Written by Jo Nesbø

Publisher: Aschehoug
Pages: 239
Genre: Thriller, Crime
Published: 2008-01-01
Original Language: Norwegian

Roger Brown is a corporate headhunter, and he’s a master of his profession. But one career simply can’t support his luxurious lifestyle and his wife’s fledgling art gallery. At an art opening one night he meets Clas Greve, who is not only the perfect candidate for a major CEO job, but also, perhaps, the answer to his financial woes: Greve just so happens to mention that he owns a priceless Peter Paul Rubens painting that’s been lost since World War II—and Roger Brown just so happens to dabble in art theft. But when he breaks into Greve’s apartment, he finds more than just the painting. And Clas Greve may turn out to be the worst thing that’s ever happened to Roger Brown.

Read from 2012-06-22 to 2012-06-25
Read in Norwegian
Rating: 4/5
Review: The English translation of this book, “Headhunters”, has been on the bestseller-lists in the UK for quite a while. Also, I wanted to read this book before watching the film of it. However, having read Nesbø before, and not quite liking it, I was a little sceptical. Fortunately I liked Hodejegerne better, perhaps partly because it doesn’t include Harry Hole, the recurring character in quite a few of the other books, and a character I never quite liked. Hodejegerne is very original, both in its story, and in the way the story unfolds. The thing that bothered me throughout the book was the fact that I just didn’t believe a lot of what was happening. At some point almost all of the main characters make choices which seem more than a little contrived. Still, this is a quick, rather fast-paced, sometimes genuinely thrilling, book. Worth a read.