The Headhunters

I just finished reading The Headhunters by Jo Nesbo, the Norwegian author who is filling the Scandinavian void created by the death of Stieg Larsson.  Nesbo’s books are saturated with suspense and unexpected twists that take the reader by surprise.  In this book, you find yourself cheering for a very unsympathetic protagonist who is a self-centered liar, a crook, and a murderer.  The Headhunters has nothing to do with an African tribe of people with unique dietary habits.  The protagonist, Roger Brown, is a different type of headhunter.  He finds candidates to fill management positions for corporations, and during the process of interviewing them, he discovers how to steal their most valuable possessions.  He meets his match when his wife introduces him to Clas Greve, her secret lover, a former special-forces soldier, and the perfect contender for CEO of a major company.  When Roger breaks into Greve’s home and steals a valuable painting, his life plunges into chaos.  His wife betrays him, his accomplice dies, and Greve comes after him with the skill, the determination, and the brutality of a trained killer.  The bodies pile high as Roger struggles to survive.