Police: A Harry Hole Novel (10)

This is a gruesome murder spree directed against police officers. The suspects are numerous. As soon as one seems to be eliminated, another pops up as a sure thing-only to be succeeded by another. The story is shocking, grisly, and intense. The twists continue throughout until the very end. Nesbo's style can be confusing, but it is well worth your time.

If you have read any of the past Harry Hole novels, you know that Harry's story continues to evolve and Police is the next step. If you haven't, you probably shouldn't start here,though if you do you will enjoy nonetheless. Always a good read.

For those unfamiliar with Jo Nesbo and his flawed, relentless detective, Harry Hole (rhymes with ole'), you may find yourself taking a vacation just to read this series as you can't just read one book. Nesbo goes to dark places, creating scenarios vividly violent. The first murder in this book is horrific, one of those scenes that could remain with the reader for a long time. In one of David Lindsey's earlier books there was a fight scene with knives that may stand alone for sheer brutality, but Nesbo doesn't shy away from writing about the worst of painful death. This book may be his best - there are crooked cops, sadistic killers, and scenes creating a sense of dread movies create by lighting, music, shadows, and scary places. Nesbo can creep you out while still remaining in the realm of "the possible," ugly as those possibilities often are. However, there is also a "let's digress" aspect to these books. One of the creepier sub-plots is the sense that something bad is about to happen to a particular child. The reader doesn't know there is any danger but I still flinched whenever the plot shifted to this child. The reader does not want that child to miss the bus or be alone in the house.The mystery to be solved in this book is who is killing policeman at the scenes of crimes they investigated in the past. The method is so brutal that Tarantino will probably use it in a movie. Reading about it was dreadful enough. The visual would be impossible to watch. Hole, hoping to have a normal life has stopped "detecting" and is teaching others how to do it. He is hired back as a "consultant," where he ignores the new Chief of Police's constant interference and demands and he begins to think he's solved the case. It soon becomes clear that those conclusions were wrong and he is back to square one.The end is ... stunning. If you read one police procedural a year, make it this one. A caution. Nesbo does not do cozy. There are no teas by the fire or warm blankets as the detectives toss around ideas. These books are about ugly death done by ugly, sometimes crazy, people and about the lingering melancholy these deaths cause in those who view the remains of the tortured, the burned, the dismembered. What makes Nesbo such a stand out is that there is no guarantee that anyone, even Hole, will survive. Nesbo creates his characters and he can kill them in a flash if he feels like it.Other writers kill off minor characters but one always gets the feeling that the writer has a better character in mind to replace that one. It is almost as though Nesbo, after a bad day, is simply pissed off and wants to vent, so some unlucky character is about to come to a brutal end. Maybe it will be quick and painless or..... Head first into the wood chipper. This guy can write. If you are reading this review, you probably like this genre. Nesbo is at the top of the game.

I have enjoyed Jo Nesbo novel's and did enjoy this one. But I need to say up front that I was frustrated with how long it took Nesbo to bring Harry Hole into the novel. It says it is a Harry Hole novel, but you are two hundred pages into it before Harry makes an appearance, at least it felt that long. The beginning of the book dragged. It took way to long to develop the situation that was going to be solved. I almost set the book aside, but I remembered how much I like Harry Hole novels so I kept going.I'm glad I did. The book started to pick up speed. The plots started to thicken and there were several of them. It was an exciting read that kept me wanting to know how it was going to end.There is someone killing police officers. That person is killing them at the scenes of previous murders that wen't unsolved. The murders are brutal. The person is bludgeoned almost beyond recognition and then killed.There is a new "young" police chief. He is not quite experienced enough to handle this, but since there is no Harry Hole he is doing the best he can.Harry's friends start to meet in the boiler room of their precinct so that they can form an unofficial task force. They want to bring back their psychologist friend as well as Harry, but how can they do that?To go along with this plot is another, a serial rapists is brutally murdered in prison, or is he? Does he have something to do with this crime spree? Is he even alive?Then there is the police academy and a young girl there who seems overly obsessed with the police murders and serial killers in particular. As the story unwinds she might have more to do with the murders than anyone can imagine.All three plots or is it four plots, as we have the unsolved murder of a drug trafficker in here as well, come together towards the end of the book to start tying things up. But frankly we don't know exactly how everything is going to end until the last page, and then it doesn't really end, does it?The book was fun, just slow to get going. If you get bored at the beginning don't put it down. Keep in mind the little things that are mentioned that don't appear to have much significance because they will come back to add to the story in the long run.Oh, and did I mention that there are several love stories running throughout the book? Yup, four love stories to hold more interest.Enjoy!

