A novel to pair with Nesbø's previous Blood on Snow, another quiet but tightly wound tale of a man on the run from retribution. The time is the 1970s. Ulf, a small time dope dealer in Oslo becomes --- unwillingly --- the "fixer" for the Fisherman, Oslo's drug kingpin. Which is a cruel joke of fate, because Ulf is not a killer, but he is hapless and much too frightened to tell the Fisherman the truth. And he needs money badly, a great deal of money, so he agrees and hopes for the best.
But when push comes to shove, Ulf can't close the deal. The first time he's told to kill a dealer who's gotten behind in his payments to the Fisherman, he lets the target get away in exchange for money. Ironically the money comes too late for his need.
When the Fisherman finds out he's been doublecrossed, Ulf runs, to the far north, to the Finnmark, where he meets a young woman and her curious son, and finds feelings he thought were dead coming back to haunt him.
But the Fisherman is still to be reckoned with; sooner or later, his hit men will find Ulf under the pitiless glare of the midnight sun. So this time can Ulf find redemption, or is this just another cruel joke played by that bastard hope?
As a young man Nesbø lived for a time in the Finnmark, and he captures the starkness of the land, the implacable light, and the harsh creed of the Læstadian church.
Click HERE for a review from the Los Angeles Times.
Click HERE for a review from the Washington Post.
Click HERE for a Youtube video of Jo Nesbø describing Midnight Sun.
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