The Devil's Star

Great Series

This is a great cop/mystery series but I suggest that you read the first book in the series to know the characters.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Excellent Mystery

Well written novel that makes you truly feel connected to the protagonist in the story, Harry Hole. Great plot that kept you involved and trying to solve the crime alongside the Oslo police force. The sub-plot romance that went on between Harry and Rakel was a great touch! This was the first Nesbo book that I have read, but I will definitely back track to some of his earlier works.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Many Faceted

This is a very good crime novel set in Norway, the authors home country. The characters and the plot are well thought out. I was surprised by a number of turns that the plot took. The main character, police detective, Harry Hole is on his last legs with the police department, his girlfriend, and humanity in general. He has been haunted since his childhood by his quilt of losing his younger sister in a bizarre elevator accident, which he was powerless to stop. Now the young female detective he had been working with on a police corruption case, has been murdered and he feels it is his fault. He tries drowning his guilt with liquor and pushing away all his acquaintances, including his girlfriend. An opportunity to redeem himself and to avenge the killing of his partner arises when he is forced to work a case with detective Waaler, whom Harry suspects of murdering his partner. The case starts when a girl is found naked, murdered in her apartment with one finger cut off. Under one eyelid a red star shaped diamond is found. This and two similar murders set in motion the twisting plot that brings the murder and Harry's problems to a denouement.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Well-Conostructed, Believable

This is a detective-mystery and thriller. Nesbo is one of the crop of Scandinavian mystery writers that is currently so popular and respected. His lead detective is Harry Hole, who at the start of the book is in a deep depression and has relapsed into his alcoholism, due to his failure to prove that another police inspector is the head of an arms smuggling ring and has committed murder. Now, he has to work with this man to find a killer who leaves a star-shaped, red diamond on his victims.
I found the plot to be well constructed and believable. I had some problem, especially at the beginning, with the way the time-line was presented. It seemed to me that too large gaps were skipped at the early stages of the investigation, without anything apparently happening in those periods.
At the end of the book there are several possibilities for the true perpetrator of the killings, and I was not able to choose among them until the author revealed the secret. This made the book more enjoyable for me.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Twist

I'm always on the look out for a new Scandanavian writer and I was happy to have found Jo Nesbo. Great character in Harry Hole and wonderful story telling. I'm looking forward to reading Mr.Nesbo's other books!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

For Fans of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"

This is the 5th book in the series that takes place in Oslo, Norway. Too bad the first two were never published here. Jo Nesbo takes his place amoung Connorly, Child and Burke with a well written fast paced thriller. The characters are well established and the story is a real thriller. While not necessary to read this book, reading the other two available in paper, will help establish the main characters and provide some back story which will help understand the subplot of this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The third Hole Norwegian police procedural is a great whodunit

Oslo police detective Harry Hole drowns his greatest professional and personal failures with alcohol. He tried to persuade his superiors that Detective Tom Waaler killed Harry's police partner Ellen Gjelten (see The Redbreast), but no one believed him; Harry also believes the dirty cop sells weapons on the streets. On the personal front, he has been inept in connecting with his girlfriend and her son.

Ironically, Chief Inspector Bjarne Moller teams up Hole and Waaler on the murder investigation of Camilla Loen whose finger was removed and a devil's star shaped diamond jammed under her eyelid. Harry is assigned a missing person's case that soon ties back to the Loen murder. Those corpses are followed by similar bodies as Hole realizes a serial killer is on theloose.

The third Hole Norwegian police procedural is a great whodunit as the hero struggles to sober up in order to work the case ALONG side his Nemesis. The story line is fast-paced from the onset and never slows down as Harry struggles in all aspects of his life except investigating a homicide. Sub-genre fans will relish his latest caseload on and off the job.

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Thrilling mystery at it's best!

Jo Nesbo is a author that grows better with each novel. I purchased this novel online, because it has not been released in the U.S. and publishers have missed the boat with this author. I don't normally pay $25.00 for a paperback, but this one is worth every penny.
The Devil's Star starts off fast and moves into an intricate plot that's seldom seen in the mystery genre. A novel worth ordering from the U.K., if you have to, and will leave you feeling exhausted from the ride.
Publishers have to be crazy to have stopped printing Nesbo's novels after only two, when the ones that follow are some of the best ever written in any country. Jo Nesbo is simply the best in the business.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

greatly enjoy all of his books......just wish they had been avai

greatly enjoy all of his books......just wish they had been available to read in order......the translator deserves mush praise!!!!!!!!

I love Harry Hole

I have enjoyed all the Harry Hole novels and this is one of the best.

The Devil's Star Jo Nesbo

When will this be available on the Nook?

Well written, meticulously plotted...great read.

Third in a series of Norwegian crime novels that will help you to understand the social ills of a country physically perched on the edge of a vicious underground network of organized crime. I love murder mysteries even more when the one clue that would give the mystery away escapes me. This writer is excellent at his craft, painting the characters in vibrant, pulsating colors colors..well fleshed out and believable. Poor Harry Hole...falling apart as he puts the minute cluse together never has such a flawed character seemed so real to me. Don't miss this series. Each book is very well platted and beautifully written.

