Helpful Score: 1
This is actually the 2nd in the Harry Hole series but not translated until now. You get a lot on the background and history of Harry. He has a lot of problems including that he is an alcoholic. It is why he was sent to Thailand to work on the murder of the Norwegian ambassador there. The powers in Norway wanted just that nothing would be found. But Harry pulls himself together and a great detective story follows. It is a great read. I am doing them in series and expect Nesbo's writing to improve as the series continues. He is a great writer. Great article on him in a recent New Yorker magazine.
Intense.
Hooked from the first chapter.
Harry Hole is a detective that has some problems and he know it.
He has demons that chase him and sometimes become part of the situation that he is in.
Harry wants answers and if the pieces to the puzzle don't fit, he will search for those answers that make the puzzle complete.
Even when it means looking to himself and friends.
Hooked from the first chapter.
Harry Hole is a detective that has some problems and he know it.
He has demons that chase him and sometimes become part of the situation that he is in.
Harry wants answers and if the pieces to the puzzle don't fit, he will search for those answers that make the puzzle complete.
Even when it means looking to himself and friends.
I enjoyed this a lot. The Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is found murdered in a seedy motel and child pornography is found in his car. Harry Hole is sent from Oslo to sort out what the hell happened. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the Thailand setting and the Norwegian expat community there. An interesting mystery which takes some unexpected turns!
This is the second book in the Harry Hole series which I have been reading out of order, as usual. In this one, Harry is sent to Bangkok to look into the murder of the Norwegian ambassador and doing it with the least amount of notoriety or scandal. Well, they probably should not have sent Harry to do the job. On the surface, it looks like maybe an open and shut case but Harry knows that for every cockroach you see on the surface, there are hundreds more lurking behind the walls. Harry winds up looking down many paths, including a possible pedophile motive, to find out who and why the ambassador was really killed. Along the way, he must survive attacks from those out to thwart his investigation including Woo, a monstrous bad guy that could have been a James Bond villain. Others are also drawn into harm's way including the young daughter of the ambassador and Harry's cohorts who are helping with the case.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as some of the others I have read including THE SNOWMAN, NEMESIS, and THE REDEEMER, but it was still a good outing in the series. I'll be looking forward to reading the other books I have missed.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as some of the others I have read including THE SNOWMAN, NEMESIS, and THE REDEEMER, but it was still a good outing in the series. I'll be looking forward to reading the other books I have missed.
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 ambassadors death even though no one asked him to, and no one wants him tonot even Harry himself.
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 ambassadors death even though no one asked him to, and no one wants him tonot even Harry himself.
