Norwegian book reviews are unanimous in their tribute of success writer Jo Nesbø’s tenth book about Harry Hole, “Police.” The book is now available in Norwegian bookstores.
Dagbladet’s reviewer Torbjørn Ekelund thinks you cannot possibly be disappointed by “Police” if you already are a Nesbø fan.
– And the eternal question of why this man sells so many crime novels? Perhaps it is simply because he is an extremely talented mystery writer, he writes.
A number of other Norwegian media have also reviewed “Police”. They agree that the tenth crime novel with Hole in the lead role is “a home run”.
VG’s reviewer May Grethe Lerum is very excited about the last Harry Hole book, and awards six out of six stars.
– With this book Nesbø proves that there are too few stars to hand out, and that the crime genre can be brought to new heights, both literary and when it comes to innovative, sublime, exciting and surprising plots, Lerum writes in her review.
Too Much Violence
Aftenposten’s Anne Merethe K. Prinos means “Police” by far “is a masterpiece in the art of manipulating – and a brilliant page-turner.”
At the same time she thinks Nesbø goes too far in the depiction of violence.
– Blood and gore do not necessarily have much effect; descriptions of the savage may seem rather speculative, especially when it does not seem to have any overall function, she says.
Nesbø has previously been self-critical about his own grotesque depictions of violence.
– I regret a few scenes in “Armored Heart”. In retrospect, I see that the novel would not loose anything omitting a few explicit depictions, Nesbø said, according to the Christian newspaper VårtLand.
Taking Care of the Reader
Adresseavisen’s Ole Jacob Hoel writes that “Police” is not the most literary ambitious of Nesbø’s books, but certainly one of the most exciting and readable.
– As a reader you should be warned. Nesbø plays with you and your concern for the destiny of Harry Hole, in the individual scenes first and last in the book, his professional deceptions tricks you. But you trust him, because you know that there are no other mystery writers in Norway, and few in the world, who takes such good care of the reader as Nesbø, Hoel writes.
NRK’s Leif Ekle thinks “Police” has all the characteristics we can expect from a successful Harry Hole novel.
– A story that works entirely, where the reader more than once may wonder if Nesbø is joking with us, one that is told at a pace and with a built-in pressure that almost forces the text on the reader. The language is concrete, spot on – with dialogue as its strongest side. The tension is excellent, Ekle writes.
Tarald Aano in Stavanger Aftenblad thinks that Jo Nesbø does not try to renew the crime genre.
– He does not need that, because he is one of those who really master the format, whether we’re looking in the book shelves for Norwegian or translated crime writers, Aano writes.
Dagsavisen’s reviewer Geir Rakvaag thinks the tenth book about Harry Hole lives up to the expectations.
– This is Harry Hole’s world, full of strange people with major social, psychological, sexual and religious delusions, Rakvaag writes.
Source: Norwegian media
Photo by: Stian Andersen
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