Do You Know Jo Nesbo?

If you're a fan of Steig Larsson or Jonathan Kellerman and you're wondering what to read next, I think you're going to be a fan of Jo Nesbo.  He's being hailed as the next Steig Larsson and he has the added benefit of not being dead so the books can keep on coming.  He's a Norwegian writer so he has that European flair like Larsson, but I found his books to be more like Kellerman's Alex Delaware books...but better.  Unfortuately not all of his books are available in the United States. 

His books are centered around the drama ridden, alcoholic detective (with the unfortunate name) Harry Hole.   Americans meet him for the first time in the book The Redbreast, but this is actually the 3rd book in the series, the first two aren't available in the US.  I thought this was an amazing book.  I was sucked in right away.  Nesbo has a great way of weaving seemingly unconnected stories together in ways you aren't expecting.   Not having the first two books available didn't hurt at all.  I didn't feel like I was missing any of the back story.  The Redbreast provided some really interesting perspective on World War II. 

The second book is Nemesis.   I liked this book quite a lot, but not as much as The Redbreast.  This one was about a bank robberies and gypsies.  This book introduces the character of Beatte Lonn, a mousy female detective that Harry works with.  I particularly like Beatte, she's super cute and really smart.  The tension between Tom Waaler, Harry's long time adversary, starts to heat up in this book.

The Devil's Star is the third book.  I just finished this one.  I liked this one much better, as much as The Redbreast.  Harry is once again off the wagon at the opening of this book, but he gets assigned to a case with none other than Tom Waaler.  Harry manages to get himself cleaned up enough figure out that a serial killer is on the loose in Oslo.  In this book the struggle between Harry and Tom finally comes to a conclusion.

Those are the three books that I've read...or listened to.  I did the audiobook thing on these three books.  Robin Sachs did an awesome job with The Redbreast and The Devil's Star.  I think it was Sean Barrett that did Nemesis and I didn't enjoy that one as much...maybe that's why I didn't like that book as much?

There are two more books in the Harry Hole series that I haven't gotten to yet, but I will for sure!