This Nordic noir thriller, the first in Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series and his debut novel, was slow to draw me in. Harry Hole is an Oslo detective in Australia sent to eventually accompany the remains of and observe the investigation into the rape and strangling of a Norwegian citizen, Inger Holter, who once hosted a Norwegian children’s TV show but had been working in a Sydney bar when she died. While is not technically supposed to be involved, he discovers a string of linked murders, which renders him the de facto leader of an investigation into a serial killer with a complicated profile. Mr. Hole has issues, and some of the novel is center on his wrestling match with his demons in order to catch the murderer. ( )

(1997) This is the first Harry Hole novel, which finds the Norwegian police detective no where near Norway, but in Australia. He is consulting with the local Sydney police on the murder of a Norwegian, Inger Holter. Hole determines that she is the victim of a serial killer, but not the one that everyone else gets focused on. His relationship with Brigitta Enquist is hot and heavy and ends tragically when the killer kidnaps her and drowns her. Pretty good, but the Kindle edition I was reading kept switching betweeen ?Holy? and ?Hole? as the spelling of his name and this became very distracting. Apparently a bad translation. One of the leading suspects, Otto Rechtnagel, is killed on stage in a clown act gone bad. The real killer has killed him to keep the clown quiet.KIRKUS REVIEWInspector Harry Hole's 1997 debut finally follows its seven successors into English translation.It's an unusual debut since the very first page finds Harry clearing passport control in Sydney, half a world away from his native Oslo, from which he's improbably been sent to observe the Australian investigation into the probable rape and undoubted strangling of Inger Holter, who once hosted a Norwegian children's TV show but had been working in a Sydney bar when she died. Neil McCormack, head of the Surry Hills Crime Squad, explains to Harry that although he's been paired with Aboriginal detective Andrew Kensington as a professional courtesy, he's not to take a leading role, not to make any inquiries on his own, and not to interfere with McCormack's chain of command. Right. Fans of Harry's later adventures (The Redeemer, 2013, etc.) will wait with bated breath to see how long it takes him to break every rule in the book. Nor does Harry disappoint. He converts a key witness, Inger's fellow barmaid Birgitta Enquist, into his bedmate. He starts drinking again. He adds a local prostitute to his list of conquests. He gets into a series of increasingly violent brawls. As it becomes more obvious that the cops are dealing with a serial rapist who has no reservations about killing, Harry brushes elbows (and more) with Inger's new boyfriend, Evans White, a drug dealer in New South Wales; with Teddy Mongabi, the baddest pimp in Sydney; and with transvestite clown Otto Rechtnagel, whose status as the most likely suspect is canceled for the best possible reason.Harry is already every bit as volcanic as in his later cases. The big difference is Australia, which Nesb�, seeing it through the eyes of both a tourist and a cultural pathologist, makes you wonder how much different it is from Norway after all.Pub Date:July 2nd, 2013ISBN:978-0-345-80709-0Page count:384ppPublisher:Vintage Crime/Black LizardReview Posted Online:June 23rd, 2013Kirkus Reviews Issue:July 1st, 2013

You can't keep great white sharks in captivity*. That was silly, and easy to find with minor research, and how am I supposed to take anything else seriously?

In non-shark problems, I realize this was published a million years ago (1997), but yikes. Cannot say I recommend in this year of two thousand and twenty three.

*Monterey Bay Aquarium had a research program in the mid-2000s, and the longest they could keep one was for 198 days. I was privileged enough to see one while it was there, but you just can't keep them alive in captivity. They get aggressive, and don't eat, and die. ( )

There are many things to criticize in this novel, but I think the biggest is that the main thread of the storyline gets really submerged and lost for a lot of pages. This had way too much sentimentality, foolishness, and stupidity to be considered a good Nordic Noir – or even just a general noir – story.

Everything about this novel seems like a caricature and irrelevant. I honestly do not know anyone who would enjoy this. Readers deserve better. This is not well-written and the crime story is the side story compared with the main character’s endless stream of issues. ( )

A Norwegian woman is murdered in Australia. So of course The Aussies call in ace Norwegian detective Harry Hole to help them catch the killer. He meets a Swedish woman and immediately begins a relationship with her. And just to show her how much she means to him, he asks her to act as bait to help him catch the killer. Both the girlfriend and the Australian authorities actually agree to this. Sounds kinda far fetched, doesn't it ? Sure did to me. But that being said, still an enjoyable read. There is just something about Harry. He's a tortured, but very fascinating soul. And I'm Looking forward to reading more of his adventures. ( )