The Redeemer
Jo Nesbø, read by John Lee. Random House Audio, unabridged, 11 CDs, 14 hrs., $40 ISBN 978-0-307-91754-6
This sixth installment in Nesbø’s popular series finds Harry Hole, Oslo’s most successful and least collaborative police investigator, spending the Christmas season trying to unravel a knotty murder case while bemoaning the loss of a friendly superior and working around the demands of the strong-willed new boss. The novel alternates between Harry’s sleuthing and a Croatian assassin’s attempt to evade him long enough to escape the city. John Lee selects a properly surly and world-weary voice for Harry, and an accented, desperate one for the killer known as “the little redeemer.” Since the book travels through various strata of Oslo society and even includes a side trip to the former Yugoslavia, Lee is given ample opportunity to display a panoply of Norwegian and Croatian accents. He uses his own rich British accent to guide us smoothly through the novel’s descriptive passages. Since the author packs his fast-paced scenes with crucial details easily missed, Lee’s clear, crisp rendition is a blessing. However, several shifts between Harry’s sections and those of the little redeemer are so abrupt—narrated by that same well-modulated voice—it may take listeners a moment to realize whose story is being told. A Knopf hardcover. (May)
Details
Reviewed on: 07/29/2013
Genre: Audio
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-4450-0175-3
Compact Disc - 978-1-5247-0886-3
Compact Disc - 978-1-4450-0176-0
Hardcover - 576 pages - 978-0-09-954044-1
MP3 CD - 978-1-4450-0177-7
Other - 978-1-4450-1184-4
Other - 978-0-307-37427-1
Paperback - 512 pages - 978-0-307-74298-8
Paperback - 464 pages - 978-0-307-35572-0
Paperback - 687 pages - 978-0-8041-2108-8
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4676-5241-4