The Son

A brand new thriller from #1 internationally bestselling crime author Jo Nesbo, which sees a charismatic young prisoner escaping jail to find out the truth about his father's death.
Sonny is a model prisoner. He listens to the confessions of other inmates at Oslo jail, and absolves them of their sins. Some people even whisper that Sonny is serving time for someone else: that he doesn't just listen, he confesses to their crimes. Inspector Simon Kefas is a dedicated police officer. Simon has worked for the Oslo police force for years. He's just been assigned a new murder investigation and a new partner, all on the same day. Both of them knew Sonny's father. To Sonny he was the man he idolised, to Kirk he was his best friend. Both were devastated when his corruption was revealed. But neither of them knew the truth.

JO NESBO is a musician, songwriter, economist and author. His first crime novel featuring Harry Hole was published in Norway in 1997 and was an instant hit, winning the Glass Key Award for best Nordic crime novel (an accolade shared with Peter Høeg, Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson). The author lives in Oslo, Norway.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:
1

Rover kept his eyes on the white-painted concrete floor in the eleven-square-metre prison cell. He bit down on the slightly too long gold front tooth in his lower jaw. He had reached the hardest part of his confession. The only sound in the cell was his nails scratching the madonna tattoo on his forearm. The boy sitting cross-legged on the bed opposite him had remained silent ever since Rover had entered. He had merely nodded and smiled his blissful Buddha smile, his gaze fixed at a point on Rover’s forehead. People called the boy Sonny and said that he had killed two people as a teenager, that his father had been a corrupt police officer and that Sonny had healing hands. It was hard to see if the boy was listening—his green eyes and most of his face were hidden behind his long, matted hair—but that didn’t matter. Rover just wanted his sins forgiven and to receive Sonny’s distinctive blessing so that tomorrow he could walk out of Staten Maximum Security Prison with the feeling of being a truly cleansed man. Not that Rover was religious, but it could do no harm when he intended to change, to give going straight a real try. Rover took a deep breath.