Wendy Lesser reads more Nordic noir than I do, and that says a lot. As she notes in her charming new book, Scandinavian Noir, she’s been addicted to the stuff for nearly forty years. It all started for her when someone (she can’t remember who) recommended the ten-book Martin Beck...
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Over the past twenty years, the Norwegian novelist and musician Jo Nesbø has been writing a series of crime thrillers featuring homicide detective Inspector Harry Hole of the Oslo police. More than 30 million copies of these novels have been sold worldwide, translated into over 40 languages....
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If you read Scandinavian noir, you’ve probably encountered a large number of psychopathic serial killers. I know I have. So, when I came across another one in The Thirst, the new Harry Hole detective novel, I decided to do a little checking. Just how many Scandinavian serial killers have...
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It’s difficult to surpass the fiendishly complex plotting on offer in every one of the Harry Hole novels by Jo Nesbo. Other thriller writers may equal Nesbo’s skill in one or even several books, but few (if any) are better. In The Snowman, the seventh entry in the Harry Hole...
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What is it about Scandinavian thriller writers? Is it just that they’ve got nothing better to do on all those cold nights than dream up more and more diabolical means to mislead readers? It’s tempting to think so. Among the many other things he’s done in his still-young life, Jo...
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Here’s what’s in store for you if you read Phantom or any other of Jo Nesbo’s engrossing Harry Hole novels: maddening suspense; several confusing plots and subplots that collide and intersect with abandon and only make sense as the end approaches; an alcoholic, self-hating...
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Leave it to Jo Nesbø to link ritual murder, Satanism, police corruption, desperate love affairs, Norwegian geography, alcoholism, sex, diamond smuggling, the German Army in World War II, and obscure forensic discoveries in a single book — and somehow make it all work. The Devil’s Star,...
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Norway’s ambassador to Thailand is found lying dead with a knife in his back in a Bangkok brothel. To ensure that the investigation is fumbled and the episode covered up, the politicians who govern the Norwegian police arrange to send an alcoholic detective to take charge of the case. They...
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It’s inevitable. Mystery stories are always grounded in some level of manipulation by the author. A virtual army of murder suspects mysteriously comes into focus in the background, one at a time. Trusted figures reveal hidden motives. The author deliberately conceals some crucial element by...
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A review of The Bat, by Jo Nesbo. @@@ (3 out of 5). In the first novel of the celebrated Harry Hole detective series, the Norwegian master-sleuth tracks down a serial killer in Australia.
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A review of Nemesis, by Jo Nesbo. @@@@ (4 out of 5). Idiosyncratic Norwegian detective Harry Hole finds himself suspected of killing an old girlfriend while he works to identify the killer in a bank robbery.
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A review of The Leopard: A Harry Hole Novel, by Jo Nesbo. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). Suspenseful tale of a serial killer in Norway, together with a character study of the deeply troubled detective on his trail.
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A review of The Redbreast, by Jo Nesbo. @@@@ (4 out of 5). Someone has paid a fortune to acquire what is described as the assassin’s rifle of choice, and Norwegian detective Harry Hole is determined to discover who bought it, and why. His investigation opens up a window on Norway’s troubled World War II history, when many young Norwegians volunteered to fight for Nazi Germany.
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Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.