A review by lindzlovesreading
Phantom by Jo Nesbø

4.0

Yes, this novel has an incredibly high readability factor, very high. It has the pace of a high octane runaway train, ,most likely filmed by the other Scott. A swirling mass of Charybdis spitting out debris of junkies, corrupt cops, drug king pins, wanna bees and of course Harry Hole, all spewed up on Oslo's mean streets.

In many ways this is a very 'standard' crime thriller. What mystery thriller would be complete without the antisocial (does not play well with others) demon and alcohol fuelled knight-errant. Harry Hole fills the shoes admirably, and yes I would totally go there. These kinds of novels rely heavily on its main protagonist, and Harry Hole has enough of Heathcliff and Philip Marlowe to be completely intriguing. Harry Hole is the type of man who would be the perfect one night stand, if only you could stop trying to want to 'fix' him, but end up having that third bottle of wine, and falling asleep at the bar while he had a couple of bar fights.

Nesbo has constructed his world well, it has a hip cable tv feel, Breaking Bad meets Dexter, with a heavy Nirvana sound track. I love thrillers where you are treading the streets with your detective, and Oslo is a pretty cool place to get lost in.