Macbeth by Jo Nesbo

For my stop on the tour today I have my review of Macbeth

He’s the best cop they’ve got.
When a drug bust turns into a bloodbath it’s up to Inspector Macbeth and his team to clean up the mess.
He’s also an ex-drug addict with a troubled past.
He’s rewarded for his success. Power. Money. Respect. They’re all within reach.
But a man like him won’t get to the top.
Plagued by hallucinations and paranoia, Macbeth starts to unravel. He’s convinced he won’t get what is rightfully his.
Unless he kills for it.

After reading a couple of Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole books and really enjoying them, I jumped at the chance to read and review his new book, Macbeth. It’s a retelling of Macbeth set in a dystopian world with drug dealers, casinos and SWAT teams, already this is sounding a lot more interesting than the Macbeth I studied at school.

I cant remember much about Macbeth apart from some of the characters and some of the main events that happened in the story. So while reading this retelling some of the events and characters that popped up did jog something in my school boy memory. The main thing I can remember about Macbeth is that it was all to do with power, and the obsession with power and how to gain it and keep it, and I think this version of the story portrays this part of the original story really well.

I have not read all of Jo Nesbo’s books, so I cant call myself an expert on his writing, but for me reading this book felt a little different compared to his Harry Hole books. Normally when I read a Jo Nesbo book I can always expect the opening of the book to immediately grip me so I become engaged with both the story and it characters, but for me this book starts off really slow. The first few chapters just feel overly descriptive and a little dull. I did find it hard to actually push through these chapters and I did end up putting the book down a couple of times just because I found myself becoming board. But I pushed on and towards the middle of the book I did find the pacing to pick up a little. I found the story to be much more intriguing and engaging, and once that happened I managed to sail through the book until the very end.

The pacing wasn’t the only thing that I found different in this book, for me the writing was also a little off. This might have been because of the pacing and I just wasn’t interested in the story, but it didn’t read like the other Jo Nesbo books that I have read. Normally in his Harry Hole books the writing is perfect and is one of the main reasons why I enjoy reading the series, but in this book I found the writing to be a little flat in places, which did make the reading experience a little tiresome. Perhaps the author wanted to try something new with this book, but for me it didn’t really work.

Even though I did have some problems with this book I would recommend Macbeth to readers who like Jo Nesbo’s other books just so you can compare his works. And I would also recommend this book to people who enjoyed reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth because I think the main themes from the original work has transferred over really well in this book.

I rate this book 3/5 stars

***I was sent a copy of this book for review. Everything in this review is my own honest opinions.***

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To buy Macbeth by Jo Nesbo, click here!

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