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Availability:
20 left in stock
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Sunday, Dec 28
Description
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • In the electrifying first installment of the New York Times bestselling series, Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad is dispatched to Sydney to observe a murder case. As he circles closer to the killer, Harry begins to fear that no one is safe, least of all those investigating the murder. The victim is a twenty-three year old Norwegian woman who is a minor celebrity back home. Harry is free to offer assistance, but he has firm instructions to stay out of trouble. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Harry befriends one of the lead detectives, and one of the witnesses, as he is drawn deeper into the case. Together, they discover that this is only the latest in a string of unsolved murders, and the pattern points toward a psychopath working his way across the country. Read more
Publisher : Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : July 2, 2013
Edition : Original
Language : English
File size : 4.1 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
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Sunday, Dec 28
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Kindle
I recently heard about the Harry Hole books, and was determined to read them in order (not an easy feat, as most of you know). My patience paid off, as I just finished "The Bat" on my kindle, and now I'm ready for the others! Of course, the actual second book in series, "The Cockroaches" (according the Mr. Nesbo's website) is not available in US yet, but the consensus of reviewers seems to be that reading Redbreast and then Nemesis is worth it, so I'm game. I'm an avid lover of Reacher, Davenport, Bosch, Gabriel Allon, and others--and so I was excited to hear that Mr. Nesbo's books are, to many readers, on a par with these great series. "The Bat" was a good read, although not fabulously complex or exciting. I was glad to get some of the early backstory to Harry Hole, though. According to many reviews of some of the other books in series, as well as this book, it sounds like subsequent books are a little more complex, so I'm looking forward to reading more. My only pet peeve about "The Bat" was the sloppy use of violence, with no realistic consequences (not to mention any real connection to or furthering of the storyline). Poor Harry---cracked ribs, concussions, smashed face, but none of these injuries seemed to slow him down in any way. Really??? Poetic license that is annoying, but otherwise, I'm still with ya, Harry!
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Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2013 by stevi
Format: Kindle
THE BAT - the first inspector Harry Hole novel - is about a Norwegian cop who travels to Australia to investigate the grisly murder of a Norwegian female living abroad in Sydney. Harry, working with the Sydney police, soon realizes that he's hunting a serial killer and people on the police force and in the community know a lot more than they're willing to talk about. This was my first time reading Jo Nesbo and to be honest the first half of the book moved kind of slow and seemed to drag on. There was a lot of backstory on various topics: racism in Australia against aborigines, the gay population and neighborhoods in Sydney, and tidbits from the past about Harry and various other characters that he meets - but there wasn't much progress or action regarding the murder investigation. However, about halfway through the book the pacing suddenly picks up and the author melds all those backstories into one strong narrative that finishes as a terrific mystery / thriller. There's a lot to like in this book - the writing is outstanding, the dialogue is sharp (especially considering it's a translation from the original work), and there's some great insight into human nature and motivations. It's a very cerebral book - the protagonist, flaws and all, struggles against his demons and makes some serious mistakes along the way, but he doesn't luck or back into a solution. It's not a neat and tidy, everything falls miraculously into place type book with a happy ending - it's dark with plenty of twists that lead Harry to observe: "Human nature is a vast, dark forest." All in all, it's a great book and I look forward to reading the other books in the series.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2013 by dch822
Norwegian author Jo Nesbo's seven thrillers available in English are the third through ninth of the Harry Hole series, beginning with The Redbreast, published in the US in 2006, and continuing through Phantom, published in the US in October, 2012. The Bat, Nesbo's first Harry Hole novel, now translated and available in the UK and Canada, was originally published in Norway in 1997, and it is intriguing for many reasons, not least for the growth it shows in Nesbo's narrative and stylistic talents. Here Norwegian author Jo Nesbo first introduces Harry Hole, an unconventional, very young detective. Harry has been sent to Australia to help investigate the murder of Ingrid Holter, a young, blonde Norwegian woman with an Australian work permit. Harry's first discovery is that no one there can pronounce his name correctly, always calling him "Hole," as in "mole." Ironically, he starts referring to himself as "Holy," much closer to the correct pronunciation, though not to his character, and the spelling continues in the narrative. His second discovery is that he will be working with a powerfully built former boxing champion, an Aborigine on the force whom Harry finds intriguing, both personally and culturally. Ingrid Holter, the victim, was working at a local bar when she was killed. An attractive blonde, she had been fending off advances from her strange bartender; avoiding her even stranger landlord and his vicious "Tasmanian Devil" of a dog; and spending her nights with a man known to have many connections to the drug world. As the police investigate, it becomes clear that they may be looking for a serial killer obsessed with blonde women. A check of past murders shows four women who have been strangled with the killer's bare hands, leaving no clues. As he helps investigate, Harry also falls in love, gets physically attacked, sometimes viciously, and fights his battle with the bottle, once again. Episodes from Harry's teen years include some stories about his sister, about his yearning to be punished for a death he caused as a youth but which others covered up, and about his family. These homey details stand in stark contrast to the life of Andrew Kensington, the Aborigine officer with whom he is working. Part of the Stolen Generation of Aborigine youth, who were removed from their parents and educated by outsiders, Andrew has been doubly hurt, denied a family and denied a culture. Nesbo reveals much about Aborigine culture here, their myths and legends, beliefs, and value system, and while it is clear that the author is fascinated with this culture, these digressions, unfortunately, do not advance the action and feel added on to the story. The novel occasionally resembles a travelogue, with each trip to a new part of Sydney or outside it described in vivid detail, though Nesbo does provide enough blood and thunder to keep readers reading, even as they may wonder where the sometimes rambling plot is going. The characters often "converse" in long paragraphs, instead of conveying information through the give and take of normal conversation, making the dialogue feel unrealistic in places. For those familiar with the series, this one is worth reading, but if you have not yet discovered Jo Nesbo, my suggestion is to start with The Redbreast, probably Nesbo's most interesting and challenging thriller, and go forward from there. The Redbreast is set in Norway, the country Nesbo knows most intimately.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2012 by Mary Whipple