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The Leopard (Harry Hole #8)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 8,126 ratings · 1,191 reviews

In the depths of winter, a killer stalks the city streets. His victims are two young women, both found with twenty-four inexplicable puncture wounds, both drowned in their own blood. The crime scenes offer no clues, the media is reaching fever pitch, and the police are running out of options. There is only one man who can help them, and he doesn't want to be found.

Deeply t...more

Hardcover, 613 pages

Published January 20th 2011 by Harvill Secker (first published January 1st 2009)

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Jan 23, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The violence in The Leopard is gruesome and unrelenting (took me a while to craft a review without the phrase "sick fuck" in it [oops]). For some, I know, it will be too much. It came close for me, but my lack of an ability to visualize allowed me to power through.

That said, the violence works well within the story. Detective Harry Hole is back on the case of another serial killer and lets face it, things have to get pretty damn dicey to shake up Harry (and he is well and truly shook).

This thril...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nordic-noir, favorites

Dear Harry Hole:

Last time I heard from you, you lost the woman you loved, her son who called you Dad and your middle finger. You quit Crime Squad for good, sulking from the trauma and devastation in your life caused chasing down that twisted Snowman. You moved to Hong Kong where you graduated at the top of your class from Jim Beam to heroin. No more serial killer hunts for you. Just smack, glass noodles and gambling on losing horses. The good life for someone who has given up on life.

Then this...more

14 likes · like · see review

Jan 19, 2012 April (CSI:Librarian) marked it as did-not-finish · review of another edition

There are some books that aren't dreadful but just aren't worth finishing. All the same, I cannot remember the last time I read 311 pages of a book only to decide I couldn't be bothered to read the rest. After several days of being really confused by my overwhelming apathy and agonizing over what to do, I finally gave myself permission to give up.

Why couldn't I summon up the will to read? For one thing, this is not even half as good a book as The Snowman nor was its killer remotely as frightenin...more

10 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2012 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: especially Harry Bosch fans

Shelves: 2012, apl

Nesbø's Harry Hole books should come with at least two warnings on them; Never start to read one if you need a full night of sleep (you will be up until way too late because the story is just too addictive), and never start to read one if you don't have at least one more Harry Hole, ideally in chronological order lined up waiting for you next, since you'll probably be going on Harry Hole binge.
This one would work great outside the series too, but it is much more enjoyable if you read the HH book...more Nesbø's Harry Hole books should come with at least two warnings on them; Never start to read one if you need a full night of sleep (you will be up until way too late because the story is just too addictive), and never start to read one if you don't have at least one more Harry Hole, ideally in chronological order lined up waiting for you next, since you'll probably be going on Harry Hole binge.
This one would work great outside the series too, but it is much more enjoyable if you read the HH books in order.

Nordic noir is an understatement. Very noir, and very Nordic. Oslo and exotic Norway (and a bit of Hong Kong and Congo), how much more exotic or Nordic can you get? Harry is noir. Imagine Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, make him more noir and to get his bottle easier and place him in Norway. The same type of characters in the police force (a chief who's not exactly agreeing with Harry is a recurrent theme in the series), the same amount of twists and turns. A lot of interesting characters, and everyone's suspicious. Everyone, even with the most polished and shiny public face has a dark side and their secrets. And all these characters with their drive the story to a very dark soup... blame the characters, not Nesbø - they clearly drove the story forward, in a fabric, and to a neatly folded, solved fabric.

In short, Harry's found by a fresh police colleague from Norway in Hong Kong where he fled after the Snowman case, and he's convinced to get back to Oslo to investigate a few murder cases which make it seem there is another serial killer in loose (he returns there because his father's dying but good enough, he ends up investigating the case anyway). The murder weapon is interesting and rare to be sure. There's an intense fabric of clues pointing the detectives to places and people, and any time it seems they are close to a resolution, if you're on the page 200 or 300, wait for many more nearly solutions until the case is built back as it happened.

And yes, now I can't wait to get the next HH in my hands... hi, I'm Anna and I'm HarryHoleholic. Just like Harry Hole wants his bottle of Jim Bean, I want an endless supply of Harry Hole stories. (less)

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Jan 28, 2012 Kevin Farrell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The short version of this review is this: If you liked the Snowman by Jo Nesbo then you will like this.

