Knife: A Harry Hole Novel (12)

I have read all of Harry Hole....This is #12...couldn't have been better for a pandemic quarantine fairly violent and unsettling for sure. For me, this was the best, the most gripping, the most painful of all of Nesbo's Harry Hole series. That's all I'm going to say. For me, a few unanswered questions and loose ends like in all of the books but it was a page turner for sure. As with all of Nesbo, this book is filled with philosophical questions, medical and psychological issues, and great suspense. It also renders a great statement for staying sober. What a great experience to read the whole series...Besides the brilliant plots, twists and turns, I love Nesbo's writing style even in translation. Here's some examples:The customer wasn't after guns or ammunition. With a bit of practice, you could tell from the look in their eyes which ones were herbivores, the look you saw in that portion of humanity who had lost the killing instinct, the portion who didn't share the secret shared by the other group; that there's nothing that makes a man feel more alive than putting a bullet in a large warm-blooded mammalWhen Norway ran out of oil what would happen to the Norwegians. The optimist in him said things would be fine, that people adapt to new situations quicker than you think, you just had to look at countries that had been at war. The realist in him said that in a country without any tradition or innovation and advanced thinking, there would be a slippery slope back to where Norway had come from: the bottom division of European economics.A young man with an impressive, unkempt beard--like an Old Testament prophet--hanging like a bib over his tie and impeccable suit, his Burberry coat open. Finance? Irony? Or just confusion?Not obviously beautiful, but cute...Possibly what Oystein would call a Toyota. Not the boy's first choice when they were teenagers, but one that stayed in the best shape as the years passed.At seven o'clock that evening it was already dark, and the invisible silent twilight rain draped itself like a cold spider's web on Harry's face.

The first Harry Hole novel, The Bat, was released in 1997. Halfway through I bailed out of boredom. His next two releases, Cockroaches (1998) and Redbreast (2000), showed a steep learning curve and were engaging and well written, setting Harry Hole down the road to being one of crime fictions' more memorable and sympathetic characters. Nemesis (2002) treaded water with an overly complicated, unbelievable plot and I barely finished it. The Devil's Star (2006) was excellent, the Redeemer (2009) not so much, but the next four Harry Hole novels, The Snowman (2007), The Leopard (2011), The Phantom (2012), and Police (2013) were probably the best run of crime fiction I have read and on the 1.00-7.00 scale I use I gave The Phantom the highest rating, 6.90*, I have ever given any crime fiction. A pulsing, pounding, breathless, thriller, it was so well done that I thought it was the end of the series, where do you go from the best? Not the first time I was wrong. With the release of The Thirst (2017), I found my answer, Harry was settled down and boring and it was so gruesome that I stopped reading well before the halfway mark. Well this book, Knife has taken care of the boring bit, while the gruesome remains it is toned down from The Thirst but still not for the faint of heart. A good solid, "Oh Harry, why?" kind of addition to what continues to be one of the more complex and sympathetic characters out there. Naturally all the attractive females want to jump Harry's bones, alpha male that he is, and his relationship with his step son is particularly well written, but wrapped around a fast paced police procedural and Nesbo's trademark very complex plot is a gripping portrait of a man on the edge of a chasm that threatens everything he is, has, and stands for. Cap it off with perhaps the most eloquent ending Nesbo has written and you have a book worth finishing.$13.99/book price divided by Amazon typical read time of 9 hours, 42 minutes=$1.44/average hourly reading cost

Complex,twists and turns. Surprises. Great plot. Nesbo is at the top of his storytelling. Highly recommend this addition to the series

Every time I slog my way through good, but not great, books I crave books like this one. Nesbo, John Stanford, Steig Larson - the type of author that keeps me sitting in my chair for a day just to finish the book! Nesbo does it again with a story line that is filled with surprises and completely brilliant! I am elated that the 13th book in this series awaits!

I am never disappointed by Jo Nesbo. I don’t know how he can always create such gripping stories. If you’ve read any of the Harry Hole series, you will understand what I’m saying.The characters are fascinating, the plots twisted,complex, and always gripping. The Knife is one of his best.

Very suspense filled read. Finished the series of books nicely leaving an opening to add more books later

Intense bit of reading. lots of twists and many suspects. Big surprise ending.

Mais um livro da serie Harry Hole e mais uma vez Jo Nesbo não decepciona, ótima trama!

wie alle Bücher dieser Serie ist auch dieses phantastisch. Vielschichtig, spannend, sprachlich hervorragend übersetzt (ins Englische) und alle Details werden immer wieder aufgenommen und verfolgt. Toll.

Jo Nesbo brilliant as usual.