Beginning by explaining to English speakers how to pronounce his name, the runaway bestseller tells John Mullan the secrets of his grisly crime stories' success.
The Redbreast involves a series of murders connected to those Norwegians who fought for the Germans in the second world war. Nesbø explains how he found inspiration in his own family history, having discovered that his father had chosen Hitler over Stalin during the war.
Although associated with so-called "Scandi-" crime fiction, Nesbø says that his writing has its roots elsewhere, in the Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett books he read while growing up. Telling stories about a maverick detective is not really about policing, he suggests, but about a setting where you can provide conflict in every scene.
Reading list
The Redbreast by Jo Nesbø (Vintage)
