![]() ![]() They each have something about them that isn’t what the reader might expect to find. The characters feel real partly because they are full of surprises. ![]() No belief-stretching twists, just a very complex set of relationships between some very unpleasant people that get revealed one step at a time. The plot emerges like a train out of night-time snow, growing bigger and more impressive as it gets clearer. ![]() ‘The Son’ is a great example of how to write a crime thriller. Although the ways in which the son wreaks his revenge are ingenious and violent, the main pull of the story comes from the slow reveal of the motivations of and relationship between the two main characters: the son seeking revenge and the almost ready to retire policeman hunting him. Jo Nesbø has produced something much more interesting than that. In lesser hands, this might be a Norwegian version of ‘Death Wish’, with the police scurrying to catch up with a vigilante while we cheer and watch him give the bad guys what they deserve. They’re a mix of violent criminals, corrupt members of the criminal justice system and Norway’s privileged elite who have placed themselves above the law. It’s a stand-alone novel about a son seeking revenge on the people who killed his father and abused him. Once I started it, I put aside the other books that I was reading and gave this all my attention. ‘The Son’ is a masterful piece of storytelling. ![]()
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