Longer version: The story follows Harry Hole to China where he is trying to bury himself in opium addiction after losing people close to him in the Snowman case. He is not coping well. He has a gambling debt to persons in China that are hunting him. His old boss needs him back for a case that is exploding with murders. To make matters worse, there is a new Investigative Unit that is maneuvering...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Carol by: publisher, ARC

Shelves: fiction

I'm a latecomer to the Harry Hole Norwegian thrillers but am becoming a fan of the series and of author, Jo Nesbo. I thought The Snowman was grisly and taut but compared to The Leopard, it’s like a walk in the park. Nesbo definitely steps up the violence a notch. Not all readers will be appreciative of this but as long as I’m just reading and not the victim, I’m ok with this.

In the Leopard we find Hole, holed up in Hong Kong making very little attempt to get his life back together. He is wallow...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: scandinavian-crime-fiction-and-myst, translated-fiction

It is just a crying shame that this novel is not going to be available in the U.S. right away, because really, American readers of Jo Nesbø are missing out on one of the very best books in the entire series. I couldn't even purchase a copy from Book Depository directly, so I had to take the roundabout alternative and purchase from BD through Amazon. It's a bit more expensive, but well worth it. Trust me, after finishing The Snowman, you are going to want to read this book as quickly as possible....more It is just a crying shame that this novel is not going to be available in the U.S. right away, because really, American readers of Jo Nesbø are missing out on one of the very best books in the entire series. I couldn't even purchase a copy from Book Depository directly, so I had to take the roundabout alternative and purchase from BD through Amazon. It's a bit more expensive, but well worth it. Trust me, after finishing The Snowman, you are going to want to read this book as quickly as possible.

In fact, in this episode of the Harry Hole series, the story picks up shortly after the events of The Snowman, which (without giving too much away) took their physical and emotional toll on Harry, sending him as far away from Norway and the police department as possible to Hong Kong. There he lives in squalor, bets money he doesn't have on the horses and runs up serious debts that prevent him from leaving the country. He also discovers that opium lessens his pain and allows him to stay away from the booze. But events back in Norway soon require his presence, and Detective Kaja Solness has come to Hong Kong to collect him and bring him back to Oslo. Harry adamantly refuses, but then relents when it turns out that his father is seriously ill and in the hospital. When he returns, he discovers that there's another serial killer on the loose, a person who has killed two people in a most gruesome fashion and leaves behind no evidence. More murders occur, but he's facing an even tougher problem. His colleagues in the Crime Squad, are in a fight with the Kripos (Krimpolitisentralen) over control of murder investigations, a battle that involves not just the two rival groups, but the future careers of many of Harry's colleagues and even Harry himself. The Kripos have taken jurisdiction over this series of murders, and the investigation is in the hands of Bellman -- a politico who is all about power and control, as opposed to Harry, who wants to solve the case and bring the perpetrator to justice. While this situation complicates matters for the Crime Squad, it doesn't stop Harry from doing his own investigation. Harry gets unofficial assistance from some of his colleagues, as well as some clandestine help from an old friend to figure out what it is that connects the victims together. Once he figures this out, he believes, it will help him with the who and the why. But this is not going to be easy. It will take all that Harry has to give, which right now isn't that much, and will take him back and forth across the globe before his job is done.

The character of Harry Hole is quite possibly at his best in this novel, even though emotionally he's at his lowest point. He has become a very real person here, battling through his personal demons which makes him a bit reckless and often prone to acting without thinking. He warns others who want to work with him that it is his pattern to drag them down alongside himself, and he is not wrong. But despite all of his personal issues, Harry is the consummate detective, and will not let go of the case until it is finished, no matter what means he has to use to get the job done.

Nesbø has done an incredible job with The Leopard, and readers of crime fiction, especially those who have followed Nesbø's series from the beginning, will in no way be disappointed. He is able to peak the reader's interest at the very start of the novel with a most nasty crime and a bad guy who has absolutely no conscience, then ratchet up the tension level little by little until it is impossible to put the book down. His plotting is meticulous, but it is his attention to detail, the addition of the tension between the two police groups, and above all his portrayal of Harry Hole on a most human level that makes this story work and work well. There are also several references to Hole's other cases here and there throughout the story, bringing to mind all that this man has been through.

