''The Son'' ( no, Sønnen, 2014) is a

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

by Norwegian writer

Jo Nesbø Jo Nesbø (; born Jon Nesbø; 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian writer, musician, economist, and former football player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014; his work has been translated ...

. It is the second stand-alone crime novel by Nesbø, following ''Headhunters'' (2008).

Plot

Sonny Lofthus is serving time for crimes he did not commit. As payment, he receives a steady supply of drugs to satisfy his addiction. His life changes completely when he learns the truth about his father's death.

Inspiration

Nesbø started work on ''The Son'' during

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

in 2012. The plot is inspired by the Bible.

Adaptation

An HBO limited series based on the novel is set to be directed by

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, ''Incendies ...

and produced by

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...

and Riva Marker's Nine Stories and Michel Litvak's

Bold Films Bold Films is an American independent film, television and live stage development, production and finance company. Bold was founded in 2004. Bold's first three films were ''Slingshot'', ''Come Early Morning'' and ''Mini's First Time''. In 2006 t ...

, with

executive producing it alongside Niclas Salomonsson. In 2020, Lenore Zion,

Jonathan Nolan Jonathan Nolan (born 6 June 1976) is a British-American screenwriter, producer, director and author. He is the creator of the CBS science fiction series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016) and co-creator of the HBO science fiction western seri ...

and

Lisa Joy Lisa Joy (born May 23, 1977) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and attorney. She is best known as the co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the HBO science-fiction drama series ''Westworld'' (2016–2022). For he ...

were announced as co-showrunners.

References

2014 Norwegian novels Novels by Jo Nesbø Norwegian crime novels 21st-century Norwegian novels {{2010s-crime-novel-stub