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A review by ojtheviking
Blodmåne by Jo Nesbø
4.0
It might seem weird whenever I write an English review of a Norwegian book, but Nesbø's books featuring the antihero detective Harry Hole have gained worldwide popularity, so it's only a matter of time before this current one gets an English translation (if it hasn't already).
When an author has written thirteen installments of the same series, I suppose it's only natural that you'll enjoy some of them more than others. There have been times when I've felt some of the elements in the Hole series have been slightly shallow, almost pretentious in some ways, even though the core stories have always been entertaining regardless. With that said, I'd say Blodmåne, aka Blood Moon, is one of the most solid installments of the entire series. The writing feels more focused, the plot is meticulously thought out complete with red herrings and misdirections like any good whodunit needs. And the character development flows more naturally without being too melodramatic.
One thing I've come to appreciate with the Hole series is that while the first few books were stand-alone stories, it eventually came to a point where it all became a bit more serialized, with some supporting characters returning in each new installment, other characters coming and going, and some B-stories being introduced in one book only to continue through the next book and the next after that. It makes this entire universe Nesbø has created all the more connected, much larger and alive, and gives a much better sense of overall continuity, with the whodunit aspect sort of becoming the "killer of the week" had this been a TV show.
Case in point, and I'm jumping ahead a bit here: Even at the end of this story there is a hint of more to come, so the series is clearly not over yet, and some things have been set up to be continued in the next book.
Another thing I liked this time, is that not only is there in-universe continuity, but also real-world continuity, which adds some realism. These are of course fictional characters, but Nesbø has often made references to actual historical events, whether it's about political incidents, references to real-life serial killers, war history, or just stuff revolving around music and artists. In this case, the COVID-19 pandemic has also happened within the book's universe, and the events of the story take place shortly after everything opened up again. Sometimes Nesbø uses these real-life elements as a way to move the fictional story forward, and I think that's a neat approach.
Now, as for the "killer of the week" aspect, I've always felt that some of the bad guys in this series have an almost Bond-villain quality at times. Larger-than-life personas with very specific gimmicks and/or methods of taking lives. But you need interesting killers in a series like this. Sometimes their methods are a bit macabre too, almost leading us into horror/gore territory, and that is very much the case this time. But for a horror buff like me, that just made it all the more suspenseful. It's such a particular method that I'm almost surprised the novel wasn't titled after.
So to conclude this review, all I can say is that I've had various opinions on some of his previous books - none of them flat-out negative, I've just had a few things to critique along the way. But this time I'm very satisfied, and as I said, this is one of Nesbø's most solid Hole books yet. Lucky number, 13 I guess!
When an author has written thirteen installments of the same series, I suppose it's only natural that you'll enjoy some of them more than others. There have been times when I've felt some of the elements in the Hole series have been slightly shallow, almost pretentious in some ways, even though the core stories have always been entertaining regardless. With that said, I'd say Blodmåne, aka Blood Moon, is one of the most solid installments of the entire series. The writing feels more focused, the plot is meticulously thought out complete with red herrings and misdirections like any good whodunit needs. And the character development flows more naturally without being too melodramatic.
One thing I've come to appreciate with the Hole series is that while the first few books were stand-alone stories, it eventually came to a point where it all became a bit more serialized, with some supporting characters returning in each new installment, other characters coming and going, and some B-stories being introduced in one book only to continue through the next book and the next after that. It makes this entire universe Nesbø has created all the more connected, much larger and alive, and gives a much better sense of overall continuity, with the whodunit aspect sort of becoming the "killer of the week" had this been a TV show.
Case in point, and I'm jumping ahead a bit here: Even at the end of this story there is a hint of more to come, so the series is clearly not over yet, and some things have been set up to be continued in the next book.
Another thing I liked this time, is that not only is there in-universe continuity, but also real-world continuity, which adds some realism. These are of course fictional characters, but Nesbø has often made references to actual historical events, whether it's about political incidents, references to real-life serial killers, war history, or just stuff revolving around music and artists. In this case, the COVID-19 pandemic has also happened within the book's universe, and the events of the story take place shortly after everything opened up again. Sometimes Nesbø uses these real-life elements as a way to move the fictional story forward, and I think that's a neat approach.
Now, as for the "killer of the week" aspect, I've always felt that some of the bad guys in this series have an almost Bond-villain quality at times. Larger-than-life personas with very specific gimmicks and/or methods of taking lives. But you need interesting killers in a series like this. Sometimes their methods are a bit macabre too, almost leading us into horror/gore territory, and that is very much the case this time. But for a horror buff like me, that just made it all the more suspenseful. It's such a particular method that I'm almost surprised the novel wasn't titled after.
So to conclude this review, all I can say is that I've had various opinions on some of his previous books - none of them flat-out negative, I've just had a few things to critique along the way. But this time I'm very satisfied, and as I said, this is one of Nesbø's most solid Hole books yet. Lucky number, 13 I guess!