published by: Knopf
publish date: May 21, 2013
Christmas shoppers stop to hear a Salvation Army concert on a crowded Oslo street. A gunshot cuts through the music and the bitter cold: one of the singers falls dead, shot in the head at point-blank range. Harry Hole—the Oslo Police Department’s best investigator and worst civil servant—has little to work with: no suspect, no weapon, and no motive. But Harry’s troubles will multiply. As the search closes in, the killer becomes increasingly desperate, and Harry’s chase takes him to the most forbidden corners of the former Yugoslavia.
Long time readers of this blog probably know that I'm a huge fan of Jo Nesbo. I've listened to the audiobooks for all of his books that are available in the US. All of the Harry Hole series had been read by Robin Sachs, who did an excellent job. Mr. Sachs died unexpectedly in February. I had hoped that this book had been recorded before his death, but sadly it had not. So, this book was read by John Lee. Initially, when I tried to listen to it, it wasn't working for me. I took a break and gave it another shot.
On one hand, I liked this book because Harry wasn't dealing with his demons as much. He seemed to have his drinking and addictions under control. Also, Rakel didn't have the same amount of sway over him as she did before. So those were the things that made me happy about this book. The things that kinda made me sad about this book, were the not so interesting mystery and the beginning of that formulaic feel. There comes a time to say goodbye to old friends and make new ones. I'm starting to wonder if that time has come for the Harry Hole series. I would definitely welcome some stand alone books by Jo Nesbo.
1 comment:
I've just discovered Nesbo within the last several months and have now read a couple of his Harry Hole books. I've enjoyed what I've read so far and intend to read more. I find Harry a very interesting and sympathetic character.
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