Knife
One of the most entertaining aspects of being a murder mystery fanatic is figuring out who did it. In Jo Nesbo's most recent Harry Hole epiisode, you will have a hard time keeping the characters straight, much less target the killer.
First off, there's a big shocker. Someone has killed Rakel, Harry's wife and the love of his life. The sourpuss was actually happy for a time, until she threw him out; the spouse is always a suspect in a murder case, so Harry doesn't even get to investigate, officially, that is. Harry is absolutely certain Svein Finne, rapist and serial killer, who somehow got out of jail, is the culprit. This guy is really crazy; he doesn't get a big charge out of killing people; he just wants to impregnate every young girl he can get his hands on; he will only murder them if they abort the baby or get rid of it in some other way. That's why he has a motive for Rakel's murder. Harry killed his serial killer son, and he wants revenge.
Nesbo knows we inveterate murder mystery readers are looking for a red herring; it's pretty clear that Finne is just a thread in the plot that needs to be dealt with. Nesbo throws in a few more; for a time Harry thinks Roar Boar, a former special forces officer who worked with Rakel in human resources may have done it (watch out for some foreshadowing here; this guy is a sniper). Then there are the women Harry has bedded over the years; there are three main ones who may have been jealous of Rakel. One of them is married to Harry's best friend; another was a young homicide cop when Harry bedded her. I was sure the murderer was a woman; it was getting toward the end of the book and Nesbo was featuring these women quite a bit.
Another shocker. When Harry finds out who killed Rakel he doesn't seem all that upset. That's because Harry has empathy and blames himself. For a while Harry is even suicidal; he thinks he might have killed Rakel in a drunken stupor, and there's some evidence that he did.
The climax is not when Harry finds out who killed Rakel. It's when Svein Finne finds out his lawyer has a woman on the side and blackmails the lawyer into giving her to him. It's pretty slick how Harry and the lawyer deal with a psychopathic killer. It's not clear if it was Harry's idea or the lawyer's.
Joe Nesbo gives Stieg Larsson a run for his money; I've read about half dozen Harry Hole (pronounced Hole') and they always give me a run for my money when it comes to guessing who done it.
First off, there's a big shocker. Someone has killed Rakel, Harry's wife and the love of his life. The sourpuss was actually happy for a time, until she threw him out; the spouse is always a suspect in a murder case, so Harry doesn't even get to investigate, officially, that is. Harry is absolutely certain Svein Finne, rapist and serial killer, who somehow got out of jail, is the culprit. This guy is really crazy; he doesn't get a big charge out of killing people; he just wants to impregnate every young girl he can get his hands on; he will only murder them if they abort the baby or get rid of it in some other way. That's why he has a motive for Rakel's murder. Harry killed his serial killer son, and he wants revenge.
Nesbo knows we inveterate murder mystery readers are looking for a red herring; it's pretty clear that Finne is just a thread in the plot that needs to be dealt with. Nesbo throws in a few more; for a time Harry thinks Roar Boar, a former special forces officer who worked with Rakel in human resources may have done it (watch out for some foreshadowing here; this guy is a sniper). Then there are the women Harry has bedded over the years; there are three main ones who may have been jealous of Rakel. One of them is married to Harry's best friend; another was a young homicide cop when Harry bedded her. I was sure the murderer was a woman; it was getting toward the end of the book and Nesbo was featuring these women quite a bit.
Another shocker. When Harry finds out who killed Rakel he doesn't seem all that upset. That's because Harry has empathy and blames himself. For a while Harry is even suicidal; he thinks he might have killed Rakel in a drunken stupor, and there's some evidence that he did.
The climax is not when Harry finds out who killed Rakel. It's when Svein Finne finds out his lawyer has a woman on the side and blackmails the lawyer into giving her to him. It's pretty slick how Harry and the lawyer deal with a psychopathic killer. It's not clear if it was Harry's idea or the lawyer's.
Joe Nesbo gives Stieg Larsson a run for his money; I've read about half dozen Harry Hole (pronounced Hole') and they always give me a run for my money when it comes to guessing who done it.
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