Title:Cockroaches
Author:Jo Nesbo
Series:Harry Hole, #2
Published:February 2014, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Format:Paperback, 368 pages
Source:Personal copy
When the Norwegian
ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel, Inspector
Harry Hole is dispatched from Oslo to help hush up the case.But
once he arrives Harry discovers that this case is about much more than
one random murder. There is something else, something more pervasive,
scrabbling around behind the scenes. Or, put another way, for every
cockroach you see in your hotel room, there are hundreds behind the
walls. Surrounded by round-the-clock traffic noise, Harry wanders the
streets of Bangkok lined with go-go bars, temples, opium dens, and
tourist traps, trying to piece together the story of the ambassador’s
death even though no one asked him to, and no one wants him to—not even
Harry himself.
***Short & Sweet Reviews are
short, quick reviews. These will mainly be used for series books where I
have already done full reviews on some of the earlier books or for
books that I feel will suffice with a quick review. These will not be
used for review requests or blog tours.
My thoughts:I am totally late coming to the Jo Nesbo party, and being the traditionalist that I am, I am reading the series in order. I know that the first two books weren’t translated right away in the US – that the first book translated was book 3, but I decided to start at the beginning and am sticking with my guns. If you read my review of The Bat, you’ll know I didn’t love it, but I decided to continue with the series and am so glad I did – Cockroaches was much better!
I still don’t understand why the first two books aren’t set in Norway where Harry is set, but that is neither here nor there. This second book finds Harry traveling to Thailand to help solve the murder of the Norwegian Ambassador. The powers that be in the Norwegian government want this murder solved with as little fanfare as possible and want to avoid any scandals. Of course, Harry isn’t willing to let anything prevent him from finding out the truth, even if that means going against direct orders.
I am really enjoying getting to know Harry – I feel that in this book, we get a better feel for how he works. He is still battling the bottle, though he seems to have a much better handle on that. He still has his demons and I think this might just make him stronger for it.
This book moved a little faster than the previous one. I felt it more engaging and enjoyed it more. I am definitely looking forward to picking up the next one in the series…and perhaps I can even get caught up enough to have read up to The Snowman by the time the movie comes out?!?
Books in this series:
- The Bat
- Cockroaches
- The Redbreast
- Nemesis
- The Devil’s Star
- The Redeemer
- The Snowman
- The Leopard
- Phantom
- Police
- The Thirst
