The Kingdom: A novel
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A tense and atmospheric thriller about two brothers, one small town, and a lifetime of dark secrets, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Cockroaches.
“I read The Kingdom and couldn’t put it down…. Suspenseful … original … special in every way.”—Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fairy Tale
Roy and Carl, brothers from a small mountain town, have spent their whole lives hiding from the darkness in their pasts—Roy by staying put and staying quiet, and Carl by running far away. Roy believed his little brother was gone for good. But Carl has big plans for his hometown. And when he returns with a mysterious new wife and a business opportunity that seems too good to be true, simmering tensions begin to surface and unexplained deaths in the town’s past come under new scrutiny. Soon powerful players set their sights on taking the brothers down by exposing their role in the town’s sordid history. But Roy and Carl are survivors, and no strangers to violence. As the town’s long-buried past begins to surface, Roy will be forced to choose between his own flesh and blood and a future he had never dared to believe possible.
From the Publisher
ASIN : B08478T2CK
Publisher : Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : November 10, 2020
Language : English
File size : 3.5 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 540 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0525655428
Page Flip : Enabled
Book 1 of 2 : Kingdom
Best Sellers Rank: #124,307 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #2,800 in Crime Thrillers (Kindle Store) #4,266 in Suspense Thrillers #6,538 in Suspense (Kindle Store)
Customer Reviews: 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (15,261) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
$1,550.17
M Prywes –
Deliciously dark.
Norwegian mystery – horror author Jo Nesbo recently published a new novel, The Kingdom. Reading it filled me with a delicious and twisted sense of anticipation, like unfolding the silver foil wrapping of a fine but unhealthy chocolate. This feeling built my empathy for the generic mystery reader. This novel seems written to please a seemingly sweet but ever-so-slightly murderous old lady.This novel should bore us because it’s built of commonplace themes. The setting is an isolated village in an infertile valley in the mountains far to the north of Oslo. The landscape is dark and cold, with just six weeks of summer. The inhabitants have had years to cumulate conflict and resentment. Most feel isolated, some depressed. Their original sin is usually infidelity or incest, committed out of boredom and loneliness and lust, fueled by alcohol, and driven by the devil.This reminded me of Annie Proulx’s novel The Shipping News, about Newfoundland. The themes could have been drawn from several well-known Scandinavian mystery writers. What makes The Kingdom gripping is its execution by a master. Nesbo writes with restraint: his sentences are bare, with a minimum of adjectives, and they’re simple, without complicating structures. The resulting style is clear, practically transparent. Complications occur when Nesbo wants to mystify us; that’s a hint that Nesbo’s planning a surprise twist in the plot.The story is about love between two brothers. The harsh physical environment and sinful history batter them and degrade their characters. Nesbo administers doses of evil into the plot slowly, in parsimonious doses. As ugly truths emerge, the plot starts its forward cascade, building momentum.I can’t reveal the end of a murder mystery. The New York Times reviewer wrote that he was disappointed by the conclusion. Not me. At the end of the novel, I found myself emotionally entangled, moved, mournful, and deliciously pleased.The stage is littered with bodies by the time the curtain comes down. Does Nesbo treat tragic fate as entertainment? He would be in good company. That tradition dates back to Shakespeare and even to the Greeks.Maybe there’s another reading. Nesbo’s vision of Norway is strange but believable. It’s a progressive country which upholds democracy, but Nesbo’s town halls are jammed with opportunists and petty tyrants. Norway prides itself on it’s socialist style of solidarity, it imposes towering tax rates to fund generous public services and social insurance. Yet Nesbo’s stories are about vicious selfishness and exploitation. The country is proud of its high standard of gender equity, yet Nesbo’s novels feature criminals with a compulsive and violent hatred for women. Maybe Nesbo’s Norway is a superficially just country where the truth hides in its criminal life.
Kathy –
Twisted and Icy: A Dark Ride
After reading some of the reviews for this book, I was a little dubious about the purchase of this book in hardback. However, Joe Nesbo is one of my favorite authors, and I didn’t want to wait for the paperback version. So…. I risked it.As in some of the “Harry Hole” series books, it takes a little patience in building the background. This novel was a longer read to get into the real drama of the story.I admit that I was hoping for another “Harry” thriller, so early on it didn’t make me want to take it up a read it constantly.Yet, as the narrator, storyteller, “Roy” wends his tale through family, small town, and both’s many secrets, you become comfortable with your idea of how the story will play out. Don’t.Nesbo in his usual fascinating style takes you through the story like a stalker and doubles back on the trail time and time again. Things are never what they seem.It’s not Harry Hole, but why does it have to be? It’s a change, but it’s unique, a hall of mirrors. Nesbo can’t be beat for thriller. And, this book is very good despite its slow start.Don’t judge it too soon. It starts off slow like an old Cadillac, but it’s takes you where you need to go and back.
