I have read all of Jo Nesbo's books (even his children's books) and they never disappoint.
Harry Hole is such a dark, depraved character but a superb detective and I just can't get enough of the dark world he lives in.
He is a known serial killer investigator with a 100 percent success rate.
Killing Moon had such a twisted tale that I am still slightly freaked out at the lengths this clever killer went to. What an incredible way to kill people!!!!
Brilliant read with a twist you never see coming!
Can't wait for the next Harry Hole

3.75*?

What the hell did i just read.
Bearing in mind i have only read two Jo Nesbo books(Blood on Snow and Midnight Sun). I was...lets say gob smacked by the utter depravity that i found in this new installment.

I have quite a few of his books in my collection that i have been meaning to get round to so when i seen this i grabbed the chance for an ARC. With it being so long inbetween book i was excited to see what stage we were at now. Well. I mean im still lost for words trying to write this 😬

Firstly, its a tomb and i thought it could have been doing without a few lingering chapters but on the whole im impressed. In a weird sence of the word. The context? yeah well grabs your attention and its proper messed up. Whole point? Yeah guessing so. Mission achieved✔

Secondly, it leaves a lasting impression that is going to take quite some time to fully return back to a normal mindset. To not be haunted by the idea of what the killer does within this to achieve his mission would be great. I hope it does not encroach into my dreams🤔. And again surely.. Mission achieved✔

I write this in favour of the book and i will go on to read previous books by Jo Nesbo. Build myself up for whatever he may have planned next!
The only negative points for me were connecting with the lesser important characters. I struggled to keep interested in them.

Many thanks to Jo Nesbo and Publisher through Netgalley for the ARC. I enjoyed reading this and leaving my honest review.
Rev written 30/07/23

Jo Nesbo never disappoints! Consistently well-written, captivating and thrilling. A great addition to the series.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the thirteenth instalment of the Harry Hole series, and I have previously only read book one, and whilst there are numerous references to our heroes previous escapades it in no way spoilt my enjoyment of this book. There is a serial killer at work in Oslo, and Harry is invited to escape his troubles in Los Angeles and set up his own team to investigate. This premise is far fetched and very hard to believe, but if you let that go over your head what follows is a clever engaging read. No great mystery as we know the name of the killer early on, but how and why makes for an enjoyable intriguing read, and there is still scope for surprises along the way.
Recommended.

Every time a read a Harry Hole I almost hope not to enjoy it. Surely, I think to myself, Jo Nesbo cannot possibly keep this fresh and exciting? Seems like he can.

We start this particular episode with Harry far from home trying to get away from his life after Rakel's murder. However Harry can't stay out of bother for long. He soon finds himself back home trying to catch a serial killer and save a life.

I admit that it took me a while to really get into the book but once it took off (probably around a third of the way through) I was gripped. Once I got past halfway I couldn't stop reading until it was done.

Suffice to say there are so many twists and turns in this I defy anyone to guess them all. The ending is particularly satisfying and I am now waiting for the next instalment from the pen of Mr Nesbo.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance review copy.

I absolutely LOVED this book - thank you so much for granting my wish and allowing me access! I love all of the Harry Hole books, but I really thought this one was stellar. The plot was as unguessable as ever, with plenty of red herrings dotted left right and centre, I had no idea of the killers identity until it was revealed to me at the last second. Bring on the next one!

Harry Hole is back. I really like the whole Lucille angle in this book. It was a good mystery although I have to say not for the faint hearted. I did tire a little bit of Harry's battle with alcoholism as it is a constant in every book in the series. It feels quite repetitive, but I guess that's what it's supposed to feel like - his continuing struggle.

I was not happy with the way things had turned out in the previous book of the series, Knife, but this book has brought Harry and the mystery back in a good way. I wish we had more attraction between Oleg and Harry. I did guess the killer long before Harry did but that doesn't take away from the joy of reading this book as there are a lot of other things going on. As always Nesbo puts his excellent knowledge of music to good use in this book

Overall I enjoyed this book. I had been looking for a book that would keep me hooked and this book delivered.

I thank the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yikes this was the darkest and most disturbing book in the Harry Hole series for me! What a brilliant read but it is definitely not for the faint-hearted! I also learned about a few new things like
Toxoplasmosis but I'm not so sure if this is a good thing! 😆


Harry is a tortured soul out to drink himself to death.
He is tortured by the memories of Rakel and her death as well as the events that led up to her murder and that is how he ends up in America. But as we know,
danger always finds Harry and in an attempt to help an old has-been actress, Harry takes on an assignment from a wealthy businessman from Oslo who is suspected of brutally killing two women whom he had interactions with.
Will this be the case that will end Harry? Will he be able to put the ghosts to rest?

