Review: An intelligent read for the intelligent reader
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 10, 2013
I absolutely loved this entire trilogy.  If you have read Jo Nesbo, you know what I am talking about.  If not, you are in for a treat.There are no easy answers or convenient endings in any of Nesbo's books, and these are no exception.  The murders to be solved are each horrible in their own way, but the reasons behind them are always so ordinary and human.  That is a huge part of the appeal for me, following the path from the initial "how could anybody DO that?" to the realisation that all it takes is some human failing to be much of a human being.  A lot of novels (and films) pretty much glorify extreme violence, as if it is something extraordinary.  Nesbo never buys into that - people do horrifying things due to their failure to meet some minimum requirement as a human being, not because they are "special".Harry Hole, the detective in these books, is the opposite of the people he finds and catches.  Once again, Nesbo refuses to conform to the conventions.  There is no heroic posturing, no groundswell of popular recognition for Harry when the mystery is unravelled, no plot rewards like getting the girl or sharing a great moral victory.  Harry solves the murder despite the indifference - and occasional opposition - of an uncaring world.  Nobody throws a parade when he finally works it out.  And sometimes the personal price he pays to make that happen is out of proportion to the "victory" achieved.  In other words, these books reflect real life.Some people find that depressing.  I find it encouraging, to know that good people will continue to do the right thing,  despite being unrecognised and uncelebrated.  Of course this is just fiction - right?Not for the sentimental.  Not for people who need Right to triumph spectacularly over Wrong and a party afterwards to celebrate.  But satisfying on a much deeper level.  Well written, more complex than they may at first appear, an interesting mystery at the heart of each book, but a lot more going on than just that.  I cannot recommend these books more highly.