Reviews

I've read all of the books in this series and am now reading the last one. This series is not as good as something like Bosch, but I've enjoyed reading about Norway and the difference in culture, etc.

The series is pretty gruesome and at times I had to put several books down and come back to them.

withbdp's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

This one was my least favorite of all. It was unnecessarily long and the overall ending was not my favorite.

madelinejd's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

duparker's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

A bit slow to start, but very engaging once I get going it was a great mystery with thriller elements. The twists and turns were solid and realistic. The main change up at the end was quite enjoyable.

taytergoose's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Harry Hole is 12 books deep and I think he’s been a vigilante for most of them. I’m joking but his career path from “well meaning but sometimes risky police detective” to “honestly just a menace to society with too many police connections” has been something to behold. I’m hoping that the upshot of this chapter in his story is that he can have somewhat of a reset because Harry is about two-minutes-to-midnight on becoming a serial killer himself.

The story picks up somewhat where Knife left off as the events of that book have an indirect influence on this one. Harry and Rakel are happily married, ex-cop-ex-teacher Harry is now the co-owner of a bar that is doing okay? maybe? Everything is great! Until.. A MURDER. But no ordinary murder. This one is closer to Harry than ever before. It’s almost definitely personal.

Even early on in the book it’s evident that Occam’s Razor falls in support of Harry being the most likely culprit. He has barely any recollection of the night of the crime on account of his recurring alcohol problem, all of his alibis are vague at best and it’s getting harder and harder to place anyone else at the scene. Surely our lovable rogue Harry Hole couldn’t do a murder? Well aside from the constant murdering of “bad guys” for which he has yet to really be held accountable.

We follow Harry on a desperate quest down a list of anyone-and-everyone who might have a bone to pick with either himself or the victim (naturally a very long list on his side) as he tries to exonerate himself; more to his own conscience than the actual police.

I found Knife (and its prequel, The Thirst) to be far more focussed and enjoyable than the sort of muddy, convoluted experiences I had with Phantom (9) and Police (10). The narrative of those two felt a little scrambled with too much going on other than the main thread whereas this book definitely tapped into the bread-and-butter whodunnit-and-why that sometimes gets forgotten as crime series’ ramp up.

njw13's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

More...