firerosearien's review against another edition
4.0
Really 4.5 stars. A fantastically well done thriller for the most part. Addresses issues of collaboration in WWII that a lot of people don't like to talk about. Unfortunately the protagonist is more or less your standard thriller detective, which doesn't quite live up to the rest of the set up.
Still, this is a minor gripe, and I'd highly recommend this to anyone who likes a good thriller/procedural or a good psychological novel about dealing with the consequences of war.
Still, this is a minor gripe, and I'd highly recommend this to anyone who likes a good thriller/procedural or a good psychological novel about dealing with the consequences of war.
nrog67's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
The first book I have read from Nesbo and without a doubt one of the best crime fictions I have read for a long time! Loved the way the story went from one period to the next. p.s. bit with harry and his friend's answering machine is the best!! Sob.
limonik's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars! I’ve read five books by Nesbo so far and I must say this is my least favorite amongst all. The main reason behind it is definitely the absence of Harry Hole in the first half of the book. Our detective is mostly not present and the story focuses on too many things at once. The Neo Nazis were not interesting anyway and another Nazi story started: the Norwegian soldiers during WWII. I did not care for any of the soldiers. The characters were too similar for me to remember them later in the book (apart from Daniel and his friend Gudbrand). Then there was the case of Prince and his shady business. It’s not a bad book and it gets better when Hole is more involved later in the book. But still not one of Nesbo’s best works.
sethlynch's review against another edition
4.0
Jo Nesbo, the man who spawned an entire industry in The Next Stieg Larrson stickers. Rather unfair – like sticking The Next Bristol City on the gates of Old Trafford. Jo Nesbo is the writer Stieg Larrson showed signs of becoming by the end of his trilogy.
This book is the third in the Harry Hole series. The pervious two are not available in English yet. I don’t mind coming into a series at a this stage. Harry has history. Most of it stems from those previous two books. I never felt that I was missing something significant by starting here. What you get instead of the introductions are fully developed characters going about there work.
I don’t like to go into plot details in these reviews, I don’t want to spoil anything and half-the time I can’t remember enough of the plot to comment. I prefer to comment on the feel, the idea, and maybe scenes. These are the things which stick in my mind. Characters too but if the characters are undeveloped or unbelievable I probably won’t bother finishing the book. The first thing I liked about this book was its underlying subject – Nazis. I don’t have a thing about Nazis and am more interested in World War one than the sequel. I am interested in history and the way its twisted and perverted by time. The Norwegians, like the French, pretend that they fought bravely against the Nazi occupation. There were a few traitors but they were all shot on liberation. This book makes one fact clear: a lot of Norwegians fought for the Nazis. These people felt they were as loyal to their country as any other patriot. To them the real danger was the U.S.S.R.
I like Harry Hole. It’s a reasonably long book which is engaging enough to sustain itself. There’s a Wikipedia page on Hole if you want to know about his character etc. I liked him. He’s a bit of a Martin Beck on a bad day. When I finished reading it I had to resist downloading the next one straight away.
This book is the third in the Harry Hole series. The pervious two are not available in English yet. I don’t mind coming into a series at a this stage. Harry has history. Most of it stems from those previous two books. I never felt that I was missing something significant by starting here. What you get instead of the introductions are fully developed characters going about there work.
I don’t like to go into plot details in these reviews, I don’t want to spoil anything and half-the time I can’t remember enough of the plot to comment. I prefer to comment on the feel, the idea, and maybe scenes. These are the things which stick in my mind. Characters too but if the characters are undeveloped or unbelievable I probably won’t bother finishing the book. The first thing I liked about this book was its underlying subject – Nazis. I don’t have a thing about Nazis and am more interested in World War one than the sequel. I am interested in history and the way its twisted and perverted by time. The Norwegians, like the French, pretend that they fought bravely against the Nazi occupation. There were a few traitors but they were all shot on liberation. This book makes one fact clear: a lot of Norwegians fought for the Nazis. These people felt they were as loyal to their country as any other patriot. To them the real danger was the U.S.S.R.
I like Harry Hole. It’s a reasonably long book which is engaging enough to sustain itself. There’s a Wikipedia page on Hole if you want to know about his character etc. I liked him. He’s a bit of a Martin Beck on a bad day. When I finished reading it I had to resist downloading the next one straight away.
jenniefallis's review against another edition
1.0
This book has an incomplete ending. Half the plots are not followed. Definitely not equivalent to Stieg Larsson as a book reviewer from the Independent once claimed... Would not recommend, there are better mysteries and the book does not start until about 250-300 pages in.
srreid's review against another edition
3.0
After seeing the movie Headhunters which i thoroughly enjoyed i looked up the author and ordered a couple of his books. Was slightly put off by the cover comparisons as the next Stieg Larsson, can no one be a recognised author in their own right anymore, they have to inevitably be compared to someone else. But this was almost well deserved, although i didn't feel quite as good as Larrson's Millenium trilogy, it was a good enough little police thriller, well enough paced, i read the whole book in just a few days. It jumps back and forward from events in 1944 to present day, this sometimes got a little tedious as it took a long way through the book before it made sense why they kept doing this, but it all comes together nicely - no spoilers, but it was quite well done. But i did lose interest a bit towards the end of the book - might be more my fault than the book but i couldn't concentrate on the end as well. Overall the feel of the book to me was it was ok but just not as complex as the Millenium trilogy, i would probably have enjoyed it more if i had read them the other way around. But saying that it was enjoyable enough to make me want to read more by this author, also i think it would make a pretty decent movie, in a Day of the Jackal sort of vein, be interesting to see if Headhunters does well enough for them to want to make more.
sinilukee's review against another edition
I have tried to read this book couple of months now. I don't have energy for this. I want to start a new year with a clean table. So that's why I'm gonna DNF this. I hope, I will read this one day.
theresey01's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
genevieve_c_s_b's review against another edition
3.0
Three and a half stars. I found the first third to be slow, but then it picked up and I really enjoyed it.