Harry Hole is back in Book 13 of the series.

We find Harry in LA trying to drink himself to death. In Oslo, an apparent serial killer is on the loose, but Harry has refused to return to assist in the investigation. This changes when Harry feels the need to come to the aid of a little out lady whose life is in danger over the matter of a $900,000 debt to the Mexican cartel. A wealthy Oslo businessman who is the prime suspect in the serial killer case has offered to pay any amount for Harry to return and find the "real" killer, and prove him innocent. So Harry returns to Oslo to solve the case, and the businessman transfers $900,000 to the Mexican cartel.

I'm used to the gore and violence in the Harry Hole novels, but this one was particularly gruesome. There is also a lot of perversity--necrophilia for beginners and cannibalism for starters. The book is also a little on the long side. I read the book because it's been a while since I had a Harry Hole fix, but I find myself once again wondering whether I should read on if Nesbo comes out with another entry. Perhaps I will because there is reason to believe at the end of this one that Harry will be showing a softer side in the future.

3 stars ( )

Well, there are ways to kill and ways to kill....this was certainly a unique method! Harry Hole is in California contemplating ending his life when a near kidnapping of a stranger is committed. It merely puts off what he still intends to do until he gets a phone call from Oslo. Two murders that appear to be victims of a serial killer bring him back but not everyone is happy about his presence.

I nearly went blind reading this almost 500 page novel in one day but the action was intense and I couldn't resist.

Thank you always to my public library for providing a copy for my review. ( )

Why do I continue to read books that feature Harry Hole? Ugh, the hubris of this guy: Not only does he reprise his "I alone can fix it" mentality vis a vis murder mysteries, he also appropriates a eulogy for his close friend to explain a plot point. Also present are a significantly younger love interest (who also has a weird attitude toward the LGBTQ community) and the usual suspensions of disbelief, this time at the bacteriological level. Recommended only for long time readers of this series, and even for them (that is, me), this one is skippable. ( )

I wanted to like this book more because it's been so long since the previous one in the series. The best part to me was the police procedural aspects where Harry's team and the police team slogged through a myriad of possibilities to zero in on something that gave them a new tack to take. There was quite a bit of tacking, as they made several mistakes in finding the killer. I could have done without so much background on the killer's motivation and (gross) methodology. ( )

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the thirteenth instalment of the Harry Hole series, and I have previously only read book one, and whilst there are numerous references to our heroes previous escapades it in no way spoilt my enjoyment of this book. There is a serial killer at work in Oslo, and Harry is invited to escape his troubles in Los Angeles and set up his own team to investigate. This premise is far fetched and very hard to believe, but if you let that go over your head what follows is a clever engaging read. No great mystery as we know the name of the killer early on, but how and why makes for an enjoyable intriguing read, and there is still scope for surprises along the way.
Recommended. ( )