There was a time when Jo Nesbo was called “the next Stieg Larsson”. Not anymore. The Norwegian crime writer has sold more than 23 million books worldwide and has been translated into 40 languages. Let’s deal with the name of the tormented protagonist of it, Harry Hole. Did Nesbo realize that if an American child were given that name, the amount of torment that would be seen upon that child? He had to find out what he was thinking. He wasn’t thinking about American pronunciations at all. I found a link to the BBC Worldwide Book Club who had done an interview with Nesbo. When asked to pronounce Harry Hole in Norwegian, he pronounced it: Hurree Who-la.
Nesbo’s writing is complex and ambitious. You must be alert and wide awake while reading his novels because he likes to leave vague clues and red herrings. It doesn’t help that the place names and character names are Norwegian. Sometimes I give them nicknames so I can “read” my name. Then he mixes up some Russian and Swedish, which makes for a real smorgasbord.
Harry is one of the most damaged protagonists in crime history. The scenes depicting Harry’s bouts with alcoholism are heartbreaking. As one reviewer describes Harry: “Harry is fascinated by evil…he is a loner, with a hard sensibility and an intuition that borders on the supernatural…he is a true anti-hero; an impossible but impossible character.” not like.” He has a scar that runs from his mouth to his ear and a titanium middle finger. He has one true love in his life, Rakel, but every time he gets close, he always gets in the way. Rakel has a son named Oleg, who thinks of Harry as his father.
In Nesbo’s earlier novel, The Snowman, after Harry was fired from his police job, he moved to Thailand. Rakel will have nothing to do with him. But now she needs him. That’s where ghost begins Oleg is now 17 years old and has gotten into big trouble, not only with the law but also with drugs. He has been accused of killing his friend Gusto, who is a drug dealer and thief. Harry returns to Norway to find out if he can clean Oleg up and keep him out of trouble. With Harry there are always problems. The problem consists of a new drug, the “violin”, a synthetic form of heroin, which is sold on the streets by an unseen Russian gangster. They called him the Phantom. He has a multitude of children who sell drugs, three of whom are Oleg, Gusto, and Gusto’s sister, Irene. The story begins with Gusto lying on the floor of his drug block after being shot. One chapter is Gusto explaining the truth and the next chapter is Harry trying to find out the truth. There are a couple of side stories with corrupt politicians and airline pilot smuggling schemes that add some details about the Phantom.
The Nesbo books are full of violence. In this one there is a brick studded with nails and a very unique version of the water boarding. There is always a way that Harry somehow harms his body. This time he sews up her slit throat with a needle and black thread. And being as claustrophobic as I am, I squirmed when Harry got into a very “close” situation.
I thought I knew who killed Gusto and I thought I knew the answers to the questions. No. Just when you think the story is about to end, here comes another series of circumstances that will drive you crazy. He was screaming, no! No! No! can not be!
Bottom line: If you like really complex crime novels that have a relentless drive, then read ghost. Or go online and get a list in publication order. It is not necessary to read them in order but The Snowman, ghost and the last, Policemanthey intertwine.
