A serial killer in Oslo has a bizarre agenda. Time after time the murderer lures a cop to the scene of an unsolved crime, then viciously kills him/her in a manner somehow connected to what originally happened there. Harry Hole is not available to assist the investigation so other members of the crime squad have to pick up the slack as best they can. This includes Harry's former boss Gunnar Hagen - the team leader; Katrine Bratt - a clever, intuitive detective; Beate Lonn - who has a freakish ability to remember every face she's ever seen; and Stale Aune - a psychologist who's determined to give up police work. Meanwhile, there's plenty of other stuff going on in this thriller. A cop guarding the hospital room of a comatose patient is too easily distracted by attractive nurses and odd noises. A police academy student becomes infatuated with her professor and determined to seduce him. Mikael Bellman, the new police chief, is as corrupt as they come and anxious to hide his previous crimes. Thus Bellman had to suspend his sidekick - the murderous Truls Berntsen - because of an unexplained fat bank account. Ironically Berntsen spends his free time stalking/obsessing over Bellman's beautiful wife. To top it off, the drug dealer Valentin - thought to be dead - seems to be on the loose and is suspected of being the 'cop killer'. Almost everyone in this book seems to be a potential victim, including people close to the crime squad. This is a gripping story with fascinating characters, gruesome crimes, and surprising twists. Very good book. What can I say? This may have been one Harry Hole novel too many. To understand it, I would have to read it again and take notes, but I definitely cannot be bothered. I became really confused about a third of the way in and stayed that way. How many red-herrings, contrived scenarios, and unbelievable timings can be thrown into one book? I grew pretty tired of it all, and wasn't believing anything I read by the time I got to the last chapter. I was incredulous at the unbelievable stupidity of Beate, Holme, Katrine, Belman, et al. I never could work out what was going on with one of the baddies. The plot is all over the place. The author spends way too much time on trying to fool his readers. Lets get the reader to think he is the killer; no, the other one is the killer; oh, wait, maybe she is the killer. Harry Hole is/was a great character, now he is not very interesting. I did finish the book--not sure why. Even the ending was a joke. I found the story line—police officers keep getting murdered and a serial killer appears to be at bay—scattered and hard to follow. New characters were introduced in almost every chapter, and for this reader, they became impossible to track. The violence was too over the top and gratuitous, and I was tired of his little literary plot tricks. Fool me once, fool me twice but over and over and over?? Enough! Forget character development. Plot gimmicks reign supremeIf this were my first novel by Jo Nesbo, I would never have read another!
What do You think about Politi (2013)?
Really graphic and gruesome. Hard to believe this sort of depravity exists in Oslo.
—nier
One of his best, the tension was palpabale at some points
—Katjabergmann
