Nesbø, Jo--The Bat informal buddy read starts May 26, 2018

[Mary X]

I started this on my lunch break but I didn't get very far. I am kind of wondering why they would send a cop from Norway to help investigate. I know the victim was Norwegian, but I would think they would leave it up to the Australian police. I mean what can a Norwegian cop do there? They would just provide assistance from Norway. It would make more sense for an Australian cop to travel to Norway to investigate the victim's life there. But what do I know?

[Deanna]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "I started this on my lunch break but I didn't get very far. I am kind of wondering why they would send a cop from Norway to help investigate. I know the victim was Norwegian, but I would think they..."

I just figured it was probably all about politics. Former tv star and good looking Norwegian girl meets horrible end with the press trying to make as much of a story about it as possible. This way the Norwegian cops can claim they are assisting the Australian police in every way possible.

[Deanna]

Chapters 14 - 24

Harry - (view spoiler)[I like that his background is starting to fill in, and he seems to be following more of his own leads and offering information at the meetings. I'm not sure I buy his nearly instant love of the Swedish barmaid, but it did help fill in his history. (hide spoiler)]

Andrew - (view spoiler)[Andrew's backstory is much more developed and complicated than Harry's at this point. I kind of miss having him around when Harry starts going off on his own. They are more interesting as a team. (hide spoiler)]

The investigation - (view spoiler)[I'm a little disappointed that the expanded search into murders and rapes didn't come up with something more conclusive. It feels like all the leads are hitting a dead end at this point. I keep waiting for something more promising to pop up. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Brooke wrote: "I'm finally starting this tonight. I probably won't get far, but I have a free evening tomorrow to make a dent in it."

Hi Brooke!

[Laura]

Geri wrote: "Laura wrote: "Geri wrote: "Hey Everyone...It will be a busy weekend for me with Memorial Day here in the U.S. So I marathoned my way through the book yesterday. It was a fast read. Really got excit..."

I'll try one more. They have to be good somewhere with 14 million books sold worldwide:-) If the next one doesn't grab me than Harry and I will have to part ways and I 'll wait for my guy Jack!!

[Laura]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "I started this on my lunch break but I didn't get very far. I am kind of wondering why they would send a cop from Norway to help investigate. I know the victim was Norwegian, but I would think they..."

If you read a little further you will find out why Harry was sent to Australia to assist!

[Elena]

Finished

(view spoiler)[Toowoomba blindsided me with his noble ways, I didn't see him as a murderer at all! Very sad about Birgitta, her death definitely added to Harry's already extensive baggage.
Andrew's conflict is very human and somewhat understandable but I feel he as a policeman could have used better judgement, innocent people were being hurt and murdered after all. I did like him a lot though (except for the dog-kicking bit).
I wonder if Harry will find a way to keep it together and get back on the wagon, something tells me he probably won't.

Overall the book ended up on the average side for me, I did enjoy the trivia and liked most of the characters, but there was a little too much reminiscing and it affected the pace of the narration in my opinion. I heard this is one of the weaker books in the series, I'd be interested in reading more. (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

Hi Laura! This is my first Jo Nesbo novel. I’ve owned 4-5 of them for several years and never got around to reading them (a common theme with me, it seems...). I read this first since it is technically the first in the series, but from what I understand the series gets a lot better. I’m enjoying it so far, but I am only on chapter 18.

[Brooke]

I didn't make it as far as I wanted last night, but I have a flight tonight so will get some good reading in if I stay awake. I need to finish this by tomorrow night, so fingers crossed!

Chapters 1-19

(view spoiler)[Wow, what a tragic story about Harry. Not sure how I could live with that guilt. That story alone was worth reading this book if I'm going to read others in the series.

I'm loving Andrew. He has great stories and knows everyone. I'm sure there is more to him that we know, though.

It is interesting that Evans' mom has really blonde hair. That makes Evans seem really obvious, though, so I'm wondering if that is a red herring. I don't know Nesbo's style enough to know. (hide spoiler)]

[Deanna]

Elena wrote: "Chapter 31

..."

