Headhunters [Format Kindle]

The word "headhunter" might conjure up images of violent death. But Roger Brown, the lead headhunter in Jo Nesbo's book, works for an Oslo employment agency that recommends candidates for top management positions. Big money is at stake. If a company hires someone Roger recommends, Roger gets a huge commission. Roger is highly skilled and shares his technique as he narrates the story.

Roger's wife, Diana, is beautiful and very demanding. She runs an art gallery that is losing money. Roger needs to supplement his headhunting pay. No, he does not start working on the side in a fast food joint. As we learn early on, he steals expensive works of art.

So, we have an intriguing storyline. We have excellent writing. Much of the writing is as good as it gets, strengthened by Nesbo's keen knowledge of human nature and sharp sense of humor. We come to know quite well Roger, Diana, and several other key characters.

The novel is full of surprises. Surprises about Diana. Turns out she has a very dangerous friend. At one point Roger finds himself in great peril. He has only seconds to hide. He hides in a most unusual place. Nesbo's description of this incident is, in my opinion, unforgettable. Sorry, no more clues.

It's all very clever indeed. This is the fifth gem by Nesbo that I have read and reviewed for this site. The only flaw I can find in this particular gem is that Nesbo may be a bit too clever sometimes, particularly as the conclusion approached. He nearly writes himself into a corner. Hopefully, you'll see exactly what I mean if you read this book.

Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo's latest novel is a stand-alone, not part of his Harry Hole series, and it provides yet another example of Nesbo's immense talent as a story-teller. Nesbo never "writes the same book twice." Even the five Harry Hole novels currently available in the U.S. are very different from each other. In this novel, Nesbo lets his darkest, most deadpan humor loose in a wild but beautifully constructed mystery in which the organization of the novel parallels textbook recommendations regarding interviewing and hiring candidates for executive positions - seemingly a straightforward process. Nesbo turns it all on its head, however. His "headhunter," Roger Brown is a loathsome human being, but he is as close to a "hero" as one gets in this page-turner. His powerful enemies are at least as clever, opportunistic, and amoral as he is.

By focusing on these characters, however, Nesbo frees himself from the limitations of the police procedural and can take his story in new directions, omitting the law entirely from almost all of the action, and creating a plot in which Roger Brown and his enemies play a game in which the "king of the chessboard" is the person who survives. Roger Brown has a side business, set up so cleverly that none of the other participants know who else is involved, a business which handsomely supplements his business income. As he interviews clients, Roger gains important personal information, including their artistic tastes and the nature of their investments in art. Then he cleverly arranges to have that artwork stolen from their homes and fenced. No one ever suspects him.

When he interviews a Dutch candidate for a major position in a corporation that makes sophisticated GPS devices, including some so tiny that they can be hidden in gels, he discovers that Clas Greve is his job candidate from hell, pushing back and eventually seizing the initiative. Soon every aspect of Roger's life is threatened, and no holds are barred. To go into much more detail would risk giving spoilers, but Nesbo is at his outrageous best here, allowing himself free rein to create a taut mystery with darkly hilarious complications which never stop coming, and coming, and coming. Creative killings and near misses inspire the reader to keep trying to figure out who is involved and how, but as soon as one "knows" how some betrayal took place, Nesbo twists the plot to show that the reader is wrong - yet again.

Adding to the pure fun and zany excitement are scenes which also evoke the reader's sympathies. Talented young executive Jeremias Lander, whose interview opens the novel, is manipulated by Roger Brown, illustrating some of the techniques headhunters use to guarantee that their candidates are ready for the jobs they want, even if they have to wait a while to get them. Roger's wife Diana, who once had an abortion that she didn't want, evokes sympathy as she deals constantly with the emotional aftereffects. Lotte, a "timid whelp, small and scruffy with fearful, brown puppy eyes," is used and discarded. Still, Nesbo's focus remains primarily on the plot and its twists, and his deadpan descriptions of outrageous (and truly unforgettable) scenes will keep readers smirking throughout, even as they are saying "E-e-w-w-w."

Note: All the proceeds from this novel will go to the Harry Hole Foundation, promoting literacy in the Third World. Already sold and developed as a film, this is the first Nesbo novel to hit the screen.

Nemesis: A Novel (Harry Hole)

Any doubt that Norway's Jo Nesbo is at the top of Scadinavian crime writers is put to rest with "Headhunters," an unusual bit of noir that starts campy - one begins to wonder where Nesbo is headed here - but finishes dark and gritty; a mystery of murder and violence with twists worthy of Hitchcock.

Setting aside Oslo homicide inspector Harry Hole and opting for a stand alone novel, in "Headhunters," Nesbo tells the story of Roger Brown, a self-centered, mildly obnoxious executive recruiter who is nonetheless at the top of his field of executive recruiting. Marrying over-his-head to a model-quality wife with an art gallery and a talent for spending money, the financially strapped Brown runs an art theft racket on the side to support their lavish lifestyle. When Brown is introduced to former special ops warrior Clas Greve, the perfect CEO candidate for a high profile technology corporation, a seemingly straightforward assignment spirals into a bloody page-turner packed with murder, intrigue, deceit and surprise.

Nesbo is the real deal. "Headhunters" is characteristic of lean plotting and enough atmospheric to set the tone - but not distract from the action. The premise is fresh; the absence of cops or private investigators refreshing. And as always, Nesbo paints a vivid cast; the oily Brown, his Barbie wife, the formidable Greve, and Ove Kjikerud, head of security and partner-in-crime for Brown's art thieving. If you haven't discovered Jo Nesbo yet - especially if you're bemoaning the passing of Stieg Larsson - now is the time to get acquainted.