Jo Nesbø's Blog

The Hanging Sun, a Sky Original film adaptation of Jo’s novel Midnight Sun, will close the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 10th September.

The story follows hitman Jon, who is on the run after betraying Oslo’s biggest crime lord: the Fisherman.

Fleeing to an isolated corner of Norway so far north that the sun never sets, Jon hopes to find sanctuary hiding out in a shepherd’s cabin in the wilderness.

But the midnight sun is slowly driving Jon to insanity.

And then he discovers that the Fisherman’s men are getting closer…

Directed by Francesco Carrozzini and written by Stefano Bises, stars Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey), Peter Mullan (Westworld) and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and will air on Sky Cinema later this year.

Buy the book or read an extract of Midnight Sun here

The post Midnight Sun to be adapted into film The Hanging Sun appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

We’re very excited to announce a new book coming from Jo Autumn 2021! The Jealousy Man and Other Stories is a powerful and chilling collection of crime stories showcasing all the thriller-writing genius that has made Jo Nesbo one of the world’s favourite crime writers.

Filled with dark intrigue, twists and unforgettable characters, these page-turners will have you reading late into the night.

Order your copy now!

The post Dark and twisted new crime stories from Jo Nesbo appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

With The Kingdom publication just around the corner, we’re giving you the chance to win one of five hardback copies of Jo’s gripping new standalone thriller, signed by the man himself.

The Kingdom tells the story of two brothers, one who travels the world in search of his fortune and one who stays behind, and a homecoming that turns deadly, bringing long-buried family secrets to the surface. Read an extract of The Kingdom here.

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FREE PRIZE DRAW TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

By entering this free prize draw, you agree to accept and be bound by these terms and conditions. All entry instructions form part of the terms & conditions of this prize draw.
This free prize draw is open to anyone aged 18 or over who is a resident of the UK, except for employees of The Random House Group Limited (promoter), its subsidiary companies, their families and any other company connected with the prize draw.
Entries must be received by Wednesday 16 September 2020 at 23:59 GMT. Entries that are illegible, incomplete, corrupted or which fail to be received by the closing date for any reason, will not be counted. The promoter is not responsible for entries delayed or lost in the post. Automatically generated entries or entries via agents or third parties are invalid and shall not be counted.
Only one entry per person. No entrant may win more than one prize. To enter fill in your details on the online form found at http://jonesbo.com/win-a-signed-copy-of-the-kingdom/. All correctly completed entries will be entered into a prize draw which will take place on Thursday 17 September. The first five entries drawn at random by an independent person will be the winners.
The prizes are 5 x 1 signed hardback copy of The Kingdom by Jo Nesbo (prize) and must be taken before 1 October 2020. The prize is non-transferrable and no cash alternative will be offered.
Events may occur which render the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the promoter and the promoter may, at its absolute discretion, vary, amend, suspend or withdraw the prize with or without notice.
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The post Win! One of five signed hardback copies of THE KINGDOM appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

Join Jo for a major online event on 17th September 2020 to celebrate the publication of The Kingdom.

Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to hear Jo discuss his unusual path into writing, his career so far and his brand new standalone thriller, a dark, atmospheric story about two brothers and a homecoming that turns deadly. Attendees will also have the rare opportunity ask Jo the questions you’ve always wanted to ask.

The event, which will take place Thursday 17 September at 7pm (GMT), is presented by Penguin Live in partnership with Bloody Scotland.

Tickets are now on sale here

The post Put your questions to Jo Nesbo! appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

 

Ahead of the publication of his new standalone thriller The Kingdom we sat down with Jo to find out all about his latest book. 

How would you describe the plot of The Kingdom if you had to do so in just one or two sentences?

Two brothers with a dark family secret meet again at the farm where they grew up. The younger brother have a grand plan that he promises will make everybody in the village rich, while the older brother – who has fallen helplessly in love with his sister-in-law – does his best to hide what really happened years ago.

What inspired your new book?

Life, fiction, dreams and music.

Who are the key players in this story? Could you introduce us The Kingdom’s protagonists?

Roy is the narrator and older brother that stayed at the farm after his and Carl’s parents died. He is now in his thirties and is running the gas station. He is a down to earth man of few words and no close friends, but he is well liked and respected for the way he is running his business. He is single, has had two long affairs with married women, but the only woman he’s been in love with was his younger brother’s ex-girlfriend.

Carl is a charming, socially clever and smart guy who has returned with his wife Shannon from Canada. He wants to build a hotel in the village. He is received as a savior but nobody knows he is fleeing from a financial scandal.

Shannon is a strong, talented and sensible woman, an architect whose ambition is to build her masterpiece in the dramatic scenery of the highlands in rural Norway.

The Kingdom is a story that delves into family dynamics and the relationship between brothers. Why did you choose to this focus for your new book?

I’m sure having grown up with two brothers has something to do with it. There is this bond of loyalty that is so strong, and in this story that bond is tested to the extreme. So it’s the eternal question: given a moral dilemma, where you have the competing voices of your heart and your brain, what do you chose? What would YOU have chosen if you were one of the three characters?