(view spoiler)[The guillotine scene caught me off guard as well. It made more of an impression than the murder scene.

I don't think Andrew's death was suicide. Everything is wrapped up with a neat little bow. I feel like I'm missing something (and so is Harry). (hide spoiler)]

[Mary X]

LOL. I just read a couple more pages and see that she was a minor celebrity in Norway. So that makes more sense. If my lunch break was a few minutes longer yesterday, I would spared myself making that comment.

[Heather]

I finished last night and will post my thoughts soon!

[Deanna]

Chapters 25 - 36

The investigation - (view spoiler)[Otto as a suspect was unexpected, and the guillotine scene was a shock. I'm a little surprised that the police are so quick to arrest him. Even though the statistics are against him, they don't have a shred of physical proof at this point. (hide spoiler)]

Andrew - (view spoiler)[I wasn't surprised that he was manipulating things behind the scene or that he skipped out of the hospital after talking to Harry. The suicide, however, makes no sense. It seems to me that Harry has missed something. (hide spoiler)]

Harry - (view spoiler)[I don't understand him jumping off the wagon like that. Andrew's death was bad; but in the grand scheme, he really only knew the guy for a week and had already figured out that he was manipulating the investigation. Either Harry misjudged him initially, or he was murdered. I would have expected Harry to try harder to figured out which option was correct. (hide spoiler)]

[Geri]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "As we were watching the Snowman, it felt like there were scenes missing even though I had never read the book and didn't know the story. (I was putting the blame on bad editing) So I looked it up a..."

LOL You would think so! Movies based on books in general aren’t as good as the book. Hard to get the whole book in a 2 hour movie. Whoever planned the movie scenes was a terrible producer, or whoever plans those type of things out.

[Geri]

Elena wrote: "Chapter 31"

You are at the point where I was WTF is going on. LOL I’ll be curious to find out what you think about how it ends.

[Heather]

OK, here are my thoughts from chapter 12 on...

(view spoiler)[ I definitely did not figure out who the murderer was, so was surprised when it was revealed. I actually thought for a little bit that maybe Birgitta was involved, but that's probably because I've read so many books where the love interest ends up being a bad guy.

I was sad that Birgitta died...right before then I was wondering if she shows up in the rest of series or not.

My biggest comment on this whole section, though, is about my shock at Harry's spiral back into drinking and how crazy that part of the book was. It went on for quite a bit of him out of control, and I was starting to wonder if/how we were going to get back on track with the solving of the murders. I was actually a little surprised that once he came out of the full drunken stupor he was still drinking pretty consistently for the rest of the book. I'm quite curious to see if he keeps drinking or goes back to his teetotaling ways in future books.

I say that, but I'm not actually sure if I'll read more of them. I have Redbreast on my TBR list, and might still pick it up to give Harry another shot, but I didn't love this book, so on the fence a bit about that...
(hide spoiler)]

[Heather]

Geri wrote: "Elena wrote: "Chapter 31"

You are at the point where I was WTF is going on. LOL I’ll be curious to find out what you think about how it ends."

I was too!

[Amy the book-bat]

I am listening to the audio and following along with a print copy. Unfortunately, the phone keeps ringing and interrupting me. It seems like the telemarketers know I am trying to read and they want to do all they can to disrupt it.

Anyway, I was fascinated by the bit about bats and death and the whole Adam & Eve equivalent in the Aboriginal folklore. I find it very interesting how different cultures can come up with such similar origin stories and the like. It is all very Jungian.

[Laura]

Brooke wrote: "I didn't make it as far as I wanted last night, but I have a flight tonight so will get some good reading in if I stay awake. I need to finish this by tomorrow night, so fingers crossed!

Chapters ..."

@Brooke
(view spoiler)[
Harry's backstory was quite interesting; agree Brooke it would be very difficult to live with that guilt.

That young man would not be paralyzed if Harry had acted more responsible. Drinking and driving is not OK! Accidents happen; this could have been prevented. This was negligence. It's a lot crazy that this was covered up. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "LOL. I just read a couple more pages and see that she was a minor celebrity in Norway. So that makes more sense. If my lunch break was a few minutes longer yesterday, I would spared myself making t..."

