If Cain and Abel were Norwegians... Reviewing Jo Nesbø's BLOOD TIES

Everyone’s familiar with the saying, “blood is thicker than water”... but is it, really?

Norwegian suspense author Jo Nesbø puts that idea to the test in his latest tale, Blood Ties (giving big-time Cain-&-Abel energy).

 

 

One thing you can count on, living in a really small town? That everyone else knows your business. 

Your family. Your history. Everything you ever did. Basically, all the dirt.

 If your family’s respected (and respectable), you’ve got a lot to live up to... but your fellow townsfolk probably give you the benefit of the doubt if one of you does something to raise eyebrows.

 

But if your family’s always been a little bit “off”, well... the town doesn’t cut you as much slack.

 

Brothers Carl and Roy Opgard grew up in tiny Os, moved away for a spell, then made their ways back... and made good, in middle-age. 

 

Carl manages the town’s biggest draw—the chic Os Spa and Hotel—and has grand plans for expansion (including the mansion he’s building for himself). Roy, meanwhile, owns a gas station and a few other business properties... and wants to build an amusement park is Os, with the largest wooden roller coaster in the world.

 

Turns out, though, that some of the backstory for how Carl and Roy achieved—and hope to continue to achieve—their successes is... murky. As in, not-at-all-entirely-above-board.

 

And the town sheriff, who’s long harbored a serious dislike for—and distrust of— both brothers, is dead set on using the latest technology to dig into a string of unsolved murders, disappearances, and otherwise-uncertain events... all of which he’s convinced can be laid at the feet of the brothers Opgard.

 

There couldn’t be a worse time for things to come to a head... when Roy has finally met someone who makes him really, really happy. 

 

And, when both Roy and Carl have all those grand plans for the future of Os--ones that don't necessarily jive with each other's visions of the future, well. That's a problem.

 

Only one thing’s for sure: there are gonna be more bodies for the sheriff to wonder about...

 

 

So, first I’ve gotta say that it took me a minute to get into Blood Ties. (And I’ve read Nesbø before, so was familiar with his style.)

 

The biggest problem? I just didn’t connect with Roy. He’s... well, he’s quite a character... not that easy to identify with, or frankly, to even like. (He’s 100 times more likable than brother Carl, though, so at least that’s something...)

 

That kind of held true for most of the characters, actually. 

 

I knew if I could hold on long enough to find my hook—the thing that grabs you and makes you care (about someone, or something)?— I’d be fine... and eventually it happened. 

 

I got hooked... and needed to find out how everything all panned out.

 

And in the end, Blood Ties gave me the ending I “hoped” for (-ish)...

 

Final Thoughts...

Blood Ties is masterfully-written, offering an engrossing look at life in very-small-town Norway (which translates to plenty of other small-town places, as well), plus an interesting look at sibling rivalry. 

 

But you need to have a really open mind about your “hero” character(s) with this one... because in Blood Ties? The “heroes” have lost a good 90-percent of their ideals and capes, before the story even starts...

 

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. ;)

~GlamKitty

 

[My sincere thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, and Vintage, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.]