The Next Stieg Larsson...?

Having seen the Swedish film version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I then picked up Larsson's book and went on to read the rest of the trilogy. I was impressed at his style, his story-line and his characterisation. However Larsson is just one among many talented Scandinavian authors who have gained success over here. The saddest part of this is that Larsson can sadly weave no more of his magic.

But to turn my attention to the man to whom the claim that titles this post has been attached. Mr Jo Nesbo. I have now, in the space of two days, read two of his books. They had come greatly recommended by my dad, who is, in my opinion, a pretty good judge of these things. I began with The Redbreast, but for the first third  I was sadly unimpressed.

There were elements of the story I was enjoying but I found that the interweaving strands were far from homogeneous. I battled through however, wanting to believe the claim on the front of the book, and my dad's endorsement. Sticking with it paid off however. The further through the book I got, the more the strands of the story-line began to interconnect and create a fuller picture and the more I began to like the characters. The final twist was also completely unexpected.

In the end it turned out to be a good book. Nesbo creates a wonderful cast of characters and in the end, once  all the jumping around made sense, I cleverly woven plot. Equally Nesbo's Oslo does not come across as grey as Larsson or Mankel's Sweden sometimes can. My expectations for the following book, Nemesis, was therefore high.

The plot, although interesting in parts, was far too over-complicated to be captivating the whole way through. After reading the book through to the end I found myself dissatisfied with the story and the writing style. The most interesting parts of the book were the developments Nesbo made with the characters he had introduced in the previous story, this kept me hooked enough to want to find out more.

I am now part way through the third Jo Nesbo book in my possession, The Redeemer. Although this does not chronologically follow on from Nemesis (I am missing one), the story is stronger and the characters continue to develop and mature. I seem to find myself enjoying his books more and more.

I have found Harry Hole to be a who is not as much of an outsider as he thinks he is. He has his flaws, but he is aware of them and has it within himself to be in control of them. He is also a likable character. He is not as morose and introverted as Morse, and not as depressive as Rebus or Wallander.

All in all Jo Nesbo is writing crime novels in a style that takes some getting used to, and has plots that are on occasion difficult to follow but he still produces books that are good to read. Not all are of equal strength but his talent is clear. As to his touting as the next Stieg Larsson... I think there's still only one of them!