I really like Jo Nesbo and Harry Hole is a particular favourite character of mine. This is not the best book of the series IMO as I felt it started really slowly with the usual JN attention to detail. I felt part of the problem was that Harry didn’t appear in the book until maybe 25% in and that was when the pace picked up and from that point on you need to strap yourself in as it feels like you are on an exciting rollercoaster ride. 🤢 Harry is lecturing for the Norwegian Police Service but becomes involved with the usual cast of characters as a consultant in an investigation of brutal killings of police officers. All the usual characters - the shady and good - are here and some of them feel like old friends! I’m assuming at some point that Truls Berntsen and Mikael Bellmann will get what coming to them and to a certain extent they received rough justice in this story but not yet unmasked. I particularly like Beate Lonn and there’s a shocker in this novel as JN is inclined to do. This story was quite complex with past murders linked to a revenge spree in the present day and it certainly helps to have read all the previous books as part of this story links to the last book The Phantom. It has so many twists and turns - you think you’ve got it all sorted in your head than wham, something happens and you realise it’s not what you thought at all! This is what you expect and get from Jo Nesbo.Harry is a much more settled character in this book - he’s happier and off the booze. I think that is a sensible decision from the author as there is only so much self destruction a character can take (and readers) before the whole thing implodes. Harry’s relationship with Rakel is progressing and although Oleg did not feature as much in this one as the previous book he too plays a part. He’s received treatment for his drug addiction and is in a better place now. The ending was really good and in typical JN fashion he sets you up to want to read the next instalment! Which I will. Soon. 🤣.

Love Harry Hole novels. Always gripping and seductive. Think I've read all. This latest was no exception. Pretty fast paced, some moments presented themselves, where I thought, "aha"! I've worked it out. Of course I hadn't. Suffice to say the plot twists and turns with plenty of roads and story lines off. Just enough nods into previous stories to keep you updated with Harry's life. All in all great reading.

I have read my way through the Harry Hole series. This one picks up where 'Phantom' left off. Phantom: A Harry Hole thriller (Oslo Sequence 7)  'Phantom' ended with Harry Hole apparently breathing his last and as 'Police' begins the other police characters take over to fill the void left by Harry. Oslo is haunted by a serial killer but not just any serial killer, this one is killing police. The victims, by and large, are officers who were associated with the investigation of unsolved murders. For some reason these officers or former officers return to the scene of the unsolved murder on its anniversary and meet a gory end. Harry's former inner-circle of friends does not escape the attention of the Cop-Killer and one murder is particularly shocking.Old relationships break down. Bellman, chief of police, is without the help of 'hands on enforcer' Truls Berntsen who has been suspended by Bellman for failing to account for a sum of money lodged to his bank account. The position of Bellman as chief of police is under threat as the murders mount up and the local Council move to sideline him as not up to the job in a move instigated by his lover (scorned) Isabelle Skoyen. Ulla his wife remains loyal to him despite discovering his affair.New and sinister characters feature in the form of violent convicted rapist Valentin Gjertsin and Silje Gravseng a young blond female student in the police academy. It is hard to decide which is the more dangerous and sinister and by the end of this novel that remains unresolved.The plot twists and turns to mislead and shock and horrify. The reader's emotions and stress levels are exploited to the full. It is a gripping read but best not read immediately before an attempt to sleep. It is also one of the most graphic of the Harry Hole novels and there were parts where it crossed the line as far as I was concerned. Nevertheless there is a lot packed into its 628 pages and enough loose ends and sinister implications to form the basis for the next in the series which I will probably buy when I have recovered from the shock of this one. Phantom: A Harry Hole thriller (Oslo Sequence 7)

I have loved all the Harry Hole books. I like to read a series in order and was frustrated by the constant reference to Australia in the first ones that I read (from Redeemer). As soon as the English translations were available, I read Bat Man, Cockroaches and Redbreast. It had been a while since I read Phantom, so it took a while to work out what was happening (I should have reread it). Like other reviewers have said, the twists and turns and red herrings keep you guessing right from the start. A great read from an outstanding author. I'm now reading The Thirst back to back.

This Harry Hole novel was disappointing. On the positive side it is well written and, for the most part, is reasonably engaging. However, I found it over-long and the plot a little labyrinthine. I found there seem to be a tendency to try to outdo the gruesomeness of previous Hole books, almost to the point of being gratuitous.Some level of realism is important to most readers, and it is unrealistic to expect all the main "good" characters to survive unscathed. However, at various points (without wishing to insert any spoilers), I did wonder who would be next to get the chop, and it just seemed to be the luck of the draw.I felt the plot was over-elaborate to the point where my mind was dismissing everything as a red herring. To mix metaphors, there are only so many blind alleys that a reader can tolerate.