The Leopard is incredibly long, and I found some of it a bit confusing at times, especially regarding one of the subplots of the novel. It moves slowly in several parts to the point where you think you might be trying to crawl through jello. And yes, there are some very over-the-top moments that Nesbø seems to enjoy throwing into each one of his novels that make the action a little hard to swallow sometimes. However, it is probably my favorite of the series, and although it took some time to read, it was well worth every second. I started this on an airplane, and as much as I hate flying, I forgot where I was for the entire 5 hours because I was so caught up in the story. Do not make The Leopard your introduction to the Harry Hole series -- if nothing else, at least read The Snowman, so you will have an understanding of Harry's mindset going into this one, which is in many ways the continuation of the latter. Better yet, start with The Redbreast and read your way through one of the best crime fiction series currently available. (less)

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Jan 20, 2011 Stephen Hayes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure-thriller, crime-fiction, our-books

This is the third book I have read by Jo Nesbø, where the protagonist is Oslo detective Harry Hole. The book opens with Harry on indefinite leave, hiding out in the opium dens of Hong Kong, and being brought back to solve a serial murder case -- two women have been found dead, drowned in their own blood.

I haven't read the book immediately preceding this one in the series, The snowman, which apparently explains why Harry was in Hong Kong, and perhaps one needs to read that to understand what hap...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Cornerofmadness rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I’ve been hoping to find a Scandinavian mystery writer that I like (my library has limited choices and I’m one of the few who didn’t like Steig Larrson). Nesbo has become that. I’ve been wanting to read a Harry Hole book (while wondering how that name is pronounced in Norwegian) and while I would have liked to read earlier in the series, I’ll start where I can.

This one does seriously spoil the book immediately previous The Snowman (to the point I’m not sure I want to read it). Detective Kaja Sol...more I’ve been hoping to find a Scandinavian mystery writer that I like (my library has limited choices and I’m one of the few who didn’t like Steig Larrson). Nesbo has become that. I’ve been wanting to read a Harry Hole book (while wondering how that name is pronounced in Norwegian) and while I would have liked to read earlier in the series, I’ll start where I can.

This one does seriously spoil the book immediately previous The Snowman (to the point I’m not sure I want to read it). Detective Kaja Solness has been sent to Hong Kong and her goal is to bring Harry back to Norway. The Snowman case has left him completely undone and he’s in China to pretty much fade away. When she does find him, Harry is a mess, up to his eyeballs in gambling debts to the triad and the alcoholic is now also hooked on opium. She lays it out for him, his former boss Hagen wants him to return to help with a new serial killer case, where women are being killed in a very bizarre way. Harry refuses until she tells him his father is very ill.

The broken detective returns to find his father dying of cancer. He rejoins the Crime Squad with only two members helping him, Kaja and forensics specialist, Bjorn. Also trying to solve the case is a group called Kripos, which seems to be poised to put in place of the police by the government (which sounded very ominous and I couldn’t find much about it online that was in English so I don’t have much to go on other than what the book tells us). The head of that is a man named Bellman who is out to put the regular police out of business and would love to destroy Harry completely.

Harry begins to make headway relatively quickly much to Bellman’s chagrin but eventually things go awry for Harry and he finds himself needing to work with Bellman. The case takes far too many twists and turns to cover in a review, and well who would want to see them? It would ruin the fun. And there are plenty of twists and turns and over all it’s a very good story though I have my reservations.

Many of those reservations are personal. One it is a dark and depressing story, not that I particularly mind that but having alcoholic/drug users in the family, I think I’m actually less sympathetic than maybe I should be. Harry disappoints me in that respect and yet I DO like him in spite of it. His defeatist nature, however, is harder to handle. On a personal note, I hate the two crime organizations NOT getting along. I dislike that with American police vs. the FBI and I didn’t like it any better in this. That’s just a personal preference. It just adds this overall agita to the story that didn’t make me want to root for Harry more. Also I thought the ending was needlessly convoluted to the point where you just sort of wanted it to end sooner than it did (this is over 500 pages). Also this has graphic violence in it and sex. While neither bothers me, I know it might turn off some people. I would read another Harry Hole book, though maybe not the Snowman since I know most of the major plot points now.
(less)

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Dec 12, 2011 J.R. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense

Like so many fictional detectives, Harry Hole is complex, troubled and an alcoholic.