Drwo –
Unique Nesbo
This is unlike any other Jo Nesbo novel. The Kingdom is dark, complex and anguished, without a light moment ; full of obsession, family loyalty, love, abuse, cheating, and, of course, death. And lots of it.Two brothers, Roy and Carl, share guilty secrets, one of which has tied Roy to living with gossip and disdain as he lives alone in the family’s beaten down home and works in a service station not far from the family land, a kingdom of barren mountain acreage with neither livestock nor crops. His younger, more clever and handsome brother, Carl, conned himself into a scholarship right out of high school and moved to Minnesota, then Toronto and 17 years pass when Carl suddenly returns home with a bride, Shannon.Carl comes with a scheme to build a hotel on the family land and, because he has the gift of salesmanship, manages to involve the entire local population in his dream of property development. And, because Carl is the younger, more glib and better education brother, he manages to talk his more practical brother into going along with his schemes.Shannon, for reasons which become clear, encourages Carl in his inflated dreams and when the past comes calling or plans go wrong, Roy, as always, comes to Carl’s rescue. Roy’s guilt is at the center of this book and it is that guilt which compels him to go to any extreme to protect Carl. When Shannon enters the equation, the balance is upset and the book enters into new territory, upsetting preconceived ideas and splitting Roy’s loyalties.This is a difficult book to review as it is exhausting, demoralizing, bleak and long but so well written and brilliantly conceived that not reading it would be ignoring what is surely the best of Nesbo. I read it in two consecutive nights and was completely absorbed in the horror of it.
Buzz Covington –
Not a fan of this one.
I am such a fan of Jo Nesbo’s writing that I hate to give this book such a low rating. But Jesus, this one was dark, creepy and twisted. I think a book should have someone to root for, but there were no redeeming traits in ANY of these characters.
becca –
Not a Harry Hole novel.
As an avid fan of Jo Nesbo novels I thought this would be a Harry Hole Novel. I did enjoy The Kingdom however, as the bodies and the cars continued to grow, I found it hard to believe the police were so easily outwitted by Roy who was more clever and more sinister than most of the population of Oz. His troubled boyhood and the family’s “secrets” surly damaged both Roy and his younger weak brother. And the end results precluded a different ending.The book was quite long and I did hold out for a happier ending! Jo Nesbo is a master story teller and I look forward to his next novel.
David Thompson –
A must for all Nesbo fans
RICHARD-NICOLS François –
More than just a thriller!We are catapulted into a not so nice Norwegian little town. Not really like on postcards…Both intricate and easy to follow. Many interesting short remarks on people’s attitudes.NESBO is a genius.
Prah –
better than last NESBO NOVEL.ENJOYED THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
Peter W. Smith –
Having become accustomed to the enigmatic Harry Hole we were curious about a Nesbo book in which he was absent. No worries! Nesbo has proven himself to be a master story teller and a very gifted writer. The plot development in The Kingdom is extraordinary and keeps the reader in suspense, even though there may be enough foreshadowing of events to give some hint of what is to come. Nesbo has created a new cast of characters and he has done his usual masterful job of making them come to life in a vivid, real fashion. We recommend this book to anyone who desires a wonderful read!
skady –
Como amante de la novela negra, tengo la teoría de que existen dos clases de escritores. Por un lado estan los que usan un lenguaje simplón para narrar historias trepidantes de las que lo único que interesa es saber el final. Venden libros como churros pero su nivel literario es mediocre (o peor).Después están los buenos. Son capaces de generar tramas que enganchan, pero a la vez idear personajes multidimensionales, usar un lenguaje más allá de lo básico, crear atmósferas inusuales y dotar a sus libros de cierta profundidad. A Jo Nesbo lo pongo en el segundo grupo.”El reino” es muestra de ello. No es una novela de misterio al uso… ni siquiera diría que es una novela de misterio. Sí, en algún momento hay un secreto, pero se resuelve hacia la mitad del libro. Pero lo que sí hay es un clima inquietante, un personaje del que es imposible no enamorarse, a pesar de todos sus defectos (muchos) y una historia que se desarrolla lentamente y que nunca sabes hacia dónde te va a llevar.Este libro no se trata de descubrir a un asesino, ni descifrar un código que salvará a la humanidad ni de perseguir a ningún psicópata. Se trata de meterse en la mente de un hombre al que acabamos conociendo muy de cerca, de entender su vida y sus decisiones, de conocer su historia más íntima (cuyo centro es la relación con su hermano) y de darnos cuenta de que todos podemos tener un lado oscuro. “El reino” plantea muchos dilemas y nos obliga a reconocer que, ante ciertas circustancias, nuestra brújula moral quizá no sería tan rígida como pensamos.No es una novela de misterio para los aficionados a las novelas de misterio. Es un libro misterioso para los amantes de la literatura. Y no lo puedes dejar de leer. Creo que Roy se quedará conmigo por algún tiempo.