Troublesome police detective Harry Hole can't get anyone in Oslo to believe that an illegally imported rifle is important enough to warrant an investigation.
This book is so complex that it nearly defies description. There are multiple story lines, flashbacks, and numerous characters (each with a Norwegian name). Surprisingly, the plot was fairly easy to follow and quite compelling. I was more interested in the story that occurred in the past than in the present situation of detective Harry Hole, but Hole's story was fairly good as well.
My main beef with the book was that the end left so many hanging threads that I nearly thought I'd somehow missed the final quarter of the book in the download process. It just kind of...ends. Also, I had a very hard time connecting with the main character. I don't mind anti-social characters, but this one was so cold I couldn't properly care about him.
There are a lot of parallels between The Redbreast and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Redbreast moved much more quickly than TGWTDT and it was also very tense. Also, The Redbreast was not nearly as disturbing. However, I wasn't drawn to the characters as I was in the other book. Overall, I preferred TGWTDT.