I hadn’t read Jo Nesbo in a while — the Harry Hole series started to feel a bit formulaic, and I drifted away. But Wolf Hour reminded me exactly why I was drawn to his writing in the first place. This standalone thriller is an absolute knockout: razor-sharp, unsettling, and thought-provoking in all the right ways.

Nesbo weaves a complex, layered story that demands attention. The shifting timelines and scattered character perspectives might feel disorienting at first, but stick with it — it’s all masterfully intentional. The disjointedness only adds to the tension and mystery, drawing you deeper into the mind of both the hunter and the hunted.

This isn’t just a crime novel; it’s a commentary — on violence, on gun culture, and on the dark psyche that simmers beneath American society’s surface. The killer in Wolf Hour has a story, and disturbingly, it’s one that echoes with familiarity. Maverick detective Bob Oz is a compelling lead: gritty, flawed, and just self-aware enough to realize he might be more like the killer than he wants to admit.

And that ending? Brilliant. Nesbo pulls off a final twist that’s as emotionally resonant as it is shocking — the kind that lingers long after you turn the last page.

If you thought Nesbo had run out of tricks, Wolf Hour proves he’s still the king of the dark and unexpected. Highly recommended for fans of intelligent, character-driven thrillers that leave a mark.

This is one of those books, just as soon as you think you have it figured out, whoops, and another twist hits you from the side. I really enjoyed the thrilling ride, and hope to read more again in future.

Holger Rudi is in Minneapolis in 2022 to conduct research for a murder mystery he is writing. The majority of the narrative then shifts to 2016 and alternates between the first-person perspective of the murderer and the third-person perspectives of Detective Bob Oz and a number of other people. What follows is a cracking read full of twists with characters that become familiar very quickly due to the storytelling skills of Jo Nesbo.

Wolf Hour is a gripping standalone thriller.
Most of the story takes place in 2016 when detective Bob Oz is called in to investigate shootings in Minneapolis USA. In 2022 Holger Rudi arrives from Oslo to research the events of 2016 for a book.
Nesbo is a master thriller writer and this book does not disappoint, Some great characters - particularly Bob Oz.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The latest Jo Nesbo book is a slight departure from the norm in that it is set in Minneapolis rather than Norway. Our narrator is a Norwegian author who is visiting the USA to research some real life murders that took place a few years previously.
The story has all the macabre wists and turns that we have come to expect from Jo Nesbo's books and it will not disappoint readers like myself who have devoured most of his previous titles.

I’ve only read one Jo Nesbø book before and it was so long ago I couldn’t remember much about it, so went into this with an open mind. Oh my gosh it was incredible!

For the first few chapters, I must admit I was a bit confused. We start in 2022 with Holger Rudi arriving in Minneapolis to research a book he’s writing about a murderer. We then switch to 2016 for most of the story and flit between the 3rd person viewpoints of Detective Bob Oz and several other characters and the 1st person viewpoint of the murderer.

But once I got into it and who everyone was, it was amazing!

First there is an attempted murder of a gun dealer. And then an actual murder - and it all links back to former gang member Tomas Gomez and a family killed by a gang whilst having a birthday meal. Killed with guns. The killer wants to make a statement about American gun laws - it’s not about revenge but making a stand to show that it makes no sense for guns to be so easily acquired, for people to need them to protect themselves because they’re so prolific.

It was a thought provoking topic which made it easy to empathise with the killer! There was also a strong theme of loneliness- for the killer and also Bob himself - and the widening gap between the rich and poor, and that political turning point pre-Covid and just before Trump’s first election.

Bob was a difficult man and very flawed but I grew to really like him and want him to move on with his life and find happiness. He trusts his gut and just wants to make the town safe for everyday people, and doesn’t care if he needs to go against the rules to just make that happen!

The development of the story was so clever - I was so surprised by the ending and never saw it coming. But then it made so much sense and was just brilliant. It was a strong blend of real, political, gory and disturbing and weirdly sad and heartwarming!

I wasn't a big fan of the main character in this standalone, he comes off as a bit arrogant and smug. But by the end he is tolerable and gets the job done, so maybe I was just not in the mood for him :)

The story is good. I liked the sniper angle, although I personally enjoy a more hands on killer. The motive was murky. The book will make you think and make you wonder about morals and justice etc. Definitely though provoking, and unusually for me and this author, I read it really quickly. Nesbo is one of those authors where the books are chunky and the subject matter is heavy and dark, so although we had that here, I did fly through it. Definitely a plus.

