Reviews

• “In his first short-story collection, Nesbø, author of the bestselling Harry Hole series, showcases the key ingredients that distinguish his novels: devilishly constructed plots in which the flashes of human feeling exhibited by deeply flawed characters are in continual danger of being snuffed out by the darkness within. So it is in these 12 stories, which track the soul-killing effects of either jealousy (the first seven stories) or power (the final five). Some, including the exceptional title story, about a Greek cop with a preternatural knack for detecting jealousy as a motive for murder, run to nearly novella length but never feel like undernourished novels in search of another 200 pages. Whether a story hinges on a shocking twist (the Hitchcockian chiller London), on a character’s gradual recognition of where his demons have led him (Trash), or on the world-building necessary to construct a post pandemic dystopia in which our most repressed hungers run rampant (Rat Island), Nesbø unveils his deeply unsettling revelations at the perfect tempo.”

• “The 12 tales in this impressive collection from bestseller Nesbø blend taut suspense with sharply limned characters. /…/ Frederick Forsyth fans will be enthralled.”

• “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. 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. /…/ At some point in the collection, Nesbø writes, “In fiction great narrative power is often vested in a single look. In a literary sense the convention helps the writer tell his story well, and sometimes to great effect.” I could not have encapsulated my thoughts about The Jealousy Man and Other Stories any better than this.”

• “A No. 1 New York Times best-selling author with an unparalleled capacity for freezing our blood, Nesbø offers a packed story collection. /…/ Be prepared; Hollywood has already grabbed three of these stories.”

• “Nesbø delivers stories ranging from dystopian visions to time-honored tales of duplicity and revenge. /…/ Nesbø is at his best in the long, wonderfully atmospheric title story, which shows off his gift for pulling one story out of another.”

• “As unremitting a work as any of the novels in the Hole series or last year’s well-received standalone thriller The Kingdom. /…/ Pure, sharp, classic Nesbø.”

• “Jo Nesbø is known the world over as a consummate mystery/thriller writer. Famed for his deft characterization, hair-raising suspense and shocking twists, Nesbø’s dexterity with the dark corners of the human heart is on full display in these inventive and enthralling stories. /…/ With Nesbø’s characteristic gift for outstanding atmosphere and gut-wrenching revelations, The Jealousy Man confirms that he is at the peak of his abilities.”

• “560 pages of chills inflicted by assortment of creeps /…/ Not for the faint of heart.”

• “A lethally entertaining collection of stories. /…/ Style and prose are in the vein of old-fashioned tales of destiny with a twisted end. Of the well-written kind, which was served with flair and elegy by Somerset Maugham and Stefan Zweig in the interwar period. /…/ In recent years, [Nesbø] has stepped away from his original blood bank and written books – such as The Jealousy Man – which shows that he is in every way one of the world’s most well-writing established crime writers.”

• “There’s hardly anyone who like Jo Nesbø is able to place powerful emotions, understated religious norms, and archetypal actors within the frameworks of a crime novel and turn it into something both skillful, relevant and suspenseful. With The Jealousy Man and Other Stories, the Norwegian author once again shows that he is in a league of his own. /…/ With his sharp pen, he transforms the seemingly banal and insignificant into important turning points in his tales of destiny, and with both humor and horror he portrays all and sundry, reason and reactions, society and contemporary time.”

• “Absolutely brilliant /…/ Suspenseful and well-written.”

• “Both the prose, the milieau depictions, and the build-up of the suspense are well-executed. /…/ This is unmistakably Nesbø. The same clear, concise prose and the same almost biblical primordial motifs that we remember from last year’s novel, The Kingdom.”

• “Nesbø in high form. Jo Nesbø’s stories in The Jealousy Man and Other Stories are well-observed, well-told, and excellent entertainment – with some emphasis. /…/ A humor that leans quite heavy towards the dark end of the spectrum. /…/ By mastering his pace, seeing his characters for who they are, and giving allowing himself room for minute milieau observions, Nesbø has written seven stories that all hold true.”