In contrast to some, Hole is also subject to realistic emotional response, vulnerable, prone to error and often wrong in his judgments. All of which makes him realistically human and a sympathetic character.

In this fifth novel in the series, Hole has retreated to Hong Kong to recuperate from the loss of Rakel, the woman he loves, and her son, Oleg, and the trauma of their encounter with the serial killer known as...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have a thing about Scandinavia and Scandinavian crime thrillers. Having enjoyed Wallander on TV, particularly Krister Henriksson's portrayal, I want to read all of Henning Mankel's series. The Danish TV series The Killing is also very good. Hence when my book group chose Jo Nesbo's The Leopard I was just a bit excited! Little did I know that The Leopard is the sixth book in the series and having not read any of the others, I feel I'm doing this back to front. On opening the book I was bitten!...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Desiree Koh rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm not a fan of crime fiction, unless it was written by Raymond Chandler, but that's not crime fiction - that's noir literature. However, I was enticed by and enjoyed the Stieg Larsson books last summer, despite how poorly they were edited and awful the English translations were. The narratives were compelling, and I couldn't put them down.

I decided to pick up the latest book by Jo Nesbo - billed as the "Norwegian Stieg Larsson" - because I was curious about this new trend of explicitly gruesom...more I'm not a fan of crime fiction, unless it was written by Raymond Chandler, but that's not crime fiction - that's noir literature. However, I was enticed by and enjoyed the Stieg Larsson books last summer, despite how poorly they were edited and awful the English translations were. The narratives were compelling, and I couldn't put them down.

I decided to pick up the latest book by Jo Nesbo - billed as the "Norwegian Stieg Larsson" - because I was curious about this new trend of explicitly gruesome murder mysteries in Scandinavia. They are the crime forensics TV shows and gore-schlock movies of the publishing world, and I've read theories that the bleak and desolate landscapes and climates of the region are a natural setting and reason for such books. A few days after I started reading "The Leopard," mostly unimpressed, the Oslo massacre took place, and the book became significant in a new way.

It still wasn't very good, and while it didn't explain or justify irrational violence, it was a strange parallel. The killer in the book is driven by a life-long hatred, derived power from torturing victims at his mercy, and invested effort in cooking up an elaborate plot to cover his tracks. Sadly, the real victims are those who spent time reading this book.

First, it's hard to enjoy a book when you absolutely cannot stand the protagonist. Crime novelists with a detective for a central character inadvertently pride themselves on molding tragic heroes who are smart about everything but running their own lives. Unfortunately, most try too hard and fail. Harry Hole, making his seventh appearance in a Nesbo novel, to be is just a sad sack of shit who can't get his life together. Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade - all the great crime detectives - constantly fall apart, too, but they remain knights in tainted armor. Hole is just annoying and a coward - he doesn't even get inebriated as suavely as Chandler and Hammett characters.

Then, the entire novel just feels like a TV show. One of the reasons I dislike watching TV dramas is that each one of them, especially on the mainstream channels, are calculated to keep you coming back each week. It's like you can see where the cliff drops off, yet you continue to lunge towards it and jump off, just to remain hanging on until the episode picks up again seven days later. It's manipulative. The twists seem forced, and the book is a hundred pages too long just to be able to toss one more huge wrench into your gullet and show off a huge rescue scene (which was actually very well done).

And that's the thing - there certainly are flashes of brilliance in the book, which I enjoyed, but they're burdened by Nesbo trying to be too cool, too badass, too smart for the readers. I love a great twist, but only when it's so masterfully executed it creeps up from behind, and has its tentacles around your neck before you even realize it's starting to squeeze you dry. Nesbo's are generally rats that you can smell barns away, and some you can actually pick up the scent on before the stench gets out.

Nesbo is obviously very influenced by American pop culture, and throughout the book, characters' moods and states of mind are established by music they're listening to and movies they have a particular affliction for. And that's why he attempts to write in a noir style, which sometimes works well, in lines like:

"... damp steamed off the walls like bad breath."
"... blew smoke at the ceiling fan, which was turning so slowly that the flies were taking rides on it."
"...the stained advanced like the Wehrmacht over a map of Europe."

