All her life Abbi has lived in the shadow of her sister Cleo. At sixteen Cleo was signed up by a modelling agency and became a famous and wealthy supermodel who moved out of the family's orbit into a life of glamour and excitement. Despite the fact she was careless in her contact with her parents, leaving all the care in their old age to Abbi, they continued to adore her and take Abbi for granted. It was ever thus.
Abbi has always yearned to reconnect with Cleo and to establish the old relationship they used to share when they were young and is delighted and surprised when she is invited to come and pay a visit. It soon transpires that Cleo, now trying to break back into the modelling world after her retirement, is having difficulty in achieving this aim, but while Abbi and Cleo's husband, Jon realise this, Cleo refuses to face up to reality. She jets off to New York and Abbi realised that far from wanting to become closer once more, Cleo is using her as a nanny to her rather pampered and spoiled children.
Left alone with Jon, Abbi begins to realise she feels more for him that she should and life starts to get very complicated indeed.
On the face of it, this would appear to be a 'chick-lit' type of book, but it is much more than that. Two sisters both stuck in their familiar roles, Abbi feeling that she has always been overshadowed and has underachieved all her life, Cleo having to realise that she can no longer rely on her beauty to get her through the rest of her life.
Read this in one sitting as the narrative just picks you up and carries you along and I appreciated the not so happy ending of the book. We look at it all through Abbi's eyes and we hope, like she does, that a rapprochement will take place and that Cleo will realise her true worth. Sadly, it is Cleo's selfishness and self absorption which causes the relationship to falter and Abbi realises she has to finally become her own person.
That last paragraph sounds like a blurb which you might find on the back of a paperback and sorry about that, but take my word for it, this is a good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Not a Harry Hole book which is a bit of a disappointment but still a Jo Nesbo and having discovered and read all of those available earlier in the year, I was delighted when this dropped through my letter box. Not sure when this book was originally published but I have a feeling it may have been one of his earlier ones and is now being released over here on the back of the success of the Hole books, The Snowman, The Leopard etc.
Roger Brown is wealthy and successful, he is the top man in his business which is headhunting. He has a gorgeous wife who he adores and he lives in a magnificent and bautiful house. However, thrre is a dark side to Roger - he has a criminal double life and steals works of art to fund this lifestyle.
Along comes Clas Greve, charismatic and charming not only the perfect candidate for a position with Roger's biggest client, but also the owner of one of the most sought after paintings in the world. OK so Roger decides this is THE heist, the one which will make him rich beyond avarice. He steals the painting and it is when he is on the premises that he makes a discovery which rocks his world and puts him in danger. Suddenly Clas is hunting him and Roger is on the run.
As this is Jo Nesbo you can guarantee lots of excitement and edge of seat moments, twists and turns and an ending which I did not expect. Very readable and filmic and I understand a film is to be made and by the company which produced the Swedish Wallander series which bodes well.
Much though I admired this book, I could not warm to Roger Brown as the hero. A small man (perhaps they should get Tom Cruise to play him....), he is aware of his lack of height and persona and tends to overcompensate for this by sometimes being just a tad too clever. In Harry Hole we have a flawed and vulnerable character who the reader can warm to. In the end, good though Headhunters is, I could not summon up any sympathetic feelings towards Roger at all which means, for me anyway, this book lacked a certain something.
But don't let that put you off - only my personal reaction and it IS good.