There are so many twists and turns in this book and the ending bamboozled me!
I so missed the 1 clue earlier on in the book!

If you are a Hanibal Lector fan this is a must read!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

This is the 13th book in the Harry Hole series but they can all be read as a stand alone. I would recommend starting with The Bat and getting to know the incredible main character Harry Hole and his team
Just like all the previous books Jo Nesbo never disappoints. Twists and turns ,shocking , dark and addictive this is a must read.
I am a huge Jo Nesbo fan and highly recommend the book and the series

There was I, thinking I was so clever, thinking I'd figured out the twist – and then, reader, I fell flat on my face because guess what, Jo nesbo has done it again! He is operating at a level above many other writers in this genre, and always has – I've read all his Harry Hole books (which have gone through different English translators as time has gone by), and they are all "literary" as well as having that breakneck-speed plotting and quadruple-crossing that I love. This book will also appeal to fans of The Last of Us... Here's to HH!

Book thirteen is my first venture into Jo Nesbo’s fictional Norway. Unlucky for some, but definitely not for me as I have to say I loved it. Yes, as with all books mid to late series, you have to accept that there will be some spoilers along the way. But did they ‘spoil’ my enjoyment of this book? Not a jot. Did I get the full flavour of Harry Hole as a character? No idea. Did I like what I did see and read. Absolutely. Not going to lie – also felt more than a little nauseous at times, but that had nothing to do with starting at book thirteen and everything to do with the plot of this twisted, dark and completely gripping read.

The book, or at the very least Harry’s involvement in it, sees readers in Los Angeles. For all manner of reasons, that become clear as you read (assuming you haven’t read the preceding books), Harry is wasting his days, and his savings, in a bar when he meets former actress, Lucille, perhaps the only person on the planet capable of making his life even more complicated than it already is. In a bid to get Lucille, and by extension himself out of a really deep and serious hole (no pun intended), Harry soon finds himself back in Oslo, investigating a case the police would rather he wasn’t involved in, in a bid to prove his client’s innocence. Or guilt. Harry doesn’t really care. The truth is his only goal and he gets paid either way.

I really enjoyed this book, stomach churning as it occasionally was, and enjoyed getting to know Harry and the people in his world. Yes, he is, at least in this book, lost in a world of regret and melancholy, his past very much haunting him, but I still liked hims as a character. his dogged pursuit of the truth, no matter what the consequence for his client. It’s a very strange and rag-tag team that he has around him to investigate the case, a dying psychologist, a taxi driver turned drug dealer, and a cop currently on suspension on suspicion of skimming drugs himself, but somehow, against all of the odds, they really do work well together. Add in the police who are at a loss as to who may be behind the disappearance and subsequent murder of two young women, and reporters who are locked in a seeming battle to get the scoop on this most twisted of cases, and the scene is set for a truly attention grabbing case.

The pacing is not the fastest – it feels more cerebral (again no pun intended – those who read the book will understand what I mean) than action based, but I still found myself propelled along, tearing through the pages wanting to get to the bottom of the overwhelming mystery that envelopes every page. Although some of the scenes are told from the point of view of our perpetrator, Prim, we never quite get a handle on who Prim (as we soon learn, only a nickname) really is. There are a number of suspects, people of dubious character and varying degree of enthusiasm and, dare I say, obsession, that we meet over the course of the book, the author doing a grand job of deflecting suspicion from the obvious and making out attention flit from one to the other at a great pace of knots. Perhaps some are too obvious, perhaps not, but there is a good deal of misdirection which keeps the perpetrators identity hidden until just the crucial moment.

This book is, at times, a touch grim, the truth behind what happens and why a little … how should I put this? Unpalatable. Whilst most violence is kept off the page, the intent behind what occurs is quite obvious and by the time we are brought right up to speed with what is happening, I was prepared, if still a little green around the gills. It’s actually a very clever plot, quite inventive and one which made me smile, sort of. Not one I’d perhaps recommend reading around meal times unless you have a strong stomach, but entertaining nonetheless. We see nature at its best, and worst, and see our characters pitted against a very clever and somewhat sociopathic foe. Bizarrely, in spite of all that comes to pass, I did actually feel some sympathy for the bad guy. Not too much, but just a jot of understanding.

It’s a difficult, and thought provoking case. Emotional at times, revelatory at others. But for my first outing with Harry Hole, I really enjoyed it and will definitely be looking to read the rest of the series. I’ll also be looking out for what comes next. That ending has left me very, very, intrigued. Big shout out to translator Sean Kinsella too. A fabulous job done in keeping me entertained, enthralled, sickened and absolutely addicted.

First Harry Hole thriller i really struggled with - just couldn't keep focussed on the plot, which seemed more ridiculous and gratuitous than previous outings. I made my way through it, but it was a bit of a slog