Jo Nesbo is a critically acclaimed Norwegian writer and musician. He has been hailed as one of the best crime novelists. Critics also claim that he has brought about a widening of the scope of crime novels and the way they are written. This article provides you with a complete list of all of his works. The Bat, by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo is the first of the Inspector Harry Hole (pronounced Hoo-leh) novels. Set in Australia of all places, Nesbo introduces our hero as a foreign policeman sent on a diplomatic mission to assist with the investigation of the murder of.
The Bat: Harry Hole 1: Nesbo, Jo, Bartlett, Don: Amazon.nl Selecteer uw cookievoorkeuren We gebruiken cookies en vergelijkbare tools om uw winkelervaring te verbeteren, onze services aan te bieden, te begrijpen hoe klanten onze services gebruiken zodat we verbeteringen kunnen aanbrengen, en om advertenties weer te geven, inclusief op interesses. The official website for Jo Nesbo, author of the Harry Hole detective crime novels including The Bat, The Snowman and more bestselling thrillers, Blood on Snow and Midnight Sun. The Bat: A Harry Hole Novel (1) - Kindle edition by Nesbo, Jo, Don Bartlett. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Bat: A Harry Hole Novel (1).
The Bat, by author Jo Nesbo, follows the story of Detective Harry Hole, who travels from Norway to Sydney, Australia, to help investigate the brutal rape and murder of Inger Holter, a young Norwegian woman. Assisted by Andrew Kensington and other Australian police officers, Harry soon concludes that Inger's death is part of a series of unsolved murders, leading to a number of suspects and shocking developments.
The book opens with Harry Hole's arrival in Sydney to assist the local police with their investigation of a young, Norwegian blonde named Inger Holter. He is met by Andrew Kensington, an Aboriginal detective, who fills him in on the history of Australia's indigenous people as they proceed with the investigation. Early on, Andrew introduces Harry to two friends -- flamboyant cross-dressing clown Otto Rechtnagel and Aboriginal boxer Robin Toowoomba -- but at first the two men seem to have no relation to the case. Harry also meets Birgitta Enquist, a beautiful Swedish girl who tends the bar at the restaurant where Inger worked. They begin dating.
Finding a letter Inger wrote to a friend, Harry and Andrew identify her boyfriend, drug dealer Evans White, as their primary suspect. However, his girlfriend insists he was with her at the time of the murder. As the investigation continues, the detectives begin to realize that Inger's death fits a pattern involving the unsolved murders of other young, blonde women. They decide the crimes are the work of a serial killer. They question Inger's landlord, but he has a strong alibi and is quickly eliminated as a suspect. Harry also gets help from a prostitute named Sandra and others who live on the fringe of Sydney's gay and drug culture.
Eventually, Harry begins to realize that Andrew seems to know who the killer is and is trying to lead him to the same conclusion. After Andrew is beaten up and hospitalized, Harry confronts him, saying he believes Otto Rechtnagel is the murderer and will be arrested immediately, and he ignores Andrew's insistence that he is wrong. Harry and the other officers attend a performance of Otto's circus, but when they go backstage to arrest him, they find that he has been brutally murdered. When they learn that Andrew has escaped from the hospital, he becomes a suspect, a concept that strengthens when he is found hanging in Otto's apartment, apparently a victim of suicide.
Andrew's death causes Harry, an alcoholic, to begin drinking again, but he continues to investigate and soon learns that Andrew was a heroin addict. He eventually is able to prove that Andrew was murdered and the evidence points to Otto's secret lover, whose identity is known to no one. Evans White again emerges as a suspect and Harry asks Birgitta to help the police entrap him, but the plan goes horribly awry and Birgitta disappears. Harry soon realizes that Toowoomba is the murderer, but by then he has killed Birgitta. Harry tracks the boxer to the Sydney Aquarium, where he shoots him, causing him to fall into a tank and he is devoured by a great white shark. Afterward, Harry gets a rose tattoo as a tribute to Birgitta and finds an escape in skydiving.
![Jo nesbo the bat review Jo nesbo the bat review](/uploads/1/3/4/6/134665562/222961290.png)
I have read all of the Harry Hole police procedural mysteries by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo, but read them out of order. Which probably was a good thing . . .
THE BAT is the first in the series, but was only recently made available in English and for Kindle. I was thrilled to read it, as the subsequent books in the series refer to Harry’s investigation of a serial killer in Australia. But as I gobbled it up, literarily speaking, one thought kept surfacing: this is a strange way to start a detective series.
The book introduces Harry Hole as an Oslo detective sent to Sydney, Australia to assist in the investigation of the murder of a Norwegian woman who was a moderately successful Norwegian TV star. His guide throughout the investigation is an Australian detective named Kensington who is of Aboriginal descent. Kensington’s boss isn’t thrilled to have Harry there and wants to shut him out even as Kensington keeps introducing Harry to strange folks in the outback as well as in bars in Sydney’s red light district called King’s Cross.
Now, I’ve been to both Oslo and Sydney (including a night of clubbing in King’s Cross) and the two cities have a lot in common. They are both vibrant and modern with an athletic vibe and a well-educated populace. Lots of tall white people in rock band tees. Just like Harry.
But Nesbo makes the differences really speak to the reader by using the murder investigation to reveal the lifestyle, history, and integration difficulties of Australia’s Aboriginal population. We discover pain and passion through Harry’s eyes in a way that neither the Norwegian detective nor the reader expect to do so.
The serial killer does bad stuff, the ending is full of suspense, a romance goes awry, and the roots of Harry’s self-destructive behavior—more of a central issues in later books—are revealed. But overall, I can’t shake the feeling that this was an odd way to start a mystery series, because at no time do we see Harry as particularly Norwegian or in his natural element. We don’t meet his colleagues or understand the context for any continuing series. I recognized places in Australia, and loved the great descriptions, easy dialogue, and twisty plotting. But I’m not sure I’d be compelled to read more in a series set in Norway if I only had this story to go on.
Jo Nesbo The Bat Man
Bottom line? Read THE BAT by Jo Nesbo, but not as your introduction to the Harry Hole series.
Jo Nesbo The Bat Birgitta
Celebrate Water Day 2014 with 5 Great ReadsFrom Panama to Mexico and back again
Get Mystery Ahead in your Inbox for the best in book news, mystery reviews, and exclusive peeks at what I'm writing now.
Jo Nesbo The Bat Review
![Jo Nesbo The Bat Jo Nesbo The Bat](/uploads/1/3/4/6/134665562/385225639.jpg)