Follows Harry Hole's efforts to solve the murder of a television celebrity whose demise is linked to a string of serial killings.
Harry Hole Series
This series of detective novels follows Harry Hole, a Norwegian policeman who grapples with personal demons and complex cases. His investigations often reveal the dark sides of human nature and crime. The stories combine tension, psychology, and social commentary. Harry is a character who seeks to find meaning in chaos.
Recommended Reading Order
- 1
- 2
When the Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel, Inspector Harry Hole is dispatched from Oslo to help hush up the case. But once he arrives Harry discovers that this case is about much more than one random murder. There is something else, something more pervasive, scrabbling around behind the scenes. Or, put another way, for every cockroach you see in your hotel room, there are hundreds behind the walls. Surrounded by round-the-clock traffic noise, Harry wanders the streets of Bangkok lined with go-go bars, temples, opium dens, and tourist traps, trying to piece together the story of the ambassador’s death even though no one asked him to, and no one wants him to—not even Harry himself.
- 3
The Redbreast
- 636 pages
- 23 hours of reading
"The Redbreast is a fabulous introduction to Nesbø’s tough-as-nails series protagonist, Oslo police detective Harry Hole. A brilliant and epic novel, breathtaking in its scope and design—winner of The Glass Key for best Nordic crime novel and selected as the best Norwegian crime novel ever written by members of Norway’s book clubs—The Redbreast is a chilling tale of murder and betrayal that ranges from the battlefields of World War Two to the streets of modern-day Oslo. Follow Hole as he races to stop a killer and disarm a ticking time-bomb from his nation’s shadowy past."--Goodreads.com.
- 4
Nemesis
- 512 pages
- 18 hours of reading
A man walks into an Oslo bank, puts a gun to a cashier's head, and tells her to count to twenty-five. When he doesn't get his money fast enough, he pulls the trigger. The young woman dies—and two million Norwegian kroner disappear without a trace. After a drunken evening with former girlfriend Anna Bethsen, Police Detective Harry Hole wakes up at home with a headache, no cell phone, and no memory of the past twelve hours. The same day, Anna is found shot dead in her bedroom, making Hole a prime suspect in the investigation led by his hated adversary, Tom Waaler. Meanwhile, the bank robberies continue with unparalleled savagery, sending rogue detective Hole from the streets of Oslo to steaming Brazil in a race to close two cases and clear his name. But Waaler isn't finished with his longtime nemesis quite yet.
- 5
A young woman is murdered in her Oslo flat. One finger has been severed from her left hand, and behind her eyelid is secreted a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five-pointed star a pentagram, the devils star. Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case with his long-time adversary Tom Waaler and initially wants no part in it. But Harry is already on notice to quit the force and is left with little alternative but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor and get to work. A wave of similar murders is on the horizon. An emerging pattern suggests that Oslo has a serial killer on its hands, and the five-pointed devils star is key to solving the riddle.
- 6
The Redeemer
A Harry Hole Mystery #4
When a Salvation Army caroler is shot dead at a concert, Hole and his team have little to work with. But when the assassin discovers he's shot the wrong man, the troubles have only just begun ..
- 7
The night the first snow falls a young boy wakes to find his mother gone. He walks through the silent house, but finds only wet footprints on the stairs. In the garden looms a solitary figure: a snowman bathed in cold moonlight, its black eyes glaring up at the bedroom windows. Round its neck is his mother's pink scarf. Inspector Harry Hole is convinced there is a link between the disappearance and a menacing letter he received some months earlier. As Harry and his team delve into unsolved case files, they discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years. When a second woman disappears Harry's suspicions are confirmed: he is a pawn in a deadly game. For the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his turf, a killer who will drive him to the brink of insanity. A brilliant thriller with a pace that never lets up, The Snowman confirms Jo Nesb 's position as an international star of crime fiction.
- 8
In the depths of winter a killer stalks the city streets. Two women are found drowned in their own blood. A third woman is hanged from a diving board. YOU ARE ALLOWING THIS KILLING TO GO ON. The crime scenes offer no clues, the media is reaching fever pitch, and the police are running out of options. IT'S TIME THIS WAS STOPPED ... There is only one man who can help them catch the killer. But Inspector Harry Hole doesn't want to be found ... BECAUSE I HAVE APPOINTED THE NEXT VICTIM.
- 9
Harry Hole is back in Oslo. He's been away for some time, but his ghosts have a way of catching up with him. The case that brings him back is already closed. There is no room for doubt; the young junkie was shot dead by a fellow addict. Denied permission to reopen the investigation, Harry strikes out on his own. Beneath the city's eerie tranquillity, he discovers a trail, of violence and mysterious disappearances seemingly unnoticed by the police. At every turn Harry is faced with a conspiracy of silence. (From back cover).
- 10
Police
- 628 pages
- 22 hours of reading
The police urgently need Harry Hole A killer is stalking Oslo's streets. Police officers are being slain at the scenes of crimes they once investigated, but failed to solve. The murders are brutal, the media reaction hysterical. But this time, Harry can't help anyone For years, detective Harry Hole has been at the centre of every major criminal investigation in Oslo. His dedication to his job and his brilliant insights have saved the lives of countless people. But now, with those he loves most facing terrible danger, Harry can't protect anyone. Least of all himself.
- 11
The Thirst
- 632 pages
- 23 hours of reading
A woman is found murdered after an internet date. The marks left on her body show the police that they are dealing with a particularly vicious killer. Under pressure from the media to find the murderer, the force know there's only one man for the job. But Harry Hole is reluctant to return to the place that almost took everything from him.
- 12
"The gripping 12th book in Jo Nesbo's bestselling crime series, featuring the troubled and fascinating Oslo detective Harry Hole. Harry Hole has a lot of experience with waking up hungover. But there's one troubling thing that's different this time: his hands and clothes are covered with blood. It's a sign that not only is Harry about to come to face with an old, deadly foe, but also with his darkest personal challenge yet. A man like Harry better watch his back."--
- 13
'Not just an unbearably tense thriller but another of Nesbo's studies in love and loneliness... there are few greater crime writers' The Times 'Nesb is one of today's most interesting thriller writers, a 100% buy-today-read-tonight delight' Lee Child _________________________________ This killer will get inside your head... and there's nothing you can do to stop it When a body is found in the forest, the police make a horrifying discovery- her scalp has been removed and sewn back on. But they have no idea why. With a second woman reported missing, detectives fear their worst nightmare has come true. A serial killer is stalking the streets of Oslo. With time running out to find the woman, former detective Harry Hole is called in to think like a murderer thinks... and to track down this killer before they strike again. But Harry has ulterior motives for wanting to solve this case and, if he fails, there could be more than one life at risk. ________________________________ 'Nesbo deploys all the key ingredients of a cracking good thriller... effortless' Guardian 'The undisputed king of Scandinavian crime fiction' The Times