When I read the book this isn't the reason I understood Harry to be sent to Australia! ( I think you just aren't there yet to know what that reason is)

[Amy the book-bat]

Heather wrote: "OK, here are my thoughts from chapter 12 on...

I definitely did not figure out who the murderer was, so was surprised when it was revealed. I actually thought for a little bit that maybe Birgitta..."

Harry keeps drinking in Redbreast. It's kind of his thing, I guess. I haven't read the Snowman yet, but he was drunk through the movie.

[Amy the book-bat]

I have a question... (view spoiler)[ Were Andrew and Otto a couple? I was somewhat confused about that. I got the drug reference, but wasn't sure if there was more going on there. (hide spoiler)]

[Deanna]

Amy "the book-bat" wrote: "I have a question... [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[No, not Andrew and Otto. Otto mysterious boyfriend is someone else. (hide spoiler)]

[Deanna]

Finished! Chapter 37 - end

Harry - (view spoiler)[Harry's downward spiral in the middle of the book nearly did me in. It seemed an extreme reaction to someone that he only knew a week. That he would continue drinking even when the Australian police officer suggested that he would be of more use to the case sober was a definite turn off to me. I feel sorry for Harry, but I don't particularly like him at this point. I'm not sure if I'll give the next book a try or not. (hide spoiler)]

The investigation - (view spoiler)[The last part of the book once the investigation got back on track was well-crafted and kept my attention. The actual identity of the murderer surprised me. I think I would have enjoy the entire book more if the pacing had been closer to the final investigation section. (hide spoiler)]

Brigitta - (view spoiler)[I liked her, and she was good for Harry. Although I'm not sure Harry would have been good for her over a longer term. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

@ Deanna
(view spoiler)[
Harry's actions and the consequences of those also led me to not like his character either. Phew; I thought I was the only one. (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

I'm close to finishing so should be able to post my thoughts on the rest of the book tomorrow.

(view spoiler)[ I knew there was something else going on with Andrew! In this case I'm sad about it because I enjoyed his stories.

I'm really curious to see how this wraps up. I am liking the deep backstory for Harry, but I don't like that he is drinking again. (hide spoiler)]

[Mary X]

I don't know if something was lost in translation for me or what. But I just wasn't wowed by this book. I feel like the first book in the series should have been set in Norway. It felt like the set up of an Australian book series to me but it's not. Also, I did not like that Harry received no legal action for that accident. I like a damaged hero but there has to be something else and with Harry I just felt like he should be in prison. (I know he's not mentally ok after the incident but really he should have been prosecuted)

[Brooke]

I looked at the second book in the series, and it looks like it is set in Thailand. I’m pretty sure The Redbreast (#3) takes place in Norway though.

I liked all the backstory of Harry in general, but the ending was a bit all over the place. I plan to read book 2 at some point before making a decision about continuing or abandoning the series.

[Laura]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "I don't know if something was lost in translation for me or what. But I just wasn't wowed by this book. I feel like the first book in the series should have been set in Norway. It felt like the set..."

(view spoiler)[ Also agree that there should have been some legal action /consequence to the accident. (hide spoiler)]

@Brooke- I'm in the same boat as you. I will read another book and then decide whether to continue the series or not

[Heather]

Same here. I wasn't wowed but will read another before I bail. I might actually skip to redbreast since it was on my to read list and I heard you don't need to read previous to read that one.

