THE REDBREAST by Jo Nesbo

Having just read The Snowman by Jo Nesbo, and having (it seems) very little imagination, I decided to try another Nesbo book.  This one is quite complex, so don't read it if you're prone to getting headaches.
   The plot ranges from the second world war to the present day (well, the turn of the century, anyway) and mainly features a cast of Norwegian soldiers who were at the Russian front during the war, and were scattered about in 1999 and thereabouts. One of them is bonkers and wants to carry out an assassination - and Harry Hole (Jo Nesbo's detective) gets wind of it and starts to track him down.
  Cue puzzlement, tension, and killings.
  I found it difficult to get into the book.  Then I quite enjoyed it when Harry got into his stride. Then I stopped enjoying it again towards the end, when some of the revelations seemed slightly askew. I think there are some holes (ho ho, no pun intended) in the plot, there's at least one place where I think information between the characters should have been passed more quickly, and there's at least one major loose end.
   So, if you see a copy of this book just lying around without an owner, I wouldn't dissuade you from reading it, but I wouldn't recommend buying a brand new copy.
add comment | read comments (0) 2011-04-10