia

Maybe I don't like Scandinavian crime fiction as much as I thought I did. Maybe I actually only like Lisbeth Salandar and Kalle Blomkvist :-/

This was ok, but I found that it dragged on and on and on and on. ...more

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Jan 20, 2014 Stacey Matson rated it liked it · review of another edition

Although I gave it 3 stars, I might have looked this book even better if the kindle version had a better editor/translation. I found the stilted translation to be distracting and annoying.

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