A Scandinavian noir thriller full of twists and turns…

 From the start, I want to say that this is the first Harry Hole book I have read and Jo Nesbø is a new writer to me. So saying I learned that his previous 9 novels have sold 33 million copies worldwide, so there a many people who enjoy this somewhat imperfect hero.

Fans will be aware that Harry Hole (for us newbies, Hole is pronounced Hoo – Leh) seemed to retire at the end of book 10. He is in a good place in his marriage to Rakel and is now an instructor at the police academy.

In book 11 of the series, The Thirst, Harry is brought back to assist Detective Inspector Katrine Bratt catch a killer; the killer who escaped justice, the proverbial one who got away – Harry’s worst nightmare.

Elise is a successful lawyer who, in the modern way, chooses to meet a man on Tinder – but is she the intended victim?  Perhaps the killer is after Elise’s date or the intended victim is Mehmet Kalak, the owner of “The Jealousy Bar” where the killer meets his prey. Are all three prey, or is one of them the Predator?

Elise is less than impressed with her date named Geir and as she leaves the bar says “Can you promise me something, Geir? That when I walk out of here in a moment, you’ll never try to contact me again?” Mehmet overhears Geir comment “Of course”.

Elise comments “It’s not that you seem like a stalker, Geir, but I’ve had a couple of bad experiences with guys following me.” Feeling creeped out she decides to delete her Tinder profile the next day.

Rakel is not impressed by Harry’s return to active police work but sitting with him as he learns about the latest murder, she watches his eyes turned inwards and he is on his way again, into the darkness, away from the family. As the story progresses we begin to suspect Harry is the killer.

The victim count grows and despite different leads, the team investigating keeps returning to a previous vampire-style killer known as “Valentin Gjertsen”. He escaped from prison 4 years earlier; is he now on a killing spree with a victim a day? Each new death raises the possibility of different killers, including Valentin Gjertsen’s own father.

So many twists and turns in this novel as it keeps you guessing as to the killer’s identity – until at the end it’s “Wow I didn’t see that coming”.

The Thirst by Jo Nesbø is for fans of Harry Hole, Scandi Noir, or vampires – it is not for reading on a dark and stormy night. The full range of Harry Hole books are available at Dymocks. Click here to learn more.