Blood on Snow

Nesb%C3%B8, the leading light of Norwegian noir, returns with this slim standalone thriller about a hit man with a heart of gold. Olav is a contract killer in 1970s Oslo, working for a ruthless drug kingpin named Daniel Hoffman. Hoffman orders Olav to kill Hoffman's own wife, Corina, whom he believes is having an affair. But, this being a Nesb%C3%B8 novel, things aren't as they seem, and Olav makes a snap decision that saves Corina, but places himself in danger and leads to a showdown with Hoffman. American singer-songwriter Smith is an odd choice as reader: the book is translated into colloquial British English, told from the first-person perspective of Olav. But Smith's affectless American drawl manages to somehow convey the deep humanity of an antihero who comes up short in the empathy department. At a trim four hours, this audio edition is a bit of a departure for Nesb%C3%B8, whose novels tend to be two or three times as long (at least), but there's plenty of blood and snow to go around. A Knopf hardcover. (Apr.)