“Striking in its simplicity… Nesbo is a writer at the top of his game who continues to amaze in new and confounding ways.”

 

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

The story is narrated by Olav, the baddie with a heart, he gives us plenty of insights into himself, most of them self-critical, he’s no good at driving inconspicuously, robberies, prostitution (he falls in love too easily).

He really doesn’t have a lot going for him, yet in the next breath he is quoting from Darwin and changing the story of Les Miserables, unreliable could be his middle name.

Olav does have one talent, he is a fixer. He fixes people: permanently. When his boss gives him the job of fixing his unfaithful wife, Olav’s problems really begin.

At 198 pages, with a huge font and double-spacing, this book is a short story/novella in the noir genre. Compared with the 500+ pages of his Harry Hole novels this comes as something of a surprise. It is well written and the story keeps the pages turning but you don’t get the layers and depth that you might expect from a Nesbo book. It is a straight-forward read, a one-trick-pony, but nevertheless an engaging read and the author does his usual good job bringing the protagonist to life and showing the gritty underbelly of the criminal world. I really enjoyed the ending.

If it’s a Harry Hole type book that you are looking for you will be disappointed but as a something different from the same author it’s ok.

 

Reviewed by:

Sandra Foy

Added 13th August 2015

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Sandra Foy