I’ve been a Nesbo fan since I first read the Harry Hole series and I loved The Kingdom. So I was hoping Blood Ties would be one of those rare times a sequel can compete with its predecessor. And Nesbo proves yet again he can continue to write compelling stories revolving around the same characters just like he does with Harry.

I have the memory of a stoned goldfish and really didn’t remember much of The Kingdom. Nesbo said this can be read as a stand alone and I agree with that assessment, but I do think reading both works is beneficial to really understand the depths of the familial bonds and just what the Osgards will do to protect themselves. Blood Ties is MUCH more of a slow burn and doesn’t have much of a thriller component. There’s not a ton of action until the end, so if you’re expecting fast paced Harry Hole style drama, this isn’t it. It’s a slow burn with plenty of time spent on characterization and setting. Nesbo wants you to know these characters and understand why they are who they are. You come to know so many villagers of Os and get to witness their interactions and how everything is connected. As usual, Nesbo’s writing is accessible and compulsive. He doesn’t feel the need to over explain the plot and tends to let the reader make their own conclusions, which I loved.

Natalie, Roy and Erik were great and even some of the side characters who attempt to derail our protagonists were so relatable you can’t help but appreciate them (Kurt, for one). While I can’t really relate to the whole blood is thicker than water with my own upbringing, the bond between Roy and Carl is remarkably deep.

This was a great read. I wouldn’t class it as a thriller as it’s more of dark literary fiction where we get to see familial bonds being stretched to their breaking points. I’ll read anything Nesbo writes, and I’d love for him to continue the standalone stories. It’s nice getting to see a different side of Norway and seeing its inhabitants and Nesbo can write just about any genre.

I have heard good things about this author so I was excited when I got the opportunity to read this. I could only make through a third of the way before I had to DNF. It was so boring to me. I won’t be leaving a review on Goodreads as I didn’t finish it.

Unfortunately this was another DNF for me at about 40% due to the plot being quite slow for the parts that I read. The story kept hinting at the fact that they were killers and would hopefully pick up but I felt for the time I gave it, all they did was whine about property values and randomly talk about roller coasters and music.

pretty good thriller and super awesome writing althougha t points i found the characterization a little weak. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

As much as I love Nesbo, I wasn’t a fan of the first entry in this series. “Too much introspection, too many feelings” I thought. I don’t know if I was just in a bad mood back then, if this sequel is much better, or if I know the characters now, so I don’t mind listening to Roy’s internal monologues, but I enjoyed Blood Ties so much more. Things haven’t changed too much in Os, other than a highway tunnel is scheduled to bypass the town entirely, making all the previous efforts of the Opgards useless. Roy won’t take it lying down, so he scares and schemes to prevent it. The plot is full of twists and I was suffering over Roy’s fate. The sheriff is finally getting close to a conviction and, at some point I thought that said sheriff is the good guy, the Harry Hole in this story and why, oh why did I want the criminal to get away with literal murder? This is the power of Nesbo’s words, how me makes the reader care for his characters, regardless of their morality. The good guys are flawed and the baddies have redeeming qualities that are impossible to overlook. Doesn’t hurt that the plot is perfect… tiny, unimportant details in the first few chapters become vital in the end. Despite not loving the first book, I still remembered enough to put together what was going on, and Roy recaps pertinent details to remind readers without being repetitive. If anything, he integrates the background into the new story to enrich the plot. The one thing I didn’t love was the ick factor of the love interest (my hubby is considerably older than me, so it's not something that usually bothers me but Roy knew this woman as a teen, hence the “ick”). So, if I would be giving this book 4.5, I’m rounding them up, as penance for my previous rating. Nesbo is in top form!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor.

No one does a Book of Murder quite like Nesbø!! Spoiler alert... Fratricide Included!!

I did not have the good fortune to read Kongeriket, #1, but Nesbø filled in the backstory a reader would need.

Murders aside, this is a FUN read! There is mystery. There is romance. There is bribery!

I really did not want to like either of the Opgard brothers... however, one very much grew on me! And yes, I spent much of the novel rooting for Roy (despite his murdering tendencies!)

Thanks to Netgalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this advanced digital copy of the book. It will be published February 11, 2025.

I had no idea when I requested this from NetGalley that it was the second book in a series (The Kingdom). Thankfully Blood Ties could be read as a standalone book. But after the second chapter I went back and read some reviews of The Kingdom to get a sense of what I was missing and found Chapter 3 summarized the first book.

