Phantom: A Harry Hole Novel (9) (Harry Hole Series) - Softcover

Nesbo, Jo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307951154 ISBN 13: 9780307951151

Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2013

Synopsis

Inspector Harry Hole attempts to exonerate his would-be son Oleg in this installment of Jo Nesbø’s New York Times bestselling series.

When Harry Hole moved to Hong Kong, he thought he was escaping the traumas of his life in Oslo and his career as a detective for good. But now, the unthinkable has happened—Oleg, the boy he helped raise, has been arrested for killing a man. Harry can't believe that Oleg is a murderer, so he returns to hunt down the real killer.

Although he's off the police force, he still has a case to solve that will send him into the depths of the city’s drug culture, where a shockingly deadly new street drug is gaining popularity. This most personal of investigations will force Harry to confront his past and the wrenching truth about Oleg and himself.

About this title

Review:

Amazon Exclusive: An Essay by Jo Nesbø on Harry Hole

It is not easy to summarize the protagonist of the series in a few words, but here are some features of Harry’s personality that are important to me when I write about him: he’s the type of guy who is driven by his good side as well as his darker side. At times he believes in his role as law enforcer, at other times he doesn’t. And occasionally he is so gripped by his emotions that they overwhelm his basic belief in the principles of a state governed by law. He hunts down criminals with such an intense hatred and finds revenge so hard to resist that at times he could be mistaken for the antagonists he is fighting. But at the same time he can feel empathy for, perhaps even a kinship with, the lawbreaker. Harry Hole is a hero with pronounced weaknesses. All interesting heroes have an Achilles heel, and in Harry’s case, it is alcohol.

Harry feels something akin to what the serial killer feels, the same tension and excitement, when he approaches a victim and the same anti-climax after the killer is caught. It is Harry’s ambition to understand both love and evil. He is a passionate guy in all ways. And he is the type of man who has difficulties controlling his impulses. The fact that he cannot set limits permeates his drinking habits and his attitude to his job. He takes on cases and is swallowed up by them. It is the same with his relationships with women. I could have chosen to make Harry and Rakel live happily ever after and have children, but then we have a completely different person. I like the fact that he is in transit in his own life, as far as his emotions and his job are concerned. I'm often asked how much Harry and I have in common. I won't answer that in detail, but when you make a person a hero, as a writer you are bound to have at least a basic set of values, a goal, a need or a longing that you can relate to.

About the Author:

Jo Nesbø’s books have sold more than eighteen million copies worldwide, and have been translated into forty-seven languages. His previous Harry Hole novels include The Redbreast, Nemesis, The Devil’s Star, The Snowman, and The Leopard, and he is the author of Headhunters and several children’s books. He has received the Glass Key Award for best Nordic crime novel. He is also a musician, songwriter, and economist and lives in Oslo.

www.jonesbo.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0307951154
• ISBN 13: 9780307951151
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480