[Apoorv]

Team Gilderoy Lockhart
Chapters 1 - 28

Alright, so I am sort of in the same boat, as most of you. So far, (view spoiler)[Harry has been interesting, but not intriguing. I have not been convinced to want to know more about him. Also, his flaws seems to have been added as a sympathy tool, more than a personality trait. So, the main lead still has to make me want to pay attention to him. Also, I am not at all a fan of insta-love, and what he has with Birgitta seems just that too me. Too soon, too easy, too obvious. (hide spoiler)]

Andrew, on the other hand, (view spoiler)[is certainly more fancy. His life has been a roller-coaster and he openly talks about it. So, there are not a whole lot of assumptions about him (which can also be tricky in a mystery, because who knows maaaaaybe he is the killer. :P) (hide spoiler)]

Plus, my basic issue is that I am not very convinced as to why a Norwegian police would need to go all the way to Australia to resolve a matter concerning a Norwegian national. Would he even have any jurisdiction of any sort there? Plus, (view spoiler)[the way things have tended to work-out for Harry so far, seems a little contrived. (hide spoiler)]

But, I am at a very interesting juncture in the book, with (view spoiler)[Andrew potentially hiding something about Otto and Otto brutally murdered. I loved Otto. I hate this. (hide spoiler)]

Need to find the goddamn murderer. Ugh!

[Laura]

@Apoorv
Harry & Australia(view spoiler)[ My understanding was that this was a demotion for him because of the driving/drinking incident. Solve the murder and we still have a spot for you on the force (hide spoiler)]

[Suzanne]

Yay - I just got this downloaded and ready to read - I'm excited to read everyones spoiler comments sometime soon.

@Mary: That's terrible about The Snowman movie- which I have never seen. Sounds like super poor planning - which - wow - with the $ involved you'd think wouldn't happen!

[Mary X]

I think the publishers made the right decision to start the English translations at book #3. But I am a compulsive about reading series in order.

[Mary X]

Laura, yeah I think they wanted to get him out of town for a bit.

[Suzanne]

I started at 3, and I know this case was referred to. I guess it'll be good to see the beginning.

[Cathy M.]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "I think the publishers made the right decision to start the English translations at book #3. But I am a compulsive about reading series in order."

Do you mean that they originally started the translations from #3 and later did the first 2?

And about the Snowman movie, really?!?! That's just crazy because, as Suzanne said, there's a lot of money involved so how could they miss whole scenes?!

[Cathy M.]

Finally started today. So I didn't know a lot about this series going in so the characters and writing style are new to me.

Got thru a lot more than I planned. Thru Chpt 14 -

First off, not sure if it's the translation or what but the writing doesn't seem to flow all that well IMO. Like from 1 scene to another... it could be just that I'm tired but it's not all that gripping either (like most mysteries) and seems to be all over the place at this point.

Harry Hole - (view spoiler)[For the 1st 13 chpts I felt like we weren't getting to really know Harry. Like he still felt like a stranger to me. But getting his story in Chpt 14 about his alcoholism, I feel like if I would've cared more about him before this scene, it would've made more of an impact. That story was horrible though! How was he not thrown in jail for killing someone and paralyzing that kid, driving recklessly under the influence? I like me a flawed hero but unfortunately at this point he'snot that great of a MC. And wouldn't it be a conflict of interest to get involved with Brigatta due to the case? (hide spoiler)]

Andrew - (view spoiler)[At least we have 1 interesting character! I love his stories/folklore, and I had no idea the Aborigines were treated so poorly! (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

Heather wrote: "Deanna wrote: "Thoughts chapters 1-14


I completely agree with you on a lot of this Deanna!

[spoilers removed]"

So glad I'm not the only one (view spoiler)[who felt like they didn't know Harry at this point. I really want more character development, and do want to know what will actually get him more involved with the case. (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

Cathy M. wrote: "Finally started today. So I didn't know a lot about this series going in so the characters and writing style are new to me.

Got thru a lot more than I planned. Thru Chpt 14 -

First off, not sure..."

I felt like by the end of the book I knew Harry fairly well, but I do agree that it was missing in the early chapters. It felt a bit in the beginning like I was jumping into a series in the middle until the story about his accident.

[Suzanne]

Cathy M. wrote: "Finally started today. So I didn't know a lot about this series going in so the characters and writing style are new to me.

Got thru a lot more than I planned. Thru Chpt 14 -

First off, not sure..."

I'm wondering if the flow also has something to do with it being an early book for the author.

