609 reviews for:

Cockroaches

Jo Nesbø

3.52 AVERAGE


Μετά από αρκετό καιρό που το είχα αφήσει στη μέση κάπου 200 σελίδες πριν το τέλος, έπιασα το δεύτερο βιβλίο με πρωταγωνιστή τον Χόλε και το διάβασα μονοκοπανιά!

Παρότι θεωρώ ότι μου άρεσε λιγότερο απ' τη Νυχτερίδα, η συγγραφική βελτίωση του Νέσμπο είναι ξεκάθαρη . Μου αρέσει που γεμίζει τις ιστορίες του με πληροφορίες για τις περιοχές στις οποίες εκτυλίσσονται τα βιβλία του , και που δεν φοβάται να χωθεί στα βαθιά (όπως το κύκλωμα παιδεραστίας στην Ταϊλάνδη στην προκειμένη). Επίσης η εξέλιξη του χαρακτήρα του Χάρυ Χόλε μου αρέσει, και εκτιμώ ιδιαίτερα που είναι ένας ανθρώπινος χαρακτήρας με τα τρωτά του σημεία χωρίς να είναι άλλη μια "απίστευτη" ιδιοφυία.

Η υπόθεση ήταν καλά δεμένη με αρκετούς ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες, αλλά αρκετά προβλέψιμη προς το τέλος της . Επίσης θεωρώ ότι η Νυχτερίδα είχε περισσότερες σκηνές δράσης, χωρίς να με απογοήτευσε βέβαια η δράση στις Κατσαρίδες ειδικά στο τέλος.
adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I liked this one less than the previous one. Now, this is partly due to me listening to it instead of reading it myself, making it hard to keep straight who was who and what was going on. But also because again I found the pace a bit uneven but this time it bothered me more cause I felt less immersed in the culture (and the parts that were there were all awful) as well as Hole’s background. The narration definitely didn't help!

Characters 7
Atmosphere 7
Writing Style 6
Premise 7
Execution/Plot 6
Execution/Pace 5
Execution/Setup 6
Enjoyment/Engrossment 5
Narration 4
adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is my third Jo Nesbø book and the second in Harry Hole series.

Norway’s ambassador to Thailand is murdered in a motel room ostensibly waiting for a prostitute. To avoid scandal, recovering alcoholic detective Harry Hole is sent to “solve the murder” aka put a lid on it.
This was an enjoyable read. A solid mystery/ thriller with decent twists.
adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Harry Hole is sent to Bangkok to solve the murder of the Norwegian ambassador to Thailand.  Published in 1998, parts of this book are a little dated, but I enjoyed glimpses into the Bangkok that I also visited a few times in the mid to late 90s.

I liked Harry and this story much better than the first one. Part of it is the setting in Thailand, part is a Harry that felt less maudlin. I also enjoyed the other characters more, especially Liz. I also liked Søs and hope to see more of her and her relationship with Harry in later books.

The crime story was more engaging as well. The murder happened in the beginning and the plot was more focused. I had to wade through less of a backstory to establish Harry as a character.

I didn‘t see the solution to the puzzle coming, as usual. It was like peeling an onion, layer after layer and they all sounded credible. 40 pages before the ending I finally had three favourites and one of them turned out to be correct. So, mysterious murders, many fake leads, difficult to solve, check!

Still, the suspense did not kill me. I will probably read the next book in the series as well, not for the story, but more to see what happens to Harry Hole next.

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