Harry Hole, who has always been a character with a wide swath of gray area when it comes to right and wrong, is seemingly headed down a bad path by the end of this, the 6th in the series. The review QUITE spoilerific, so proceed with caution.
The set-up is this: at a Salvation Army summer camp back in the nineties, an unnamed girl is raped in an outdoor toilet. She never reports it, fearing the stern heirarchy and what the accusation would do to the organization as a whole. Also in the past, a young Croatian boy, nicknamed The Little Redeemer, participates in the Battle of Vukovar in the war for Croatian independance. He grows up to become a professional hitman, working all over Europe.
In present-day Oslo, Robert Karlsen, a Salvation Army officer is killed (by the hitman, who now calls himself Stankic) at an outdoor Christmas concert. Then another attempt is made on another Salvation Army officer. This time it is Jon Karlsen, the brother of the first victim. Harry, Beate and Halvorsen really have their work cut out for them, now.
In the aftermath of the breakup with Rakel, Harry finds himself drawn to a young woman working at the Salvation Army named Martine and they become involved. This proves to be part of Harry’s undoing, I think.
There’s some misdirection (and poor Halvorsen!) but it is finally revealed that Jon posed as his brother Robert and contracted Stankic to kill “Jon”. Oh, and he’s embezzling money from the Salvation Army. Harry follows Stankic, who is following Jon to finish the job and there is a big showdown in the bathroom at the airport. While Stankic has Jon at gunpoint, Harry encourages him to confess, since a confession under such duress is not admissable in court. It is further revealed that Martine was the young girl raped at the camp years ago and her attacker was Jon, who has been using his place in the Salvation Army to continue abusing young girls. Then Harry just simply tells Stankic that Jon has a big bag of the embezzled money and leaves. He hears a gunshot as he walks away.
So here’s the deal, I’m not saying that Jon didn’t get what he deserved, that was a well-plotted scene and had me breathless. But Harry’s deliberate non-action, the death of yet another partner, Halvorsen and the revelation that his former boss was part of the Waaler ring can only serve to send him on an even more destructive path. I’ll be rushing right into The Snowman, but with a heavy heart.