A couple things I wondered - I don't think they are really spoilers - first if anyone that actually LIVES in Australia could answer - how well does the lingo/attitude etc. reflect real life?

Andrew (view spoiler)[ I do love that they made him a native - it is neat hearing his stories. I liked his reasons to dress up for the dinner for example - made a lot of sense that he would make that extra effort (in a sad way). I'm sure that kind of subtle and not so subtle racism happens everywhere, unfortunately. (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

Brooke wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "Finally started today. So I didn't know a lot about this series going in so the characters and writing style are new to me.

Got thru a lot more than I planned. Thru Chpt 14 -

Fi..."

That's good to know (about Harry)! Otherwise I don't think I'd care enough to read more! We don't even know that much about the case!

[Cathy M.]

Suzanne wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "Finally started today. So I didn't know a lot about this series going in so the characters and writing style are new to me.

Got thru a lot more than I planned. Thru Chpt 14 -

Fi..."

That definitely could be it (about being 1st book). There's definitely room for improvement!

Yes, interesting question Suzanne. I would love to know more about the culture in Australia. The author was born/raised/lived in Norway so wondering how accurate it is.

[Mary X]

From what I read, when the books were so popular in Norway, he got an international publishing deal and they started with book 3 because Nesbo and the publishers agreed that the first 2 books weren't very good. Plus it's a series set in Norway but the first book is in Australia and they were pushing the "Norway" thing.

[Cathy M.]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "From what I read, when the books were so popular in Norway, he got an international publishing deal and they started with book 3 because Nesbo and the publishers agreed that the first 2 books weren..."

Makes sense! But funny that they thought this book wasn't very good :P

[Cathy M.]

Thru Chpt 26 -

(view spoiler)[We're FINALLY getting somewhere with this case!

So Andrew also suspected Otto? Or does he know who the killer really is? He keeps saying for Harry to open his eyes. Have no idea who the killer is but don't think it's Otto...

So glad that it's starting to pick up a little. And glad that we're getting more of the explanation about why Harry is actually in Australia "assisting" with the case and why he's not sitting in jail. But assigning the blame for it to his partner? And his family thinking that? Hmmm, not cool. (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

Thru Chpt 31 -

(view spoiler)[Well I didn't see that coming. First Otto is brutally murdered - how gruesome was that?! But then Andrew's hanging?! What is going on? There is definitely a lot more to this story which I'm now more excited to read. (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

Finished -

(view spoiler)[I hated how Harry starting drinking again. It did give him more "character" I guess, but those few chapters where he was stumbling around drunk weren't entirely necessary. I think he could've gotten the same answers without it. But once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. And with the shock of Andrew's death, guess that was how he coped.

And geez, at first I wasn't sure if that really was Birgitta anchored at the boat, but because of Harry's actions afterwards, realized it was. Poor Birgitta! So Toowoomba didn't keep his word, though I shouldn't be surprised since he even was aware that he was a psychopath.

And did not expect him to be the killer. Wasn't sure who it was but didn't expect him due to his relationship with Andrew.

The 2nd half, for the most part, was a lot better than the 1st. The pacing was faster and the story got more interesting. I do usually give it more than 1 book to decide whether or not to continue a series, but for this series, think I should sample one of his later works... (hide spoiler)]

[Suzanne]

Nice Cathy - I need to buckle down and do that. It just hasn't grabbed me yet, but I'm about halfway through.

I've read quite a few of the later Harry Hole novels and until this one, I've always pronounced "Hole" in the Americanized version - so it may be the most important thing I'm taking away from this book is no, it is not pronounced like that (since he lets everyone say Holy since he doesn't want them doing the American Hole).

[Cathy M.]

Suzanne wrote: "Nice Cathy - I need to buckle down and do that. It just hasn't grabbed me yet, but I'm about halfway through.

I've read quite a few of the later Harry Hole novels and until this one, I've always p..."

I was trying to go slow to let you catch up but was ready to move on so just finished. The 2nd half goes a lot better than the first so if you're close to halfway, just tamp down and you'll fly thru it :)