She said. As though it was one of her father’s subsidiary companies and not a marriage she was talking about. Naturally, I had been much too proud to even look at her list. Too hurt to take anything at all from the overgrown villa in Vinderen where we had shared both the good and – the way I remembered it – the very few bad days. I straighten the liquorice wrapper between my fingers. ‘Lakris – lakrits – lakrids’ it says. Danish and Swedish as well as Norwegian. Easy to understand anyway. It’s good when neighbours speak almost the same language. The officer looks as though he might be preparing a response, a long and complex response that’s going to require a lot of thought. I continue.

Kudos, Mr. Nesbø, for a great collection. While I am eager to see more Harry Hole, I enjoyed this piece quite a bit. We were the perfect Twist couple, Simone and I,’ I say, and halfway expect the officer to raise one eyebrow and give me a puzzled look. ‘I’m not thinking of the dance but the chocolate,’ I explain. The officer evidently doesn’t have a sense of humour. ‘I like liquorice and nougat and I hate banana creams. As it happens she loved the banana creams. You know, the ones with the yellow-and-green wrapping. Oh yes, of course, you’ve already . . . If ever we had guests I had to take them all out before I put the dish out, so she could have them herself the next day.’ We loved each other, officer. We more than loved each other. We were the air each other breathed, we kept each other alive, do you understand? No, of course, why should you?’

Customer reviews

The officer has slumped deeper into the armchair. Not surprising really; so far I’ve said nothing of interest to the investigation. But he shows no sign of wanting to stop me either. Each of these stories could be a primer in the seven deadly sins, as it seems Nesbø focuses on a different one in each tale. He divides the pieces into different subcategories, and you will understand why once you read them all." I counted on you arresting Henrik Bakke as soon as you had the results of the autopsy. I presumed it would be an easy matter to work out that the cyanide came from the chocolates that Bakke had indisputably brought into the house.

In “London,” the standout first story in “Part One – Jealousy,” we have a mental showdown between two characters who are found aboard a plane together. A man and a woman are seated on the flight, not by accident, and I had to grin when one of them refers to the Patricia Highsmith classic, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. One claims to be petrified of flying, while the other confesses to hoping the plane crashes because they want to die. Are we being victimized by an unreliable narrator, or is something entirely different going on? The dialogue is so razor-sharp that you simply will not have time to think too deeply about the characters. You just want to find out if they both make it to London alive. Jo Nesbø is one of my favourite authors and the quality of his writing is apparent in many of these but not all in my opinion. I definitely prefer his full length novels all of which I highly rate. However, this is very different collection with some unusual plots and so if you enjoy short stories then you may like this. You’re thinking she wasn’t the type to take her own life. And you’re absolutely right. Don’t ask me how, officer, but I know she was murdered.’ Jo Nesbø is one of the most talented writers working today. His mostly Norwegian-based mysteries and thrillers are top-notch. He has proven his ability to succeed with the terrific Harry Hole series, as well as stand-alone novels like THE KINGDOM and HEADHUNTERS, which are modern-day classics. So I was more than a little intrigued to read his first collection of short stories, THE JEALOUSY MAN. Cigarras fue mi favorito entre todos, este era más cifi que otra cosa, mezclaba la idea de mundos paralelos, celos y un poder relacionado más a la inteligencia. Me encantó, disfruté mucho el cómo se dio todo y que detesté a un personaje, pero para el final igual tuvo un arco de redención corto pero interesante. Antídoto estuvo bien, predecible y la verdad es que no me llamó mucho la atención, aunque sí me gustó el final. Caballo negro también me gustó mucho, vuelve a una sociedad post apocalíptica con nuevas reglas sociales, pero que se parece a la nuestra. Una historia interesante sobre asesinos con distintos códigos morales y cómo la astucia puede ser superior a la maldad.

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Simon Vance (one of my all-time favorite narrators) read London, the opening tale that was truly captivating and held my attention, and Odd. Quotes from London: "then you smiled, just a tiny wavelet on a slushy puddle," and René "Girard's [mimetic] theory is that beyond satisfying our basic needs we don't know what it is we want, so we mimic our surroundings, we value what other people value..." Nesbo nos trae varios cuentos, unos cortos y otros no tanto, que tienen como eje central los celos y el poder, sobre todo los celos masculinos. Y lo hace con la puesta en escena y los elementos de la novela negra, de la que sin duda es gran maestro. Historias para disfrutar y para reflexionar, incluso a veces verse reflejado en los sentimientos de los personajes y acabar preguntándote si, por miserable que sea lo que sucede, tu no hubieras hecho lo mismo....

This is a book containing 12 short stories. Part 1 is seven shorts about jealousy. Part 2 is five shorts about power. Before my review I've listed the twelve short stories in the book and given them a rating between 1-5. Balli knows this because he has lived through the jealousy cycle: disbelief, despair, rage, self-contempt and, finally, depression. He discusses a particular situation in which a woman he loved put him through this and believes she made him what he has become in his professional life --- the self-proclaimed Jealousy Man. The case, in Balli’s mind, comes down to the twin brothers battling over a woman. He maintains that the rage of jealousy is like love; it’s a madness that can make people do things they normally would never dream of doing. This architect, Henrik Bakke, I don’t know how she met him. She always said she met him after I moved out, and at first I believed her. But friends have told me how naive I was, pointing out that the guy moved in almost immediately. Before my side of the bed was even cold, as one of my friends put it. And yet, officer – and I know this may sound strange – it’s actually a sort of comfort to know that it was her feelings for someone else that ruined everything for us. That what Simone and I had wasn’t the kind of thing that just burns itself out of its own accord. That it took love to conquer love.’ Druga priča po redu, već spomenuti Stručnjak za ljubomoru, prava je mini detektivska priča, priča o zločinu iz strasti i nevjerojatno domišljatom načinu da se on prikrije. Nije baš tipična whodunnit priča, jer akteri ove priče puno toga skrivaju ispod površine, tj. nitko nije baš onakav kakvim se doima. Zaplet je donekle predvidiv, ali način na koji priča završava ipak iskače iz uobičajenih narativnih okvira. U ovoj priči ima najviše pripovijedanja, najviše detalja, zbog čega je i njena radnja najsporija u odnosu na ostale, ali ne mogu reći da mi nije bila zanimljiva. Mislim da bi se upravo ova priča najviše mogla svidjeti svima onima koji su u ovoj zbirci očekivali nešto nalik na uobičajenog Nesbøa.A veritable crime lover’s delight from a true master of mystery and suspense. Experience the #1 New York Times best-selling author as never before in this dark and thrilling short story collection that takes us on a journey of twisted minds and vengeful hearts. Maybe it was a bit hasty of me to just give up everything like that. After all, she was a wealthy young woman, good for fourteen million, whereas I am a debt-ridden photographer with a little too much faith in his own business skills. Simone supported my idea of starting my own studio along with six other photographers. If not financially then at least morally.