The book moves at a fast pace. Jo Nesbø writes without nonsense or fluff, the story is straight to the point and doesn’t include a lot of grandiose description of the people or the town; just basic information. Each character is unique, so even though there are many, it’s easy to keep track of who is who. Unfortunately I didn’t think the main character Roy or his brother Carl were very compelling. While the book moves quickly, it’s rather dry. No one is necessarily likable and each time it seemed Roy was in over his head, he was able to immediately come up with an easy solution. He didn’t have to work terribly hard to get out of a jam, so his circumstances turned predicable.

The book is categorized as a mystery/thriller but because Roy never seems to face real consequences or at least doesn’t sit in his mistakes long enough for the reader to get nervous for him, I’d reclassify this as just fiction. There wasn’t a mystery and the story wasn’t thrilling. I’d rather continue reading Nesbø’s Harry Hole series than The Kingdom.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nesbo again delivers a dark and twisted thriller with, as always, a lot of murders and blood. I enjoy Nesbo’s books but this one was slow moving and at times a little boring. Thanks for the advanced copy.

Blood Ties by Jo Nesbo is a suspenseful thriller that follows the Opgard brothers, Carl and Roy, who have built an empire of success in the small town of Os, albeit through ruthless and often violent means. As Sheriff Kurt Olsen closes in on the brothers, suspecting their involvement in a string of unsolved murders, including his own father's, the Opgards find their carefully constructed world crumbling around them. With a rising body count and a web of deceit and betrayal, Blood Ties will leave you shocked and on the edge of your seat as the homicidal Opgard brothers unleash mayhem and death in their hometown of Os.

Firstly, I would like to that NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I’ve been a fan of Jo Nesbo since his novels first were translated into English. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that this new effort did not involve Harry and his quirky ways with his well known sixth sense for solving crimes.

Blood Ties is just that; it centers around the very complicated and tragic lives of two brothers in a small town. They certainly have a past and their future doesn’t look much better either until a complicated series of events.

While Nesbo’s writing is always top notch, I found the story boring at times. Had this been any other author, I probably would have put it a side unfinished but soldiered on to complete it.

Here’s to the next Harry Hole novel!

Blood Ties by Jo Nesbo is a very highly recommended chilling and suspenseful Nordic noir/crime fiction and the sequel to 2020's The Kingdom. This can be read as a standalone but reading the first book in the series does add more to the complex back story. Robert Ferguson is the translator.

Brothers Carl and Roy Opgard are on their way to being moguls in the small Norwegian town of Os. Carl (mis)manages the area’s successful spa and hotel and has plans to expand while Roy owns an auto repair shop and convenience store. Roy plans to get financing to buy land and open an amusement park with the world’s largest wooden roller coaster and Carl also wants money to finance his plans. Threatening their success is a new highway to be built nearby, bypassing Os and taking tourist dollars away from them.

Roy must shrewdly (and violently) handle the situation and find a way to prevent the bypass from happening. At the same time Sheriff Kurt Olsen is determined to present new evidence linking the Opgard brothers to old crimes. Adding to the complexities is the return of Natalie Moe, who Roy rescued years ago as a teenager. Natalie is now in charge of marketing for the spa and showing an interest in Roy, which is mutual.

The slow-burning start helps set up the various schemes and plans the Opgard brothers have and also serves as a way to establish the character's role and history in their relationship. There are a lot of moving parts in the plot. There is no doubt that Roy is a killer and can resort to violence, but he is one with his own deliberate standards. His role is to be the enforcer for any plans he and Carl have. As the older brother he feels it is his job to protect Carl. This care isn't always reciprocated. The second half of the novel picks up the pace and the complexities, keeping you glued to the pages.

As expected the writing is excellent, capturing the atmosphere while portraying various characters as unique individuals. The brothers are connected by blood, as the title refers to, and Roy takes this burden on as his most important role. Carl abusing this tie to his benefit. Roy must confront the question how far does loyalty and family ties go. Those who read and enjoyed The Kingdom will definitely want to read Blood Ties.
Thanks to Knopf Doubleday for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

This was the first book I read from this author. It was a rather slow paced mystery. Twists and turns kept the reader interested. This is a book which I would recommend to others who enjoy a good mystery.

A small town is faced with a financial crisis when a rerouted highway threatens to doom its existence. Two brothers, owners of the town’s most lucrative businesses and with a history of shady dealings, try to control the outcome and save the town.

A good portion of the beginning is very slow as the author is setting up all of the disasters to come and introducing the characters. Despite the really bad stuff they do, they are not unlovable, maybe just barely likable. I admit that I didn’t look forward to picking up this novel each evening. It was violent and difficult to really care a whole lot about these brothers. But it was expertly plotted and executed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alfred A Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

I did not realize this was part of a series and have not read the first book. I will come back and rate once I have read both.

