Inspector Harry Hole is back and this time he is after a serial killer who has a penchant for diamonds and a flair for theatrical murder scene staging. Harry is still trying to get enough evidence to bring his colleague Tom Waaler to justice for the murder of Harry’s old partner Ellen.
Rakel, Harry’s girlfriend is still on the periphery and Harry’s battle with booze is still just as difficult as ever.
Nesbo writes a mean crime thriller. With Harry Hole, we have a hero most flawed; not only self-destructive but harmful to those who care about him most. Harry’s biggest inner demon is not his constant craving for alcohol, but his addiction to crime itself. The allure of the murder scene with its puzzles, clues, and questions left unasked.
Tom Waaler, who has been present in the Harry Hole series for a while now, is a thoroughly unpleasant character. Overbearing and sadistic, he is also a “dirty cop” who has more secrets than he can keep control of. And that is what Waaler does best, control things. His sideline business of smuggling and knowing where all the skeletons are buried make him an appropriate challenge for Harry.
While Harry is busy confronting Waaler, they are forced to team up on a series of murders in Oslo. Each victim has been found with a star-shaped diamond piece of jewellery on their body and Harry soon breaks “the code” that the killer has left at each crime scene. The killer appears to be a bike courier who has a bad habit of cutting off pieces of the victim’s body and then leaving them as clues.
While Harry gets ever closer to finding out who the killer is, Waaler continues to entice and threaten Harry into either joining him in his extra-curricular activities or pay the consequences. Even going so far as to threaten Harry’s friends and endanger Rakel and Oleg.
While not as international as the other books in the Harry Hole series, the only external locations from Oslo are Prague and Switzerland, the action is just as fast paced and the puzzles just as good. There are the usual red herrings and misdirection for the reader and Harry to follow and discard.
My one bone of contention, if it can be called that, was that I guess very early on in the book where one of the “missing” bodies was going to be hidden and I cannot say how disappointed I was when proved right. Still, that was the only thing I guessed correctly out of the entire book.
Nesbo has brought so much life to Inspector Harry Hole and the world he inhabits that all of them seem like real living breathing people. If Harry doesn’t succumb to all the cigarettes that he chain smokes, he will continue to solve crimes for a long, if not tortured, time.
As I have mentioned before, I have been reading the books out-of-order. It would probably be a good idea for the new reader to follow the books in order. I don’t mind knowing that certain characters will not be around later or that Harry will change partners for one reason or another, but other folks might just be put off.
By all means if you want to just read one of the books, it does not matter if you’ve read any others in the series. Each book can be read as a stand-alone story. Nesbo writes each one with enough background information that no questions are raised that interferes with the plotline.
I am sure that one day soon, Nesbo will stop being touted as the “next Stieg Larsson” and get credit for the talent that he so inherently shows with each new book.
The Devil’s Star is a 4 ½ out of 5 stars only because I guessed where the body was going to turn up.
Author Jo Nesbo.
Related articles
- The Snowman by Jo Nesbo…Another Nordic Novelist (mikesfilmtalk.com)
- Nemesis by Jo Nesbo: Multiple Murder… (mikesfilmtalk.com)
- The Leopard by Jo Nesbo: Has Harry Gone Down the Hole? (mikesfilmtalk.com)
- Headhunters by Jo Nesbo: A Killer Interview… (mikesfilmtalk.com)
- Sunday Salon – Why I Love Jo Nesbo (rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress.com)
- Book Review: The Snowman by Jo Nesbø (aegeanjan.wordpress.com)
- Being a Detective in Nesbo Style (messinmyheart.wordpress.com)
- Ex-Stockbroker Jo Nesbo Probes Murder, Mystery as Author – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
- Warner Bros Wins Auction For Jo Nesbo Novel ‘The Son’ (deadline.com)
