DebJpole Hello fellow bookworms,
So here’s the next and third book in the Harry Hole series.
“Because of thy compassion, thou hast won all that thy kind have been striving after, ever since the world was created.”
Selma Lagerlöf, Robin Redbreast – Christ Legends
If any of you have read John Steinbeck’s short story The Moon is Down then you’ll probably recognise it in this book. For those of you that haven’t, he introduces us into the Nazi invasion of Norway and are presented with the idea of a united Norwegian front against the invading Nazis. However history, and Jo Nesbo tell us a rather more complicated story of some Norwegians joining the Germans and fighting alongside them. It is in this complicated situation that our tale is set.
“Not all angels are heaven sent.
I am one such angel, and I have come
To pass judgement on the living,
And the dead…”
Harry Hole is now an inspector after a recent promotion and has moved onto being a security directorate. It is here in this new role that he finds himself investigating rumours of a high powered rifle, one that is favoured by assassins, has been used in the country and a WW2 Nazi-sympathiser is found with his throat cut; consider Hole’s interest sparked.
“You have one chance – and you must be ready for it…”
Working with his former partner, Ellen, they find that all roads lead back to a person named ‘The Prince,’ but discovering his true identity turns out to be harder that first thought. When Ellen stumbles upon a rather major clue, she tries to tell Harry but is murdered before she can get to him. But what did she find?
“Everything was not as before.”
As the investigation unravels, it becomes clear that this murderer is hell bent on being an avenging angel and delivering his own justice as he sees fit.
It’s not about being judges of life and death, but about giving a belief in justice back to ordinary people.”
The link between cases isn’t clear but one thing is – this killer needs to be stopped…and fast.
This is different to the other two Harry Hole novels because it is told in two alternating story lines. One is Hole’s present day investigation into neo-Nazi murders and the other is from 1944 along the Eastern German front in the trenches surrounding Leningrad.
I really should have liked this book. But I just couldn’t and I found it a struggle to read. It felt fractured with the alternating story lines and not blended together. It had all the makings of a good book but I couldn’t get into it and it was a real struggle to pick the book up and read it. I hope the next one is better!
You can find this book on Amazon
Until next time where I will be reviewing the next book in the Harry whole series, Nemesis.
Keep reading,
D x