Interspersed with lines such as:
"'Don't overplay your hand, Hole. I'll crush you just like that.' Bellman flicked his fingers."
"'I want you,' she whispered. 'I want to make love to you.'"
"He checked the phone again. No coverage, shit!"

Cringe. At these points, I almost knew how it felt like to be one of these imagined people, captured by a serial killing maniac and tortured, except that I was in the hands of a gung-ho serial novelist. I finished the book as quickly as I could, just like any good homicide detective - so the perpetrator can't strike again - and felt the relief of finally resolving and closing the book of a wrongful crime.(less)

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Mar 02, 2011 Alexandra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ausgeborgt-michi-miri, horror, krimi, belletristik, skandinavien

Der Leopard ist ein Krimi, der eine so starke Horrorkomponente hat, dass sie fast zuviel ist für meine zartgestickte Seele. Manche Opfer werden nicht nur ermordet, sondern auch noch gefoltert und das in ausführlichsten Beschreibungen aus der Sicht des Sterbenden. Schon bei der ersten Szene setzte doch ernsthaft mein Würgereflex ein. Weiters ist dies ein Roman, bei dem ein empfindliches Gemüt zwar dann in der Nacht schlechte Träume bekommt, aber den man auch nicht weglegen kann - wie so ein hypno...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Miles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

If ever there was an author you’d think twice about upsetting, crossing or agitating – Jo Nesbo’s your man! I mean that in the nicest way possible of course, he has an amazing natural ability to create some of the darkest and vile nemeses you could ever wish to meet – or should that be not to meet?!

In a follow up to “The Snowman” – which incidentally was my top book of 2010 – Inspector Harry Hole is back in action as Norway is gripped by yet another Serial Killer. With numerous references to “Th...more If ever there was an author you’d think twice about upsetting, crossing or agitating – Jo Nesbo’s your man! I mean that in the nicest way possible of course, he has an amazing natural ability to create some of the darkest and vile nemeses you could ever wish to meet – or should that be not to meet?!

In a follow up to “The Snowman” – which incidentally was my top book of 2010 – Inspector Harry Hole is back in action as Norway is gripped by yet another Serial Killer. With numerous references to “The Snowman” – reviewed here - throughout the novel, it would be advantageous (if at all possible) to take a step back and read the chilling account of Hole’s previous case. It’s not by any means necessary but it does give a greater understanding of Oslo’s finest detective as he attempts to silence “The Leopard”.

Translated by Don Bartlett, “The Leopard” is the sixth internationally acclaimed novel featuring Inspector Harry Hole. Nesbo has certainly come a long way since his debut novel was published in 1997 in Norway.

“The Leopard” is available to buy from Amazon & The Book Depository.

“The Leopard” for me had a very different feel to it than “The Snowman” – it’s not as psychological, it won’t play on your mind and for the most part won’t give you nightmares! This is more your stereotypical case of bad versus evil, police hunting down the killer- all the while set against an intensely atmospheric background.

One has to question how Harry Hole survives his daily ritual of drugs and booze. If he’s not drinking Bristol Sherry, or bottles of Jim Beam then he’s smoking Opium and chain smoking his way through cartons of duty free cigarettes. There’s no denying it, Harry Hole is in a dark place and has hit the self-destruct button – the problem is he really doesn’t care.

Following the devastating events of “The Snowman” Harry Hole has left Norway to the relative safety of Manila – at least that was the plan. However, a lay off in Hong Kong finds our intrepid Inspector drinking his way to an early grave, experimenting with hard drugs and in serious debt after risking everything on a single race at horseracing’s Happy Valley. With his debt sold to the triads, Hole is on the run living day by day in the squalor of Chungking Mansions.

Although reticent to return to Norway, a third murder, that of a female Socialist MP, and his father’s illness entices him back – not one to pass up a thrilling investigation, he wastes no time in upsetting the balance of power and making enemies.

Full review on my blog:- http://www.milorambles.com/2011/01/20...(less)

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Apr 20, 2010 Alexandra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: krimi, horror, skandinavien, ausgeborgt-michi-miri, belletristik

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Dec 21, 2011 Melissa rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: notworthit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 14, 2012 Kellie Murphy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoy Nesbo's writing and his recurring character, Harry Hole. The plot is usually intricate enough to keep any reader wanting more without overwhelming them with too many characters or subplots. I'm a fan.

