The Son, Jo Nesbo, 2014

Another hair-raising tale of violence and greed in 21^st Century Oslo.  The main story line is intriguing and well told.  The Son, is Sonny Lofthus, a heroin addict serving time in a maximum security prison for crimes he didn’t commit in exchange for heroin.  He’s also the son of an Oslo detective who allegedly killed himself to atone for being the mole for The Twin.  Both are the victim of a complicated mob action coordinated by The Twin whose trafficking, drugs, and swindles have kept Oslo in thrall to him for decades.  When Sonny learns that his father was executed by The Twin, he breaks out of the prison and begins a vendetta against The Twin and others who committed heinous crimes.   Simon Kefas is the Chief Inspector in Homicide and along with his new ‘student’ Kali Adel, he is drawn into The Son’s crimes.  As a former best friend of Sonny’s father, Kefas is a complicated character whose real story only emerges at the end.  There’s, of course, a love story woven into the plot as Martha, the ED of the druggie shelter to which Sonny goes after his breakout, falls for The Son and they ride off into the sunset at the end.  Good tale for summer reading.  Didn’t miss Hole much at all.  Adel may return; Kefas is dead.