Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 2006 (First published January 2000)
Source: Personal copy
Summary:
Detective Harry Hole embarrassed the force, and for his sins he’ been reassigned to mundane surveillance tasks. But while monitoring neo-Nazi activities in Oslo, Hole is inadvertently drawn into a mystery with deep roots in Norway’s dark past, when members of the government willingly collaborated with Nazi Germany. More than sixty years later, this black mark won’t wash away – and disgraced old soldiers who once survived a brutal Russian winter are being murdered, one by one.
Now, with only a stained and guilty conscience to guide him, an angry, alcoholic, error-prone policeman must make his way safely past the traps and mirrors of a twisted criminal mind. For a conspiracy is taking rapid and hideous shape around Hole… and Norway’s darkest hour may be still to come.
My thoughts:
I have decided this is the year I finally catch up on this series. I read the first books in Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series a while back and then bought the entire series and they have been sitting on my shelf ever since. And it’s not that I didn’t enjoy the other books…I just keep letting other books get in the way but no more! Plus, I’ve read a few of his stand-alones and really love his writing, so no more excuses!
For some reason when the books were translated into English, this book is actually the first one what was made available, so a lot of people started here with the series. Of course, I came late to the series as usual, and books 1 and 2 were available and I decided to start at the very beginning. I didn’t love The Bat as much as I thought I would, but interestingly enough, I still think about it – so I guess I liked it more than I originally thought. I liked the second more, Cockroaches, much more, but was still thrown by the fact that neither book had been set in Norway.
Finally, with this 3rd book, we find ourselves in Norway and I have to say…I really liked this one. The plot is complex for sure and you definitely need to pay attention here, but it is so worth it. I loved how Nesbo blended history with the mystery – as an avid historical fiction fan, this really kept me engaged with the story right from the very beginning. My husband’s family is from Norway and it was so interesting getting the Nordic perspective on WWII and just what their involvement was.
I loved how the book moved back and forth in time. At first it definitely took a lot of concentration and some rereading to make sure I knew where I was, but as the story progressed, I got into the rhythm of it and found I needed to reread less and less. I also loved how in the beginning, more time is spent in the past and less in the present and as the book progresses, things switch, with less time being spent in the past and more in the present. I thought this was a clever way to craft the book.
I feel that we have already started to see a change in Harry and we are only on book 3. He is a flawed character for sure and while his usual pattern is to hit the bottle when overwhelmed or things aren’t going his way, I liked that he didn’t necessarily do that here. I’m definitely curious to see just how much growth we will see in him over the course of this series.
I’m excited to continue on with these books. My plan is to read at least one book a month so that by the end of the year I will be caught up and then can move on to Nesbo’s other stand-alones.
Books in this series:
- The Bat
- Cockroaches
- The Redbreast
- Nemesis
- The Devil’s Star
- The Redeemer
- The Snowman
- The Leopard
- Phantom
- Police
- The Thirst
- Knife
