Bought at a Torquay charity shop

Review from Literary Flits http://litflits.blogspot.co.uk

I am sure I have never read any Jo Nesbo books before, but this Scandinavian crime novel felt very familiar throughout. It has an alcoholic lead detective emotionally tortured by actions in his past, an inexperienced but brilliant sidekick, a bizarre serial crime for them to solve, a trip to the other side of the world for no great reason and, of course, our detective has a close personal attachment to the crime. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Nesbo is certainly a competent crime writer and I liked his evocation of Oslo life, especially in respect to the city's frequently miserable climate, but for me this novel felt too formulaic. I thought most of the characters didn't have the believability of, say, the Martin Beck creations, and the plot line seemed to become more outlandish by the minute! As an escapist read, Nemesis did keep me occupied for a couple of afternoons, but my high expectations were ultimately disappointed.

On the book table