Overall a good read and one I would recommend.

As a non-Norwegian speaker, I experience Nesbø through translation, so I have both the author and his translator to thank for the stunning prose in Wolf Hour - the closest English equivalent for the intelligence and sharpness of the writing on display here is, I think, Mick Herron. Nesbø never talks down to the reader. As with his excellent Harry Hole series, this standalone keeps us on our toes, with plenty of twists, turns and shades of grey. A worthy companion for the bank holiday, definitely!

An author decides to follow the cold case of a serial killer by taking the known facts , visiting the relevant sites and collate a sequence of events linked to fictional dialogues. He would use real places and people super imposing his knowledge and fictional acumen to form a credible fictional story of what could have occurred nearly a decade earlier. And so we the reader visit the places, meet the victims and try to identify the identity of the perpetrator. In doing so we share the highs and disappointments ,the actions and lack of action of traumatised victims, culpable damaged individuals seeking revenge and law enforcement officials often equally damaged by life’s disappointments. A harrowing story drip fed in order that we feel each characters struggles and learn that life is not black and white and emotions are often skewed to give room for the many shades of grey inflicted on society. Totally and completely immersed into this 5 star read that leads to a dramatic yet acceptable conclusion that satisfies on every level yet manages to raise many ethical questions on gun laws in a civilised society. Many thanks to author at the top of his game, publisher and Netgalley for this superb ARC..

4.5

2022. Holger Rudi has arrived in Minneapolis from Oslo. What is the purpose of his visit? Well, it’s to get inside the mind of a killer for a book that is writing. Maybe the title will be The Minneapolis Avenger which all happens six years ago. He hires a taxi driver for the day to follow the trail, first stop Jordan, next Dinkytown.
2016. The Jordan Projects Minneapolis. The gunman awaits his target from a sixth floor window, it’s a gang land leader who always leaves his place at 8:16 precisely. He aims and hits his target and then disappears. Detective Bob Oz, currently in a bar in Dinkytown, get the call from Superintendent Walker. His partner Kay Myers arrives shortly after, but their bird has flown. Little do they know that this is just the start.

It’s no secret that I love Scandi Noir and Jo Nesbø’s books are my favourite as he always has me caught up in his exciting plots and this one is no exception. It hits the ground running at a fast pace right from the start as a hold my breath when the drama unfolds. The pace rises and falls appropriately and there’s plenty going on to keep me engaged and reading on, aided by some ‘bombs’ at the end of some chapters. There’s the hunt for the assassin and that’s fascinating all by itself, Bob‘s life, corruption, a cat and mouse game and the one they’re hunting has planned and is one step ahead, urban legends that might not be legends and transformations in more ways than one. Inevitably, this is Jo Nesbø after all, there are numerous plot twists and turns and some are good and very unexpected.

The two timelines blend together well although most of the focus is on 2016.

What of Bob Oz, of Norwegian extraction as many of the characters are? Well, it’s safe to say the author has created another interesting central protagonist. He can be rude and provocative, he doesn’t play by the rules, he’s suffered, he has his struggles but he’s a darn good cop. Despite all the negatives, I root for him and grow to really like him.

It builds and twists to a good ending part of which is sad but part is the exact opposite.

Highly recommended to fans of the genre.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House, Vintage for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

Jo Nesbo’s latest book, Wolf Hour, is an absolute page-turner which I devoured in a day.

The story is set in Minneapolis in Minnesota in the USA. The story unfolds in two time lines. One timeline is 2022 as a Norwegian crime writer visits the city to research his book on a series of murders that took place several years before. The other timeline unfolds in 2016 and follows the killer and also the detective, Bob Oz, as he tries to solve the case.

I loved detective Bob Oz, I found him to be multi-faceted. On the surface he is a very flawed man, but as the story moves along I saw him in a very different light. I found the setting of Minneapolis to be very interesting as it’s not a city or state that I’m familiar with. I found it really interesting that Minneapolis has a large number of the population descended from Norwegian settlers.

This is a very fast paced book with an ending you just won’t see coming.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Random House UK, Vintage, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.