Nesbo’s debut was worth the wait

The Bat, by Jo Nesbo (Harvill Secker, RRP $37):

Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series has been hugely popular with his home-based Norwegian fans and those of us in the rest of the world, and now those of us living down under can finally get our hands on the very first book in the series.

These action-packed crime dramas/mysteries all feature Detective Harry Hole and this first books has something of an antipodean feel, with Detective Hole being sent to Australia to help out in an investigation into the murder of a young Norwegian girl in Sydney.

While he is not supposed to get too involved, he can’t help but get right in to the action and all too soon it becomes obvious that a serial killer is at work.

The Bat features all the twists and turns, and gasp-inducing moments we’ve all come to expect from Nesbo and provides a great introduction to his most famous character.

With more than 14 million copies sold worldwide in the eight-book series, it should be no surprise to anyone that Kiwi readers have been hanging out for the English translation of how it all began to hit bookstores here. And while that’s good news, the even better news is that the second book in the series, The Cockroaches, is being translated right now, which will mean we have access to all eight.

This books set in place a great foundation for the stories that followed and was certainly worth the wait.

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