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Jun 21, 2012 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: charity-shop, crime, detective-crime

I'm glad the sticker on Jo Nesbo books has stopped saying "The new Stig Larsen". Who wants to read books by an anonymous guy who works with Jeremy Clarkson?

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Apr 28, 2012 Douglas Wickard rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Quite frankly...I couldn't finish this book. I came off THE SNOWMAN with a heightened sense of enthusiasm for Jo Nesbo and his brooding detective HOLE. But this one was all bravora, paint-by-numbers, no substance, cardboard crap. I could care less about his international drug addiction, loser qualities, flirty opportunities with the babe detective in a mental institution... it all became very trite and I began to only look forward to the titalating parts where he described death. Not a good plac...more

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May 14, 2011 Felicity rated it 4 of 5 stars

I could not put this book down. It kept me up late at night, and I found myself reaching for it in the mornings when I woke up. Given the length of this book (600+ pages), Nesbo masterfully builds suspense--I never became bored wondering what was going on, or what was going to happen next. I must confess, however, that I wish fictional serial killers were just a little less, well, gruesome. I think I'd find the book just as interesting if torture wasn't involved. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned in...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Felice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In his previous novel Nesbø had Harry catching a serial killer known as The Snowman and almost losing himself in the process. In The Leopard Nesbø finds another multiple murderer for Harry to investigate. Apparently there’s a lot of that going around in Norway. Not to worry however Harry Hole is here to if not make sense of it then to at least put the bad guys behind bars.

Harry is my go to read among the Scandinavian crime spree novels. I never fell under the spell of Steig Larson or Henning Me...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Miraphora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller-giallo

E alla fine la valanga di gialli nordici sommerse anche me. Sempre indecisa su cosa leggere e se leggere, sempre a fissare nelle librerie i mille milioni di titoli di thriller e gialli di autori dai nomi impronunciabili se non con la lingua surgelata, alla fine mi è piovuto Harry dal cielo. O meglio, è spuntato da uno scatolone di un riordine in libreria. Copia staffetta per i librai. Appena l'ho visto - dopo aver letto anticipazioni, critiche positive e recensioni ovunque - me lo sono preso e l...more E alla fine la valanga di gialli nordici sommerse anche me. Sempre indecisa su cosa leggere e se leggere, sempre a fissare nelle librerie i mille milioni di titoli di thriller e gialli di autori dai nomi impronunciabili se non con la lingua surgelata, alla fine mi è piovuto Harry dal cielo. O meglio, è spuntato da uno scatolone di un riordine in libreria. Copia staffetta per i librai. Appena l'ho visto - dopo aver letto anticipazioni, critiche positive e recensioni ovunque - me lo sono preso e l'ho portato a casa. Partendo dal presupposto che io leggo pochi gialli perché, purtroppo, non li capisco posso affermare senza indugio che mi è piaciuto. Non solo ho divorato le pagine - 767 - ma ho anche apprezzato la trama, i personaggi e l'epilogo.
In teoria fa parte di un ciclo di romanzi con lo stesso protagonista, Harry Hole, ma io ho letto solo questo e non sentito granché la mancanza degli altri titoli. Certo, avessi saputo cos'era successo prima sarebbe stato meglio, ma solo per placare la mia curiosità sui fatti personali di Hole. Il resto, bhe sarà per la prossima volta.
Allora: Harry Hole. E' un poliziotto che ha dato le dimissioni (per dire) e che si è nascosto nelle viscere (topaie) di Hong Kong, dove si fa di oppio, beve, e si indebita con la mafia. Un bel dì viene riportato nelle lande desolate della Norvegia per indagare su un presunto serial killer. Questo soggetto deviato ammazza, in apparenza, persone a caso senza un elemento che le unisca. Alcune sono affogate nel loro sangue, altre sgozzate...insomma, un mix tanto per non farsi mancare nulla e Harry suo malgrado si trova ad indagare e impegolarsi sempre più in questa storia. La trama, lo ammetto, ad un certo punto mi ha confusa. Appena si scopre chi è l'assassino cominciano una serie di ragionamenti che a volte non riuscivo a seguire ma che alla fine si sono chiariti, per fortuna. Assieme al giallo del pazzo omicida c'è anche una trama secondaria, ovvero quella dello scontro tra due sezioni di indagini: la Kripos e la - ehm mi sfugge - quella di Harry. C'è anche il capo poliziotto cattivo e inquietante con la sua pelle pallidina e che ne combina di tutti colori al nostro povero poliziotto drogato e alcolizzato. Ma alla fine mi è piaciuta anche questa parte, aggiunge un pò di azione e cattiveria oltre al pazzo furibondo.
Il che ci riporta alla questione Harry Hole, perchè è un esperto di serial killer. Alors, poverello, è triste perchè la moglie l'ha piantato, è alcolizzato di brutto e si spara pure l'oppio. E' una specie di antieroe che fa l'eroe, in un modo tutto suo fatto di umiltà e cervello: è furbo il nostro e non ha nemmeno bisogno di usare la forza (e pare che con il suo 1.90 di altezza ce l'abbia eccome). Fa tanta tenerezza perché ha un animo buono ma si è lasciato andare e non ha nessuna intenzione di uscire dall'oceano di cacca in cui è finito; si fa tirare un pò fuori dalla storia ma alla fine torna nel suo buco. Ci piace così, negativo un pò depresso, ma incredibilmente concentrato a risolvere il caso. Si legge velocemente a dispetto della mole e appassiona. Mi è piaciuto, si, e forse che si mi sparo un altro titolo di questo giallista nordico.(less)

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Mar 07, 2013 Mal Warwick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Is Jo Nesbo the World's Best Crime Novelist?

If Jo Nesbo isn’t the world’s best crime novelist, he’s certainly making a play for the top of the list. For what it’s worth, anyway, I haven’t read anyone better at the game. The Leopard, one of the later entries among the ten detective novels in Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, portrays the conflicted Norwegian homicide cop in the depth of his complexity, pursuing a fiendish serial killer from Norway to the Congo.

The Leopard opens in Hong Kong, where Harry...more Is Jo Nesbo the World's Best Crime Novelist?

If Jo Nesbo isn’t the world’s best crime novelist, he’s certainly making a play for the top of the list. For what it’s worth, anyway, I haven’t read anyone better at the game. The Leopard, one of the later entries among the ten detective novels in Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, portrays the conflicted Norwegian homicide cop in the depth of his complexity, pursuing a fiendish serial killer from Norway to the Congo.

The Leopard opens in Hong Kong, where Harry has fled to drown himself in alcohol and heroin following his resignation from the Norwegian police. A serial killer he captured too late had upended his life by separating Harry from the woman he loves. However, a clever young detective from Oslo manages to track him down and persuade him to return with her because he is urgently needed to take on a new high-profile case, the murder of a member of the Norwegian Parliament. Harry consents only because the young detective tells him that his father is seriously ill and confined to a hospital.

The novel functions well on three levels: a suspenseful story of how Harry and his colleagues pursue a brilliant serial killer, uncovering surprises all along the way; an insightful character study of a man wrestling with more than his share of demons as he suffers through the illness and eventual death of his father; and a highly perceptive tale of internal politics within the Norwegian police, focusing on the high-stakes rivalry between two police units that the Ministry of Justice threatens to merge, effectively eliminating Harry’s department and ending his career. Somehow, Nesbo packs all this into a novel of moderate length, managing as well to dip into the Congolese civil wars that center on the trade in coltan (used in cellphones) and touch on the brutal colonial history of the Congo. The Leopard is extraordinarily rich in fascinating detail.

For all that he writes such superb detective novels, Jo Nesbo is also a prominent rock musician and an author of children’s books. (To date, he has written a total of 17 books.) Oh, and he earned a degree from the Norwegian School of Economics, worked as a stockbroker, and was also a top-notch soccer player until he broke his ankle.(less)

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Feb 27, 2013 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Why do I love you, Harry Hole? You are so broken. Yet Kaja, the new face in the Crime Squad, was tasked with flying to Hong Kong to dredge Harry up from his self exile to help catch a possible serial killer. He makes it back to Oslo, but oddly enough, the case takes him to the Congo. The book is fairly gruesome and introduces us to what I thought was the Leopard Apple. LOL. It's really Leopold's apple. I chose the killer almost right away and was pretty pleased when they made the arrest - only t...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Terry Brooks rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Because I am swamped with finishing my next Shannara book (for 2014) and reading the galley proofs for Witch Wraith, I have not read a whole slew of fantasy books, both adult and young adult, that I am anxious to get to. Also, I am holding off on Shawn until I can get a running start! (Just kidding - I will review his book THE DARK THORN next month or the one after).

So let me recommend Jo Nesbo to you. Any of his books are wonderful, but I just finished The Leopard (probably #8 or so in his ser...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was my least favorite Jo Nesbo book. I would love to blame it on the fact that I started it while riding home from Pgh or that it took me over 10 days to finish (a VERY long time for me to finish a 500 page book) However, I think it's because there were way too many characters, too many plot twists, and Harry just lost a little something for me. He was borderline pathetic. Many times throughout the story I wanted to slap him, at best. I just don't know.

I do know that if this was my first H...more

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Oct 09, 2012 S.D. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller

Harry Hole has retreated to Hong Kong after his last case put his love, Rakal, and her son in danger. He’s drowning himself in liquor and drugs when a fellow detective hunts him down to enlist his help in finding the killer of two women who had died in bizarre ways. His return pits him against Mikael Bellman of Kripos who plans to move major crimes from the Crime Squad. Since Bellman confiscates the murder cases from Crime Squad, Harry and his team start to investigate the disappearance of anoth...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Piglet rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Obviously, I did not read it in Norwegian, but that was the only version I found here ... I definitely prefer to read in Swedish :)

I had not read anything by Nesbø before this book, and had I not found this book dead cheap on CDon, I probably never would have ... In general I don't read Swedish books, and I did not think I would like Norwegian ones either ;) But once I started reading I was hooked almost immideately and took the book with me everywhere, taking every chance to read a little. It w...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

The Leopard, by Jo Nesbo, b-plus, Narrated by Robin Sachs, Produced by Random House Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

This is the latest in the Norwegian Detective Harry Hole series. After his last case, he was so devastated that he left the country completely never to return, he said. He went to Hong Kong and buried himself in horse racing and opium dens and other dissolute habits. But then a woman from the Crime Squad in Norway shows up to try to convince him to come home. They believe they h...more

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May 04, 2012 Scout rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ms. Petra's review of The Snowman by Jo Nesbo led me to the author. I could only get hold of The Leopard, the Harry Hole novel that follows in the sequence. Very good - but long - novel, and reading it was like taking a slow roller coaster ride. The mystery is solved, then it's not, then it is . . . repeat several times. Harry Hole (I wonder if his middle name begins with an A) is a complex character and a reluctant detective in this novel. He's intelligent but not wise, as he can't let go of th...more

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About Jo Nesbø

Jo Nesbø is a bestselling Norwegian author and musician. He was born in Oslo and grew up in Molde. Nesbø graduated from the Norwegian School of Economics with a degree in economics. Nesbø is primarily famous for his crime novels about Detective Harry Hole, but he is also the main vocals and songwriter for the Norwegian rock band Di Derre. In 2007 Nesbø also released his first children's book, Dokt...more

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Quotes from The Leopard

“Incidentally, I really agree with those who say that the capacity to forgive says something about the essential quality of a person. I'm the lowest grade.'
'I didn't mean to criticize you.'
'I promise to be better in my next life...” — 3 people liked it

“...'I've never told you this, but when you were in your teens one of your teachers called us. He said you'd been fighting in the playground again. With two of the boys from the grade above, but this time it hadn't turned out so well--they'd had to send you to the hospital to have your lip sewn and a tooth taken out. I stopped your allowance, remember? Anyway, Øystein told me about the fight later. You flew at them because they'd filled Tresko's knapsack with water from the school fountain. If I remember correctly, you didn't even like Tresko much. Øystein said the reason you'd been hurt so badly was that you didn't give in. You got up time after time and in the end you were bleeding so much that the big boys became alarmed and went on their way.'
Olav Hole laughed quietly. 'I didn't think I could tell you that at the time--it would only have been asking for more fights--but I was so proud I could have wept. You were brave, Harry. You were scared of the dark, but that didn't stop you going there.'...” — 2 people liked it

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The Leopard (Harry Hole #8)

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