Reviews

Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø

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parmy's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

joyousreads132's review against another edition

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3.0

Jo Nesbø's follow up to his Blood on Snow noir series is what you would expect from his other novels. It features a mostly competent assassin on the run from his former employer. An assassin who has had one reason or another for the life of crime from whom he was trying to escape. The Fisherman from the first book is what ties these two books together. But there's very little difference from Olav and Jon as both characters were reluctant assassins in one way or another.

HUNTING SEASON

Jon found himself on the run after he failed to deliver on his last assignment. And if there's one thing he's sure of about the Fisherman, is that he always finds what he's after. In the remote northern town of Kåsund, he hopes to find sanctuary among a devout group of people. But he knows that peace is only temporary. Especially if money and drugs were involved.

There, he meets Lea and Knut; a mother and son townsfolk with whom he'd developed a kinship. He would later find out that Lea's husband was lost at sea, and that they've lived a difficult life all through their existence. And with very little fanfare, he falls in love with Lea. He knew he shouldn't entertain the thought of having a life after everything that's happened. And with the Fisherman still gunning for his life, he couldn't give Lea and Knut a future they both deserved.

TAMED PULP FICTION

This book is less deserving of the Scandinavian-noir tag being thrown around when one hears the name, Jo Nesbø. It was even-tempered and surprisingly romantic, which is a bit unusual for the genre, to be honest. The gore, which is characteristic of Nesbø's books, came at the bitter end. Disappointing as it felt like an addendum more than anything. Regardless of how I felt about this instalment, I still consider Nesbø as my go-to whenever I'm in the mood for crime fiction.

joeri81's review against another edition

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3.0

As with his previous book (Blood on Snow), this is again a very short book to Nesbo standards; only 240 pages in a large print. It's a nice read, perfectly for a quick read in between larger series, but as "Blood on Snow" this isn't Nesbo's best work.

The writing is good as usual, and there's nothing wrong with the characters or the story, but it just doesn't provide the depth of Nesbo's usual work. This doesn't mean I didn't like it. It's again a fast paced story with a very good main character: Jon Hansen. Jon is a 'fixer' who is unable to 'fix' anyone and who's on the run for the biggest crime lord of Oslo. To escape The Fisherman, he seeks refuge in the most northern point of Norway. Unfortunately for him, The Fisherman always finds what he's looking for...
Some love intermingles in all of this as well. I'm not overly fond on love stories, but it didn't bother me a bit in this novel. I thought it was worked out nicely.

Again a decent read from Nesbo, but I hope his next book will be more like his earlier work and will have some more body to it.
Rating: 7/10