An expertly plotted, compelling and gripping white-knuckle ride… Nesbo deserves to be crowned the king of all crime thriller writers

A cat-and-mouse chase between a young prisoner and a troubled detective, this is a tense, violent and hugely absorbing walk on the murky side of Oslo

Nesbo never fails to deliver a cracking narrative – and this is one of his best

An excellent novelist… Nesbo paints an intricate, disturbing picture of rampant corruption within prison and the police service… The strong action is tempered by tenderness

Gripping from start to finish

Fast-paced and imaginatively violent, this latest example of Nesbo’s Nordic noir hurtles like an express train towards a last act of almost operatic extravagance that leaves dead bodies and carefully nurtured reputations littering the stage. Great stuff altogether

[Nesbo’s] trademark twists and turns

Whereas Headhunters, the first of Nesbø’s novels not to feature Harry Hole, was a ruthlessly linear chase story, The Son is far more complex and sophisticated. The characterisation is deeper and more detailed… which only adds to the sense of life-and-death drama.

Nesbo has crafted a book that’s engaging, entertaining and surprising, with the kind of plot twists any crime writer would be proud of… It’s an excellent whodunnit, with enough twists and turns to keep even the most experienced of crime fans guessing right up to the end

The Son creates a brand new anti-hero, an avenging angel of sorts whose destiny is driven by righting perceived wrongs with a bloody and bullet-riddled path through the criminal underworld