Book Review: “The Bat” by Jo Nesbo

Genre: Thriller / Mystery

(Serial Killer Down Under)

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23 year old Inger Holter, a Norwegian citizen and TV celebrity, was raped and murdered in Sydney, Australia.

Norwegian Detective Harry Hole (pronounced Holy) is sent to assist the investigation in any way that he can.  But, upon arrival, Harry finds out that his services are not entirely welcome and that he is to observe….nothing more.

Working with Australian Detective Andrew Kensington, Harry and Andrew set about trying to solve the murder.  What they find is that there have been a number of murders with the same, or similar MO, and they are now looking for a serial killer.  But Andrew knows more than he is saying….

“The Bat” is the first of the Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbo (recently translated to English from Norwegian).  As the first in the series….we learn about Harry. We learn that he is still getting over the death of his partner in a car crash that Harry believes was his fault: They were chasing a criminal and Harry was drunk. He is also getting over a break-up with the love of his life, Kristin, and is trying desperately to stay sober.

As the death toll rises and the clues pile up, Harry gets more involved in the murder investigation than the Australian police originally wanted. Harry finds a new love, falls off the wagon, and thinks he has solved the mystery.

Has he? To find out, you need to read the book.  🙂

“The Bat” is an intriguing read with a good bit of Australian lore and travel. It is fast paced and, at times, brutal.

Harry is an interesting character: An alcoholic of “average intelligence” with an “extraordinary ability to see the details” (which means he has a hard time solving the overall picture with the details / clues he knows).  He wonders why God did this to him.

I loved it.

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