The Kingdom is a story set in a very small, rural town. How does this small-town setting contribute to the story? Are there differences between writing a crime story set in a city versus a crime story set in a rural community?

When you have a story set in a confined space, where there is a distinct inside and outside universe, it creates a context in which the reader expects you to give them the main variables of the inside universe. The contract, I feel, is that there can be no new, surprising information or characters in the inside universe just entering the scene after the first act.

Unlike your previous novel, Knife, The Kingdom is a standalone crime novel. How does writing a standalone story differ from writing a series installment?

The arc of the story is different. There is no past you can’t change and no future you have to think of. Apart from that I write about the same things: love, murder, loyalty, greed, morality, lust and the fear of dying.

What are you most excited for readers to discover in this book?

Hopefully the landscape and mentality of this Norwegian hillbilly country will be as fascinating for the readers as it has been for me.

The Kingdom is out in hardback, ebook and audiobook September 2020, find out more here

The post Jo Nesbo on The Kingdom appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

Set in a small town filled with secrets, The Kingdom is the gripping new standalone thriller from Jo Nesbo, coming in September 2020.

In the mountains of Norway a man lives a peaceful existence. One day his younger brother, always the more successful and charming of the two, arrives for a visit…

 

 

Order your copy now!

The post Jo Nesbo returns with his new thriller The Kingdom appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

Can’t wait to start reading Jo’s dark, atmospheric new thriller?

You’re in luck, as there’s an exclusive extended extract available as a free ebook which you can download right now!

>>> DOWNLOAD THE FREE EBOOK HERE

The Kingdom tells the story of two brothers, one who travels the world in search of his fortune and one who stays behind, and a homecoming that turns deadly, bringing long-buried family secrets to the surface.

 

 

The post Start reading The Kingdom now! appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

The phenomenal twelfth instalment in Jo Nesbo’s internationally bestselling crime fiction series has arrived!

After the shocking conclusion of worldwide bestseller THE THIRST, KNIFE opens with Harry in a bad place: Rakel has left him, he’s working cold cases and notorious rapist and murderer Svein Finne is back on the streets.

Harry is responsible for the many years Finne spent in prison but now he’s free and ready to pick up where he left off.

When Harry wakes up with blood on his hands, and no memory of what he did the night before, he knows things are only going to get worse . . .

READ AN EXTRACT           ORDER YOUR COPY

 

 

Watch Jo discussing his most ‘brutal’ Harry Hole novel yet…

 

The post Harry Hole returns in KNIFE! appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

Long-time narrator of the Harry Hole audiobooks Sean Barrett on why he loves Jo Nesbo’s bestselling crime series.

I first encountered Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole in February 2010. A maverick but brilliant detective with a drink problem, and a difficult relationship with the woman he loves. So, what’s new?

Well, this guy was somehow different: interesting, witty, likeable. Plus he dealt with some pretty hair-raising homicide cases. That first book I narrated was The Snowman. I remember coming out of the studio in an Oxford Business Park where we’d been recording – the last ones to leave the building. I was about to make my way to the station to catch my train back to London, but my producer Catherine asked me to hang on until she’d set the alarm and locked up; she didn’t want to be left on her own to do it. That’s the effect The Snowman was having on her. So I gallantly waited while she put the alarm on and turned the key. Then she hopped on her bike and pedalled furiously off into the night, leaving me to make my way down to the dimly lit river towpath. And just a little further on the lights of a pub beckoned. But, unlike Harry, I did not go in.

That level of suspense has continued through to the twelfth Harry Hole book, Knife, recorded in London, where the river Thames is wider and everything is brightly lit. But the book is as alarming as ever. Harry has sobered up, his personal life sorted out, he wears a suit, lectures at the Police College, but of course it can’t stay that way. Not with a title like Knife.  It’s brilliant, with one massive surprise near the end, but I should say no more about that…

The other thing I love about the series is that, between books one and twelve, are the locations. Harry occasionally leaves the police and travels to the Far East, and the first book in the series, The Bat, is set in Australia where Harry has been seconded to assist the local force in hunting down a serial killer. In this book, apart from the perpetrator, sharks play a part – not something Harry has to deal with in Norway! But wherever Harry has gone, for this reader and thousands of others, the journey has been enthralling. I don’t know what the future holds in store, will there be a (lucky) Book 13?

Knife, the phenomenal twelfth instalment in the Harry Hole series, is out now.

Listen to clips of Sean Barrett reading Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series below

 

 

The post Sean Barrett on being the voice of Harry Hole appeared first on Jo Nesbo.

KNIFE, the twelfth instalment in Jo Nesbo’s bestselling series featuring troubled Oslo detective Harry Hole, will be published in Summer 2019.

After the dramatic conclusion of worldwide bestseller THE THIRST, KNIFE sees Harry waking up with a ferocious hangover, his hands and clothes covered in blood.

Not only is Harry about to come face to face with an old, deadly foe, but with his darkest personal challenge yet.

Jo Nesbo will be launching his new Harry Hole thriller with a special UK event at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2019.

FIND OUT MORE

 

The post Harry Hole will return in 2019 appeared first on Jo Nesbo.