First of all let me say that I am a Jo Nesbo fan and that I have enjoyed many of the Harry Hole novels and a number of the stand-alone books he's written. That said, this book was difficult for me. I had anticipated digging in and spending time with this one, but I admit struggling through the first half of the book trying to get interested, then finally the last half of the book became more interesting and kept my attention more. I didn't care for the characters nor the plot. Maybe it's because I failed to read the first book in this Kongeriket series, but I don't think I will pick it up. I think some people may enjoy reading about these criminals, but it wasn't for me.

Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Nesbo returns to Os in this follow-up to The Kingdom, and as before this slow-burn thriller balances incredible atmosphere with a dark violence that is held barely beneath the skin. There is no need to have read the first novel, it is literally summarized in this book for the new readers, and yet this novel does serve as a type of emotional catharsis to those who have read the first.

Nesbo has great skill with characters and world-building. Every character in this story simultaneously feels like a small-town archetype and also incredibly robust, relatable, understood character. This balance or mixture of identities and personalities is a proven and winning formula, but nothing about these characters feels formulaic. It is easy to feel invested in these characters, the main character as well as many of the ancillary characters, because they feel easy and genuine, not forced or simply convenient for plot purposes. Similarly, you are really transported to this small town, and how it is a place of hopes and ambitions that may always be bigger than the thousand people that comprise its population. The setting and atmosphere go a long way in making all of the characters make sense, and really elevate the story. The writing, too, is compulsive and easily readable. It is straight forward prose, but playful and a little sneaky when it has to be. Nesbo does hide things from the reader but never anything too dramatic nor for a long time, the story is littered with little reveals that are usually set up just before, though we does manage to weave in some pay-offs across the duration of the story. Even though the prose is relatively direct he does play with metaphor a bit, not just in terms of word choice but also on a thematic level. Having a dyslexic main character that loves classical literature does give him some room to play, and Nesbo enjoys that room without ever feeling anything but comfortable, and maybe darkly contemplative, once in a while.

The plotting of this story did hold me back from loving it, a bit. A lot of the story is not much more than bureaucratic maneuvering, the characters trying to nudge the right dominoes in place. This is shot through with intermittent moments of violence and emotional/traumatic revelations, but it is still a lot of planning… Plus, there is a lot of repetition for those who have read The Kingdom. The backstory is presented in a different way, without the same emotional intimacy, but that robs returning readers of some of the emotional reveals. The second half of the book did pick up, as more obstacles started appearing, not everything going to plan, but it took a while to get there. Even appreciating the slow-burn nature of this small-town story, it does, ultimately, feel very small. Yes, there are some grander ideas the reader can take away, about what a good life looks like, how regret and family and trauma and ambition all mix together, and what roles a weary forgiveness and compassion might have as you try to secure the best possible future for yourself and your loved ones. But the stakes are always, actually, remarkably small. Yes, they may involve a whole town and more than a few dead bodies, but still, there is no attempt at conquering the world, here. This simultaneously works for me and also doesn’t. It works because it makes the story have a feeling of being grounded, of being realistic. We all have ourselves at the center of our universes, so what seem like explosively high stakes to one person may very well be trivial in any sort of bigger picture. This really does shape the vibe of the story in a useful way. Yet it also means that the structural ground work of the first half is just kind of slow to get through. The characters may have big dreams or may be petty and vindictive, but either way they are small, and seeing all the legwork for their schemes isn’t always super captivating. If the first half was a little tighter, and had a little more propulsive pacing, then this scope would be nothing but helpful to the experience; as it is, it is a little mixed.

Still, this is a fun thriller. The writing and characters and atmosphere alone are enough to keep you captivated. There aren’t any monumental surprises, but it also doesn’t feel cozy, flat, or phoned in. It does summarize the entire first book but never feels expository, so while stealing some emotional revelations from the returning reader it never feels boring, and it works well to let anyone pick up this novel and fall right into it, regardless of having read the first or not. If you appreciate the Scandinavian thriller vibe, the slow-simmer that only occasionally boils over while fighting off the dark and cold, where the tension is real but also somewhat limited in just how explosive it is, with consequences intimately affecting a handful of folks in a small town but not much else, there is a good amount of fun you will find in this story.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Knopf, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Brothers Carl and Roy Omar’s are the pillars of O’s. Carl is the head CEO of O’s Spa and hotel and Roy plans on building an amusement park on an old campground site, but first the brothers must convince the transportation planners to rig their report stopping a tunnel being built through a local mountain cutting off the main road to O’s. Meanwhile the town sheriff is investigating the murders of his father and the brother’ s parents. What the sheriff discovers cast a line straight to Carl and Roy, but can he prove it?

