The Redbreast, by Jo Nesbo

This Scandinavian mystery is nothing like current sensation The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or the dark and dreary novels of Maj Sjowal and Per Walloo.  It is  not at all noir, but more like mainstream American detective fiction.  The protagonist, Harry Hole, is working on his drinking problem, unlucky in love, but an excellent detective.  The mystery reaches back to World War II and the Norwegians who fought along with the Germans on the Eastern front.  It is a clever and well-paced story, with a likeable main character and enough development in secondary characters to make us care about them. 


This is the second in the series,and i will definitely go back and read the first one, The Devil's Star, and whatever later ones I can get my hands on.