Harry Hole: The Redeemer

Harry, Harry, Harry ... he is an unpredictable bastard that’s what he is. But I never have enough of his stories. Harry Hole is a truly remarkable character to read and he’s almost always too hard to outsmart.

But there was a guy in this book, who managed quite well to sneak up on him. And that made the story more interesting.

The Redeemer is a rather interesting book, but I couldn’t connect with the story so much this time. Even if it has a very powerful start, most of the second characters didn’t click. I felt as if the pieces couldn’t fit together. Kind of forced to stay put, if you know what I mean.

To be honest, I didn’t really like the killer, the motive or the way he did the job. Even if Nesbo plots very good, surprises us and amazes us with the events and his smart wits, this killer was just too shallow. He did make some great moves while running for his life, but the more I get to know him, the more I felt annoyed by him.

Hopefully there was Harry and Beate.

Harry without Rakel is apt to troubles since he is fond of torturing himself. His dark side is not so consuming in this one, but he’s Harry, so he smokes and drinks, despite that he is not allowed to do so. He risks, walks on edge and even if he doesn’t fall he makes me think that he’s not so relieved.

I was surprised with some of Harry’s decisions in the Redeemer. All the tragedies has changed him and he has become softer. A kind heart that won’t let him affect him just yet. Harry may be a policeman, but he’s above all a man and his judgment sometimes is not based on law, but on the power of authority.

As Harry says: What separates a good detective from a mediocre one is the ability to forget. A good detective forgets all the times his gut instinct lets him down, forgets all the leads he has believed in that led nowhere. And pitches in, naïve and forgetful again, with undiminished enthusiasm. Well, Harry isn’t always a good detective.

Beate had a tricky case with the faceless killer this time. When I read that she couldn’t identify the killer, I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that she above all people, couldn’t match a face! Hopefully, Nesbo has a great explanation for that one. As the story goes on, Beate has to face many unpredictable situations and I was a bit disappointed with the developments. Since I don’t want to spoil the story, I won’t say more.

Well, that’s it. You see that I’m so thrilled this time with the story, but Harry has more killers yet to face and I won’t let him chase them alone.

So, cheers to the next Harry Hole novel!