The Kingdom

If you are a fan of author Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series and are expecting the same type of read, The Kingdom will come as a surprise to you. To say that this is a dark book would be an understatement. At its heart, this is a story about two brothers, Roy and Carl, abuse, and the lengths one brother will go to in order to protect the other. As the plot unfolds and more light is shed on the motives of Roy and Carl, the reader is likely to find themselves uncertain of each man’s likeability. Carl’s wife, Shannon, is the wild card with goals of her own.

Coming in at just over 550 pages, this is a slow burn of a book where the characters’ backstories are revealed one layer at a time and often your suspicions are wrong. The Kingdom is a heavy read because Nesbo’s writing enables the reader to feel the regret, guilt, and burden of its main character. Full disclosure, the copy given for review was rough, which could have been the result of the translation. That being said, the pacing is uneven and there are several parts that could have been shortened or even omitted.

Readers who enjoy plots involving families and their long-buried secrets and who are not easily triggered by difficult content will enjoy The Kingdom.