Jo Nesbo, the incomparable Norwegian crime writer, has done it again. While not part of the popular Harry Hole series, this book should still prove popular with Nesbo’s many fans. It is the complicated story of the Opgard brothers, Roy and Carl, who live in the small town of Os. Carl runs a hotel and spa and Roy owns a gas station and a bar. They have bigger ambitions, though: Roy wants to buy land adjoining his brother’s hotel in order to build an amusement park. There are obstacles in the way, mainly in the form of a tunnel that may be built through a nearby mountain, thus diverting traffic from Os and the brothers’ livelihoods. To say that these siblings don’t let much stand in their way, including each other, is an understatement. There have several questionable deaths over the years that the local sheriff would very much like to pin on them, because one of them was his father. The twists, turns, and machinations are both violent and touching. Roy’s relationship with his brother is both. His newfound relationship with a young woman he helped save from sexual abuse is touching and in typical Nesbo fashion, leaves the reader conflicted about all of them. This is a satisfyingly dark crime thriller from one of the best.

Nesbo’s books always have action, crime, and entertainment - Blood Ties certainly fits that list. Add some romance, deception, arrogance, music plus Norwegian culture and this book is an interesting and at times disturbing concoction. Possible triggers - incest, drugs, murders.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the opportunity to read this ARC.

3.5 stars

This book is the sequel to The Kingdom, about brothers Roy and Carl Opgard, who live in a Norwegian mountain town called Os.

Older brother Roy has always been the 'fixer' of the siblings, and over the years, Roy has taken care of Carl's mistakes; protected Carl from enemies; and committed and covered up murders on Carl's behalf. Carl relies on Roy, expecting to be rescued no matter what. As young men, the siblings took different paths: Carl went to America to study business, and Roy became the manager of a gas station in Os.

After fifteen years, Carl returned to Os with plans for a luxury resort. Much has happened since then, and now that the Opgard siblings are approaching middle age, Carl is the CEO of a five-star hotel, spa, ski resort complex. Roy has become successful as well, and he owns the gas station, the Meiergård apartment building, and the Fritt Fall bar. In addition, Roy has plans to build a roller coaster and amusement park in Os.

To attract more guests to his luxury hotel, Carl has hired Natalie Moe to be head of marketing. Natalie grew up in Os, went away to school, and is now back. Roy helped Natalie escape an abusive home when she was a pale skinny frightened adolescent, and Natalie has returned as a confident beautiful woman who catches Roy's eye.

Though things seem to be going well for the Opgard brothers, they have a problem. The Norwegian Roads Administration wants to build a tunnel through the city of Todde, to replace the road that runs through Os. Should this happen, Carl's resort hotel and Roy's amusement park will be toast. A company called GeoData is assessing the feasibility of the tunnel, and Roy offers a bribe to the surveyors, to say the tunnel isn't viable.

The Opgards have other concerns as well. Carl has mismanaged hotel funds, and needs a loan to cover the resort's running costs; and Roy needs a loan to pay the bribes to GeoData, and to finance his amusement park. The bank manager, Asle Vendelbo, is skeptical about lending the money, and Roy has to provide some incentive.

In the midst of all this, Carl and Roy's past homicides are on the verge of exposure. The brothers' method of committing (or covering up) murder was to send a car hurtling off a dangerous curve into a deep narrow valley. The victims' deaths were attributed to accidents, and the cars were left in the ravine. The Highways Department is now building a crash barrier, and will winch the cars up first, making them available for forensic examination. Sheriff Kurt Olsen is convinced the Opgards killed his father, and is sure KRIPOS (The National Criminal Investigation Service) will find the evidence. This could well send the Opgard brothers to prison.

It's hard to empathize with either brother, but Roy at least has the excuse of blood ties, because to him, family trumps money, power and glory. Carl, on the other hand, who thinks of himself as the 'King of Os,' is self-centered, arrogant, and smug.

For instance, Carl's office, on the third floor of his hotel, is extremely impractical, given that all the administration takes place on the ground floor; moreover, Carl's office occupies what could have been the second-best suite in the hotel, with a view of the mountains that matched the one from the Bridal Suite. Carl has also been having a blatant, long-term affair with Mari, the wife of newspaper editor Dan Krane. Everyone knows Carl fathered Mari's third child, and though the Cranes remain married, Dan is a broken man. Roy notes, "I had started to feel sorry for [Dan]. Gone were the firm strides, the straight back, and those inspired editorials in the newspaper, their place taken now by a head one saw a little too often bent to a morning glass of beer at Fritt Fall, and badly written editorials.

As the narrative develops, there's double-dealing, threats, and additional murders. Fans of Nordic suspense won't want to miss The Kingdom and Blood Ties.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jo Nesbo, and Knopf for a copy of Blood Ties.