Book review: Nesbø’s bloody and brilliant page-turner

Jo Nesbø is determined to hold onto his title as the most successful Norwegian author of all time, and his latest novel, Blood Ties shows he’s not slowing down. 

A man of many talents, a professional football player and lead singer of a pop-rock band, to perhaps the most impressive achievement of all: Sitting comfortably in the ranks of the bestselling crime fiction ranks worldwide.

Set in the small Arctic town of Os, Norway, Blood Ties does not just ask the question of how far you would go for your family. 

Brothers Carl and Roy Opgard have clawed their way to the top of the hierarchy in Os, one bloody handprint at a time. 

With no small amount of bodies and sour memories left in their wake, they are content to reap the benefits of their wrongdoings and live in unrivalled comfort.

That is until the local sheriff, Kurt Olsen, begins to stick his nose where it most definitely does not belong: The Opgards’ past. 

However, you do not mess with the two most powerful murderers in Norway without matters getting a little messy…

The book, while told from the perspective of elder brother Roy Opgard, interrogates the meaning of family and takes a close look at the adage that blood runs thicker than water. 

Does being a close-knit family trump loyalty towards others or at the end of the day is it every man for himself?

“It’s strange how someone you’ve lived with so intimately for so many years can suddenly look like a stranger to you. You think it must be the light, or that you’re tired, that this is your kid brother, someone who can’t hide anything at all from you. Before remembering that you don’t even have complete insight into your own self.”

Containing many through lines and multiple interconnecting plots, at no point does the almost 500-page tome grow wearisome or lacklustre. It does the opposite, with each page revealing yet another gruesome truth or shocking twist.

While Nesbø’s writing skills are at home in the thrilling crime fiction genre, a moment has to be spared for his descriptive prose. 

Unfortunately, it can be easily missed as the reader eagerly races through the pages to discover what fate has befallen their favourite character.

He describes a rural part of Norway in October, and its bitter chill, beautifully, from its mountainous peaks to winding country roads.

Alongside scenic views, Nesbø accurately captures the quaint aspects of small-town life, more specifically the amusing characters that call Os home. 

By the novel’s end you will be longing for an additional hundred pages centred wholly on their gossip and charming attributes.

“God, how beautiful it was, with the heather glowing in autumnal reds up in the mountains, and the sky high and blue.”

With this latest novel Nesbø has accomplished something that is quite difficult. He has managed to write a book that is, at its core, a sequel to his 2020 bestseller The Kingdom, which was praised by the legendary Stephen King himself but which at the same time functions excellently as a standalone read.

Naturally, you do not want to dive into this duology backwards, as Blood Ties does include spoilers for the previous instalment, but it sums up the past events with just as much gusto and skill as the original.

Rest assured, at no point will you feel lost during this thrilling Scandinavian tale.