The Redeemer

Christmas shoppers stop to hear a Salvation Army concert on an Oslo street. Suddenly a musician falls dead, shot at point-blank range. Hole--the police department's best investigator and worst civil servant--has no suspect, weapon, or motive. But his troubles have just begun: the assassin, quickly discovering that he shot the wrong man, becomes frantic in his search for his target. Hole's search is growing equally frantic, and he finds himself on a chase that leads into the darkest corners of the former Yugoslavia. But it's when he returns to Oslo that he encounters true darkness: among the homeless, the junkies, and the Salvationists, eagerly awaiting their savior--whether he brings new life or immediate death. With its shrewdly vertiginous narrative, acid-etched characters, and white-hot pace, The Redeemer is resounding proof of Jo Nesbø's standing among the best crime writers of our time. 

Christmas shoppers stop to hear a Salvation Army concert on a crowded Oslo street. A gunshot cuts through the music and the bitter cold: one of the singers falls dead, shot in the head at point-blank range. Harry Hole—the Oslo Police Department’s best investigator and worst civil servant—has little to work with: no suspect, no weapon, and no motive. But Harry’s troubles will multiply. As the search closes in, the killer becomes increasingly desperate, and Harry’s chase takes him to the most forbidden corners of the former Yugoslavia.

Yet it’s when he returns to Oslo that he encounters true darkness: among the homeless junkies and Salvationists, eagerly awaiting a savior to deliver them from misery—whether he brings new life or immediate death.

With its shrewdly vertiginous narrative, acid-etched characters, and white-hot pace, The Redeemer is resounding proof of Jo Nesbø’s standing as one of the best crime writers of our time.