The fifth character
The fifth character (original title Marekors ) is a detective novel by the Norwegian author Jo Nesbø from 2006. It is the fifth part of the Harry Hole series.
action
After Harry Hole found out in Die Fährte that his colleague Tom Waaler was running a weapons smuggling ring in Oslo under the identity of the prince and had his then colleague Ellen killed, he took refuge in his alcohol addiction because he did not manage to commit Waaler to his crime to prove. His supervisor Møller is already preparing Harry's discharge papers when a young woman who has had a forefinger cut off is found murdered.
Harry Hole and his partner Beate Lønn are assigned to the investigation team headed by Tom Waaler. When more murders occur, Harry and Beate find, in addition to the severed finger, other similarities such as a small diamond they left behind and the meaning of the number 5 and the pentagram . The first likely perpetrator is the son of the person who lives in a house exactly on the missing geometric point of a pentagram over Oslo, Sven Sivertsen. Tom Waaler arrests Sivertsen, even if the present Beate Lønn cannot help the impression that Waaler would have preferred to shoot him.
After Tom Waaler finds out that Harry is investigating him, he tries to recruit him and points to Harry's pending discharge from the police force and his apparent alcoholism. As a loyalty test, he demands that Harry poison Sivertsen in prison. The poisoning is said to appear like suicide.
Based on Beate's description of Sivertsen's arrest, Harry suspects that Waaler wanted to remove another witness to his machinations. By means of a deception, Harry succeeds in getting Sivertsen to testify against Waaler, for whom he smuggled weapons for years. In return, Sivertsen convinces Harry of his innocence in relation to the current murder cases and is brought out of prison and hidden by him. Harry now has a new suspect to confront shortly after the fifth murder. After the perpetrator has committed suicide, Harry hopes that his life can be directed back to normal.
Tom Waaler, however, now fears that Harry could actually bring him down and kidnaps Oleg, the son of his friend Rakel Fauke, for whom Harry is a kind of surrogate father. At the meeting forced by Waaler, Harry can ultimately overpower Waaler and the latter is killed.
Then Harry asks Rakel to draw a line, since it is not the question of whether she can do it without him, but with him, probably referring to his work as a police officer and his alcoholism. After the case has been resolved and the secret identity of Waaler and an association of corrupt police officers have been discovered, the detective asks Harry to remain in the police force, saying that he will not sign the resignation.
expenditure
The Norwegian original edition was published in 2003 under the title Marekors by Verlag Aschehoug & Co ( ISBN 978-82-03-19413-9 ). The German edition was published in 2006 under the title The fifth character in Claassen-Verlag ( ISBN 978-3-546-00397-1 ) in translation by Günther Frauenlob. The translation was praised as "flawless".
In addition, two audio books from Hörbuch Hamburg (2006) and Audio Media (2011) as well as an e-book from Ullstein eBooks were published.
Reviews
“As ingeniously as Nesbö can construct his murders, the crime gourmet can once again lick his fingers. It is one of the best that has come to the German Crime Market this year, as the author can finally combine the current case and the old case, where Harry Hole is in danger of mentally breaking up, without being too fictitious to strive. Jo Nesbö presents earthy craft here. Although it should have been refuted by now and the Scandinavian crime thriller on the shelves of bookstores is on the decline (the next Wallander novel announced for 2007 may reverse this), the Norwegian Jo Nesbö is following the high-quality previous novels with his novel Das Fifth Sign an absolute highlight. "
“If you are tired of depressive types like Henning Mankell's commissioner Wallander, you will find Nesbø to be a sympathetic and, despite his alcohol problem, convincing hero with hypnotic appeal. The book is written so exciting and convincing that the reviewer accidentally poured his calming sage tea on the tabletop when refilling it because the text kept him captive. "
“The Norwegian Jo Nesbø is a master at building and maintaining tension. Is it because the man not only understands something about writing, but also about economics and music? "The fifth character", the fifth novel with Harry Hole, the investigator with more than one problem, is superbly written and flawlessly translated by Günther Frauenlob. [...] But it is not the bloodthirsty resolution of the case, but the author's language that haunts the reader and robs him of sleep. "
literature
- Jo Nesbø: The fifth character . Ullstein Hardcover, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-550-08013-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ DNB 977788695 Jo Nesbø - The fifth character - ISBN 978-35-46-00397-1 ]. Website of the German National Library . Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ↑ a b The dead without an index finger . Focus website . Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ↑ [ DNB 979711371 Jo Nesbø - The fifth character (sound carrier)], read by Heikko Deutschmann - ISBN 978-38-99-03258-1 . Website of the German National Library . Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ↑ [ DNB 1012863662 Jo Nesbø - The fifth character (sound carrier)], abridged reading by Heikko Deutschmann - ISBN 978-38-68-04654-0 . Website of the German National Library . Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ↑ [ DNB 1024695743 Jo Nesbø - The fifth character (electronic resource)] - ISBN 978-35-48-92016-0 . Website of the German National Library . Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ↑ Jo Nesbø: The fifth character . Website from Krimi-Couch.de . Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ Krimis Jo Nesbø: The fifth character . Website from Literaturzeitschrift.de . Retrieved February 4, 2014.