The Redeemer

Take one sociopathic serial killer with a curious (and useful) physiological anomaly. Add one occasionally antisocial, alcoholic, but invariably brilliant police detective and a beautiful woman, or several (some living), and you have The Redeemer, sixth in Joe Nesbø’s Harry Hole oeuvre. His 2013 novel about redemption of various sorts is at once a rollicking, satisfying detective story and a psychological thriller. Fully within the tradition of Scandinavian crime novels, Nesbø is seen by some as continuing the not-inconsequential legacy of Steig Larsson and others. The narrative is formulaic and not unpleasantly so; the book begins with a gruesome scene and is graced throughout by the appearance of gorgeous women who surround Harry Hole. Flawed detectives and criminals with one or more Achilles heels wend their way toward often surprising outcomes. Harry’s perennial (and largely successful) war against his alcoholism is well detailed, with echoes worthy of Malcolm Lowry’s description of alcoholism and craving in Under the Volcano.

With a nod toward overtly disclosed psychological explanations, character Ståle Aune is a psychologist who makes guest appearances in Nesbø’s stories. He is at once Harry’s therapist (and how many detectives might have well-regarded therapists?), his substance abuse counselor, and his supplier of psychodynamic profiles of the book’s protagonists and real or would-be killers. In this book Aune discusses with the detective narcissistic personality disorders as well as childhood trauma and loss. However, the book’s appeal to clinicians goes well beyond Aune’s clinical formulations and advice—witness some of the chapter headings: “The Disciple,” “The Resurrection,” “Guilt.”

A particularly noteworthy aspect of this novel is that it uses the Salvation Army (Norwegian version) as an unusual theater in which Nesbø’s characters pursue “salvation” and redemption. Many of the characters, epitomized by Harry, are themselves pursuing self-reclamation projects, although redemption in Nesbø’s treatment is a completely ambiguous concept. Insightfully, Nesbø hints at similarities between Harry’s personality and the personalities of his well-detailed sociopaths but who arguably, for Harry, are in service to his vaunted abilities to decipher crimes and his specialty of solving serial killings.

Let Joe Nesbø intrigue you with a novel with fully formed, complex portraits of alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder; with his diabolical literary sleight-of-hand, he renders them larger than life. If you like to indulge in Scandinavian crime novels with their clever and inventive sociopaths, intertwined romantic encounters, and bizarre murder schemes, you will enjoy The Redeemer and Nesbø’s other Harry Hole novels, although perhaps “enjoy” is not precisely the right word.