Blood Ties
A Novel
-
-
4.0 • 74 Ratings
-
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
From the modern master of Nordic suspense comes an explosive novel about a community in crisis and two brothers on the verge of losing everything they’ve worked so hard to achieve.
By all accounts, Carl and Roy Opgard are doing quite well for themselves. Or at least they’re doing as well as can be expected in a small town like Os. Carl manages the area’s swanky and successful spa and hotel, while Roy runs a nearby gas station and harbors grand plans to build it out into an entire amusement park, complete with a roller coaster. But when news breaks about a new highway to be built nearby, bypassing Os and leaving the town cutoff and isolated, it’s clear that something has to be done . . . even if the methods are bound to be dirty. Fortunately, Carl and Roy have experience with just that kind of work.
Meanwhile, the town sheriff has gotten his hands on new technology that will enable him to take a deeper look at a slate of unsolved murders from years past—including that of his own father. And just as the sheriff reopens his investigation, the death toll begins to climb. It’s like Roy says about his roller coaster: “Once it’s rolling, it’s too late to get off.”
Blood Ties is a tense, compulsively readable tour de force about loyalty, family ties, and love that is as destructive as it is powerful.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Nothing is black and white in this morally gray slice of high-stakes Nordic noir. That’s because of how the story’s two main characters—brothers Roy and Carl Opgard—became the most powerful men in the small Norwegian town of Os: through payoffs, extortion, and good old-fashioned murder. Even still, when forces threaten to quash their business empire (and expose their past homicides in the process), you can’t help but feel gripped by the rapid-fire barrage of decisions they’re faced with. And seriously, these two are far from good guys, especially the younger Carl, who flaunts his affair with a prominent married woman and struts around Os like an emperor. Scandi crime master Jo Nesbø’s taut pacing pulled us into all of Os’ dark and complex machinations. Whether or not you’re rooting for Carl and Roy, you’ll be along for this chilly, enthralling ride.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Brothers Roy and Carl Opgard return in bestseller Nesbø's immersive and disturbing sequel to The Kingdom. Shortly after the events of the previous novel, the Opgards have settled into promising careers in the sleepy Norwegian town of Os: older brother Roy, who narrates, runs an auto repair shop and convenience store with dreams of building the world's largest wooden roller coaster on the property, while Carl owns a luxury hotel and spa with grand plans for expansion across Norway. The brothers' ambitions are threatened when they learn a planned highway is going to be routed away from Os, taking tourist dollars with it. Determined to keep his and Carl's dreams in sight, Roy reverts to his old role as the pair's "enforcer," engaging in violent schemes to control the highway project. Meanwhile, sheriff Kurt Olsen uncovers new evidence linking the Opgard brothers to old crimes, and launches a campaign to take them down. Nesbø brilliantly plunges readers into the psyche of a charming killer, leavening the bloodshed with pop culture references and dashes of the lacerating humor that suffuses his Harry Hole series. The result is a chilling and darkly funny noir that will haunt readers long after the last page.
Customer Reviews
Nature vs Nurture
This takes awhile to get going but the wait is worth it. Very dark with a touch of hope. Recommended to Nordic Noir fans.
Imperial versus metric
I love Jo Nesbo. I recently discovered him and have read six of his novels.
This may be a bit picky, but I was disappointed to see his translation was an imperial units in that metric. It took the sense of Norway being a foreign country away from me.