Police: A Harry Hole Novel

Police is evidence no one is indispensable — this is the tenth book featuring Harry Hole, but he does not appear until about one-third of the way through and then only to say he wants no part of the investigation. This leaves it to the rest of the Boiler Room team to see what progress they can in this most testing of all cases: someone is murdering police officers on the anniversaries of the crimes they failed to solve — a very different form of vigilante justice.

When Harry does finally break his promise and rejoin the fight against crime, the results are immediate, but threaten to take him back over the line. That’s always the problem when you think you know whodunnit but don’t have the evidence to get a conviction. The temptation is to cut corners or perhaps even take the law into your own hands, a temptation that’s all the more seductive because police officers have been dying and their families deserve justice. The result is a final third that’s breathlessly exciting as Harry presses closer to the truth and the danger escalates both to himself and his family. Jo Nesbo delivers a masterclass in how to put a thriller together.