The latest in the Harry Hole series, with all the Nesbo trademarks, taken to a whole new level of tension and detail.
Feature image credit: Penguin Books Australia
Jo Nesbo and his creation, Detective Harry Hole, are renowned worldwide with good reason. Over 12 novels, Nesbo has taken Hole around the world and back again – mentally, physically, emotionally – and with his latest, Killing Moon, neither creator nor character shows any signs of slowing down.
When we last saw Harry, he had lost everything that mattered to him: his job, his lover, his home, and his sense of purpose. With nothing left to live for, he has relocated to the United States and is determinedly drinking himself to death. In the midst of doing so, he meets a mature woman in crisis, at the same time as receiving a phone call from home, and both events combine to give Harry renewed purpose.
Returning home, as an independent investigator, Harry begins to investigate the abduction and murder of two young women, linked to a multimillionaire with a dark past and a number of hidden secrets. With all evidence pointing to his guilt, he has engaged Harry Hole to prove his innocence. Harry brings together a band of his own choosing to assist and finds himself chasing false leads, second-guessing his own instincts and being played for a fool, by a killer who is continually one step ahead of everyone.
Mixed into this is the ever-present interpersonal relationships that flesh out the world of Harry Hole: the loved ones, life-long friends and frenemies/ex-colleagues who are consistently challenged by Harry’s approach to both his personal and professional lives.
Much like the continuing exploits of Michael Connelly’s Harry (Bosch), Nesbo’s Harry has grown, evolved and aged over the course of the novels, as have those around him. The author is also not afraid to excise people from Harry’s life and Killing Moon takes another player off the board, but not in a frivolous or off-hand way.
Add to that the well-crafted villains of the piece: the millionaire who will stop at nothing to keep his darkest desires hidden, even if it means going down for a crime he did not commit, and the mastermind who has found a unique way to lure in his victims and will stop at nothing to achieve his endgame.
Nesbo also lays out a number of breadcrumb trails, for both us and his anti-hero, that keep the reader trying to determine who is truly doing what and how this will all play out.
Dive into the (Harry) Hole of Nesbo’s latest work and bask in the dark light of the Killing Moon.
Reviewed by Glen Christie
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Penguin Books Australia
Released: June 2023
RRP: $32.99
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