Smart thriller another winner

The Kingdom

By Jo Nesbo, Penguin Random House, $37

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..

The ever-reliable Jo Nesbo once again produces the goods with The Kingdom.

Roy Norgard became his brother Carl’s guardian after their parents died suddenly when the boys were just teenagers. He stayed behind in the family farmhouse in an isolated Norwegian mountain village when his younger, more charismatic go-getter of a brother leaves to find his fame and fortune in the US and Canada.

Then he returns, the husband of a successful architect, with big plans for a spa hotel on the ancestral land. He sweeps Roy and the other villagers along in his enthusiasm, like a revivalist preacher gathering souls.

But of course below the surface reunion and brotherly love swirl dark secrets and family horrors that slowly emerge as the project continues and three very different people readjust their lives for each other under a roof that holds terrible memories for the two boys.

Nesbo is a puppet master, carefully crafting his characters so they peel open a little bit more with each chapter. Just when you think you understand Roy, you realise he is not the man you thought he was. Sometimes he comes into the light; pages later he’s plunged into the darkness. But Nesbo’s skill is that you are carried along with Roy regardless and you understand who he is and what he does. And when Roy faces his truth and the decisions that requires, you sympathise and maybe even agree with him.

Some thriller writers complicate and overexplain their characters to the extent that they overtake the plot; Nesbo’s characters are the plot. Each has a part to play and take their turn on centrestage. Some are there to reveal that crucial piece of information, some are the fulcrum upon which the plot turns: but each is essential, skilfully drawn and nuanced. You are in that village with them and making the decisions they make.

Nesbo is best known for his Harry Hole novels but The Kingdom is a stand-alone story that further reveals the author’s versatility. Arguably, the novel could have been set in any isolated community in the world, but Nesbo is careful to situate his work in Norway, referencing immigration connections between his home country and the US as well as passing nods to Norwegian politics. At its heart though, The Kingdom is a smart thriller — satisfaction guaranteed.