The Son

September 1, 2014
At the beginning of this standalone from Nesbø—the reigning master of the Norwegian crime thriller, best known for his Harry Hole series (Police, etc.)—Sonny Lofthus is serving time in a maximum-security prison for crimes he didn’t commit, in exchange for a never-ending supply of heroin from his jailors. Sonny became an addict as a teen, after his father, Ab, a corrupt cop, apparently committed suicide. When a fellow inmate raises questions about Ab’s death, Sonny devises an ingenious escape plan and exacts revenge upon those responsible for his father’s downfall. On his trail is Simon Kefas, an aging cop and close friend of Ab’s, and the Twin, a shadowy gangster who traffics in underage Belorussian girls. The book is set in Oslo, which, seen through Nesbø’s eyes, is a cesspool of corruption, drug addiction, and general depravity. Jackson turns in a solid performance, guiding the reader through the tangle of multisyllabic Norwegian names while delivering on the plot’s many twists and turns. He uses an array of British accents to differentiate the large cast of characters. Jackson’s one misstep is the voice chosen for Sonny: it sounds hollow and awkward, almost Bullwinklesque. Fortunately this doesn’t slow the story down (Sonny being the laconic type), and the effect seems less jarring as the novel progresses. A Knopf hardcover.

Starred review from March 24, 2014
This excellent standalone from Nesbø, best known for his Harry Hole series (Police, etc.), centers on Sonny Lofthus (aka the Son), who’s serving a sentence at Oslo’s Staten Maximum Security Prison for two murders to which he confessed but which he did not commit. Sonny began using drugs before his incarceration, after his police officer father, Ab, hanged himself, leaving a note in which Ab confessed to having been a dirty cop. To manipulate Sonny, prison officials, lawyers, and police enable Sonny’s habit. When another inmate, Johannes Halden, who’s dying of cancer, begs for Sonny’s forgiveness after admitting a role in framing Ab and making his murder look like suicide, Sonny stops taking drugs and later escapes from prison with Johannes’s help. He launches a killing spree targeting those he suspects of having destroyed his father—in particular, a gangster known as the Twin, who controls a criminal enterprise encompassing human trafficking, drugs, and money laundering. A love affair between Sonny and Martha Lian, director of a center for drug addicts where Sonny stays, adds another exciting dynamic. Nesbø takes the reader on a chilling ride with many unexpected twists. 150,000-copy announced first printing. Author tour. Agent: Niclas Salomonsson, Salomonsson Agency (Sweden).