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ivanssister's review
3.0
I blew through this one fast. Sometimes it's hard to believe what Harry can go through and still come out swinging. If you're a fan of the series, I don't think this one will disappoint.
lauralee_lu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
april_golden's review against another edition
5.0
I just finished this. I don't know what to say. I'm a blown away. I want friends to hurry up and read this book so we can discuss it. Lord have mercy, that was intense!
I have made no secret of my love for Nesbo, but he has outdone himself with this novel. It starts like any other of his awesome books, but by the halfway point, you realize you are in for a ride. He keeps answering the questions you thought you had.....but you still have 100 pages left. Well, that's because there are questions you never even guessed to ask. It's crazy, how absolutely brilliant this man is at crafting a story you know you should be scrutinizing from every aspect, yet have you, the reader, fall right into his plan.
I won't say too much, because I don't want to risk spoiling this novel. If you have read the other Nesbo novels prior to this one, I have no doubt you'll read this one for yourself and understand my gibberish here.
Now, good gracious, when is the next installment?!?!
I have made no secret of my love for Nesbo, but he has outdone himself with this novel. It starts like any other of his awesome books, but by the halfway point, you realize you are in for a ride. He keeps answering the questions you thought you had.....but you still have 100 pages left. Well, that's because there are questions you never even guessed to ask. It's crazy, how absolutely brilliant this man is at crafting a story you know you should be scrutinizing from every aspect, yet have you, the reader, fall right into his plan.
I won't say too much, because I don't want to risk spoiling this novel. If you have read the other Nesbo novels prior to this one, I have no doubt you'll read this one for yourself and understand my gibberish here.
Now, good gracious, when is the next installment?!?!
karieh13's review
4.0
I was so excited to start “Phantom”. As much of a train wreck as detective Harry Hole is – he is an incredibly interesting and compelling character. In the last year, I’ve inhaled all of the Jo Nesbo books I can get my hands on.
And since I can’t help but worry about Harry…the beginning of this book gave me hope. Harry comes back clean and sober…and seemingly ready to start some semblance of a normal life. But – turns out he’s back to deal with another nightmare case. A case that hits incredibly close to home.
What is left of Harry’s heart is with his ex Rakel and her son Oleg. The three of them have gone to the edge of hell and back – but their journey is not over. Harry comes back to try and save Oleg and to see what remains of the life they once had.
When he first sees Rakel again, “Harry felt a claw close around his heart and wrench it around. Her figure was the same: slim, erect. The face was the same: heart-shaped with dark-brown eyes and the broad mouth that liked to laugh so much. The hair was almost the same: long, though the color was perhaps a tad lighter. But the eyes were changed. They were the eyes of a hunted animal, widened, wild. But when they fell on Harry it was as if something had returned. Something of the person she had been. Of what they had been.”
What separates these books/the character of Harry Hole from the average thrillers are not the details (alcoholic, self-destructive detective…one man against the system…) but the depth that Nebo creates. Harry Hole may be like no one we’ve ever met – but he feels real. He could be a real, flawed, human person – one the reader cares about and can’t help rooting for.
“He could have been on a plane to Bangkok. But that was the point; he could have been on a plane to Bangkok now. He simply didn’t have the ability – it was a deficiency, an operating fault; his clubfoot was that he had never been able to tell himself he didn’t care, to forget, to clear out. He could drink, but he sobered up. He was undoubtedly a very damaged person.”
“Phantom” is not a story about Harry Hole turning his life around. In this book, he realizes that his life is so intertwined with that of Rakel and Oleg’s that there is no separating them. In this book, he goes to even darker places than he thought possible.
“Harry knew how this had to end. It was as inevitable as his return to Oslo. Just as he knew that the human need for order and cohesion meant he would manipulate his mind into seeing a kind of logic to it. Because the notion that everything is no more than cold chaos, that there is no meaning, is harder to bear than even the worst, though comprehensible, tragedy.”
Harry Hole is a character like no other – and his story is one I will always want to read – even as I am filled with frustration that I am able to change the endings.
And since I can’t help but worry about Harry…the beginning of this book gave me hope. Harry comes back clean and sober…and seemingly ready to start some semblance of a normal life. But – turns out he’s back to deal with another nightmare case. A case that hits incredibly close to home.
What is left of Harry’s heart is with his ex Rakel and her son Oleg. The three of them have gone to the edge of hell and back – but their journey is not over. Harry comes back to try and save Oleg and to see what remains of the life they once had.
When he first sees Rakel again, “Harry felt a claw close around his heart and wrench it around. Her figure was the same: slim, erect. The face was the same: heart-shaped with dark-brown eyes and the broad mouth that liked to laugh so much. The hair was almost the same: long, though the color was perhaps a tad lighter. But the eyes were changed. They were the eyes of a hunted animal, widened, wild. But when they fell on Harry it was as if something had returned. Something of the person she had been. Of what they had been.”
What separates these books/the character of Harry Hole from the average thrillers are not the details (alcoholic, self-destructive detective…one man against the system…) but the depth that Nebo creates. Harry Hole may be like no one we’ve ever met – but he feels real. He could be a real, flawed, human person – one the reader cares about and can’t help rooting for.
“He could have been on a plane to Bangkok. But that was the point; he could have been on a plane to Bangkok now. He simply didn’t have the ability – it was a deficiency, an operating fault; his clubfoot was that he had never been able to tell himself he didn’t care, to forget, to clear out. He could drink, but he sobered up. He was undoubtedly a very damaged person.”
“Phantom” is not a story about Harry Hole turning his life around. In this book, he realizes that his life is so intertwined with that of Rakel and Oleg’s that there is no separating them. In this book, he goes to even darker places than he thought possible.
“Harry knew how this had to end. It was as inevitable as his return to Oslo. Just as he knew that the human need for order and cohesion meant he would manipulate his mind into seeing a kind of logic to it. Because the notion that everything is no more than cold chaos, that there is no meaning, is harder to bear than even the worst, though comprehensible, tragedy.”
Harry Hole is a character like no other – and his story is one I will always want to read – even as I am filled with frustration that I am able to change the endings.
kpbooks's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jpmedina's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
5.0
afox98's review
4.0
4 1/2 stars. Harry has returned to Oslo from Hong Kong after Oleg, the son of Harry’s former girlfriend, is accused of murder. He is quickly caught up in a dangerous and dark world of drug dealers when he realizes Oleg is addicted to violin, the latest drug to hit the streets of Oslo. All of the Hole books are gritty, but this one was more crude and dark than the others - it was no holds barred describing this drug-addled world and addiction. Really rough to read in some parts, graphically illustrating the effects drugs have on the ones who take them, and the people they love. Surprising ending - looking forward to the next one.
lynnenad's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Competently written thriller.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse