The Son cover art

The Son

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

The Son

By: Jo Nesbo, Charlotte Barslund - translator
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £10.34

Buy Now for £10.34

SONNY’S ON THE RUN

Sonny is a model prisoner. He listens to the confessions of other inmates, and absolves them of their sins.

HE’S BEEN LIED TO HIS WHOLE LIFE

But then one prisoner’s confession changes everything. He knows something about Sonny’s disgraced father.

SONNY WANTS REVENGE

He needs to break out of prison and make those responsible pay for their crimes.

WHATEVER THE COST

 Crime Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense World Literature Fiction Crime Exciting
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

An expertly plotted, compelling and gripping white-knuckle ride… Nesbo deserves to be crowned the king of all crime thriller writers
A cat-and-mouse chase between a young prisoner and a troubled detective, this is a tense, violent and hugely absorbing walk on the murky side of Oslo
Nesbo never fails to deliver a cracking narrative – and this is one of his best
An excellent novelist... Nesbo paints an intricate, disturbing picture of rampant corruption within prison and the police service... The strong action is tempered by tenderness (Marcel Berlins)
Gripping from start to finish (John Williams)
Fast-paced and imaginatively violent, this latest example of Nesbo's Nordic noir hurtles like an express train towards a last act of almost operatic extravagance that leaves dead bodies and carefully nurtured reputations littering the stage. Great stuff altogether (Myles McWeeney)
[Nesbo's] trademark twists and turns (Joan Smith)
Whereas Headhunters, the first of Nesbø's novels not to feature Harry Hole, was a ruthlessly linear chase story, The Son is far more complex and sophisticated. The characterisation is deeper and more detailed... which only adds to the sense of life-and-death drama.
Nesbo has crafted a book that's engaging, entertaining and surprising, with the kind of plot twists any crime writer would be proud of... It's an excellent whodunnit, with enough twists and turns to keep even the most experienced of crime fans guessing right up to the end
The Son creates a brand new anti-hero, an avenging angel of sorts whose destiny is driven by righting perceived wrongs with a bloody and bullet-riddled path through the criminal underworld
All stars
Most relevant
I'm a big fan of Scandic Noir and have now listened to all of the Henning Mankell and Jo Nesbo detective stories, as well as various others. Whilst Mankell and Nesbo are, in my opinion, way out in front of all the rest, Jo Nesbo is easily the best. To begin with, I missed Harry Hole, who does not feature in The Son, but this is nonetheless a superbly well crafted story; every bit as good as Nesbo's previous works, completely 'unputdownable' and Sean Barrett's narration is, as always, superb. Thoroughly recommended, and, roll on, the next one!

Wow!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you listen to The Son again? Why?

I love Jo Nesbo and his writing style. I do listen to his books more than once and The Son won't be an exception. It is a captivating story that surprised me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Simon. Because is a complex character with many depths.

Any additional comments?

Another great book from Jo Nesbo. However I cannot believe a drug addict can give up at the same time as he has drugs in a bag. However, what do I know about it!

Never dissapoints

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Even better than Harry Hole. Brilliant story and a real page turner. Jo Nesbo just gets better and better. Excellent read.

Fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
the performance add two stars to the quality of the book. It is good story too.

Compliment to sean Barrett

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What made the experience of listening to The Son the most enjoyable?

The son is written in the Harry Hole vein but without Harry, when listening to Sean Barrett deliver this it takes you a while to understand that Harry is not present. Its a GREAT listen and possibly made better by the fact that there are new detectives on the case.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Son?

for me, and I know this is going to sound strange but its the first Marble scene. That moment has stuck with me for weeks now. I have talked about it for a long while and its just a little throw away scene in the book.

What does Sean Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He brings his normal fantastic tonal delivery, very well paced and packed with tension

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There are a couple of times you cant help feeling sorry for the baddies, in this book pretty much everyone is a baddy apart from the cops and the social worker, but in a good way. Its nice to have such a depth of baddies to choose from. Just when you think you have found the ultimate baddy someone bigger, darker, meaner, and so much more nasty pops up (The Twin) - Great story telling

Any additional comments?

I hope this is the start of the series

I am a big Jo Nesbo fan this is different, better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews