The Jess Lomas Book Club: Headhunters

The Jess Lomas Book Club: Headhunters

*A weekly feature in which literary connoisseur Jess Lomas examines the upcoming book-to-film adaptations worth keeping an eye on!*

Am I the sole member of humanity who has not read or seen The Millennium Trilogy? Surely I’m not the only one who turns my nose up ever so slightly in disgust whenever something hits bookstores’ ‘Must Read’ shelf? And yet I’ve read Twilight, so I suppose my argument is invalid.

I feel as though The Millennium ship has sailed, at least until David Fincher delivers us his interpretation of Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Swedish text. Enter Norwegian author Jo Nesbø, who has been thrilling readers with his Harry Hole crime series since 1997. His standalone novel The Headhunters is headed to the big screen thanks to director Morten Tyldum, and by the looks of the international trailer it packs more than a few thrills and, uh, rear nude shots.

 

The story centres on a successful head-hunter, Roger Brown, who steals valuable art to fund his extravagant lifestyle. He begins to plan his biggest heist ever but, you guessed it, things don’t exactly go to plan.

What I like about the international trailer is the lack of dialogue; it lets the action speak for itself, and as European films often do, it doesn’t hold back on the violence or the raunchy scenes. I’ve never been a massive crime book fan but I might be willing to add this title to my reading list, if only to try and get in on the ground floor for once!

While a film about an art heist is hardly original, if done right there’s always room for a good action thriller, and based on the success of the book we might have a solid thriller on the horizon … if only we knew when, or even if it has, an Australian release date. We’ll keep you posted.

Discuss: How does this one look to you?