Another breathtaking mystery from Nesbo!

When a young woman is found murdered in Oslo with a tiny red star shaped diamond under her eyelid and a finger missing, Harry Hole is assigned to the case. When the finger of a woman reported missing is found with a ring embellished with the same type of red diamond, the team realizes they're dealing with a serial killer.

Unfortunately, Harry is partnered with Tom Waaler, someone Harry doesn't like or trust. Harry has long believed that Tom murdered his friend and former partner, which makes working together nearly impossible. But Harry has no choice because he is barely holding on to his job. His drinking is still a problem and his one champion at work insists that they have to handle the case together because of scheduled vacations which leave the police force short-handed.

Working with Waaler and the investigation into the murders brings Harry to the brink, putting himself and everyone he loves at risk in this breathtaking mystery by Nesbo.

As I plow through all of the available books by Jo Nesbo, my only regret is that I didn't read them in order; in fact it seems that I've read them in totally reverse order. As the characters change along the way, it would have been nice to be able to follow Harry Hole's relationships with his friends and co-workers. Each of Nesbo's books is terrific by itself, but I'd recommend that you do it the right way to better understand all of the references to past events and characters. Lynn Kimmerle

NookBook?

Why is this not available as a NookBook? Harry Hole 2 'Nemesis' is available as a Nook Book, so is the latest Harry Hole - The Snowman. makes no sense.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Gripping double plotted mystery. I hope the rest of Nesbo's work gets translated into english soon. We are missing out on this side of the pond.

This brilliant, charasmatic and seriously flawed detective is emotionally dissintegrating under his inability to find the person responsible for killing his partner. As everything else in his life falls apart, we see that you can't keep a good man down. His mind works better than most even when he is asleep, and he methodically plucks away at two separate cases to eventually discover....I'm not telling. Read it! There are some confusing political relationships here, and I suspect the confusion is because there are 2 volumes of this series between this one and Nemesis have not been translated into English. Even so, this is a good read on it;s own, I just seem to have become inmeshed in Harry Hole's character's development.

A Sophisticated Plot

"The Devil's Star" by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø is the third in the Harry Hole series. This novel was published in Norway in 2003, but just recently arrived in the USA.

A serial killer is on the loose in Oslo. The killer cuts off his victims' fingers and leaves a tiny five corners red diamond shaped like star. Oslo police officer Harry Hole

tries to catch the killer before he kills again, all the while battling corruption within the Oslo police force and his own demons.

The Devil's Star" by Jo Nesbø has a very complex hero. Harry Hole is a tormented alcoholic who is losing his relationship and sanity. Harry would have lost his job as a police officer if he didn't have the uncanny ability to solve complex crimes.

The book deals with a Norwegian serial killer, who we are constantly reminded is a rarity in Norway because it's an American disease. Along with the killer, Harry Hole also has to prove that a standout officer is corrupt and battling the bottle.

The novel introduces a sophisticated plot which, to be honest, had me scratching my bald head several times trying to remember who are the characters, what did they do (or didn't do) and their relationship to the plot. Like any good book, all the pieces fit together at the end.

The plot is good, but not great. The only issue I have with the plot is that the ending almost comical, as if it is out of a James Bond movie where the villain talks so much he lets the hero out of his clutches.

The detail Nesbø brings to his characters and to the city of Oslo is riveting and compelling. Nesbø takes the reader into the dark nooks of the city where tourists rarely venture.

the writing was very good and extremely readable. The author has a gift of observing the obvious and bringing it to the reader's attention in a round about way.


"Beyond the crackle of Harry's breathing on the phone Beate could hear a car stopping and the engine being switched off. At that moment she noticed a change in the way the light fell in her room"

I cannot tell you how many times I've had that feeling, when I'm deep into a project and suddenly look up without noticing what time it is. Nesbo captured those kind of feelings expertly.

A gripping police procedural with one of the best detective personalities I've encountered in years.

The Devil's Star is a perfect example of why I adore Scandinavian crime fiction. Detective Harry Hole is what'd you call, a functioning alcoholic. He's lost his girlfriend and spends his waking hours stumbling through his cases, drinking in bars and smoking cigarettes like they're going out of style. He's incredibly flawed, but good at what he does so his superiors often look to him for input, even though physically he is falling apart. Time is running out for old Harry though because his boss just can't cover for him anymore and he's just stepped into a very high-profile case involving a serial killer with a penchant for pentagrams and red diamonds in the shape of a star. This is my first experience with Jo Nesbo and I must say, I have fallen in love. From the moment I opened this book, I was completely pulled into the story and could not put it down. The writing is crisp and the tension between the characters is so flawlessly executed, that you find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat, just waiting for one of them to pick-up on it themselves. The dialogue is smartly written and has that sophisticated, snappy quality that I find in Scandinavian novels. I won't compare Nesbo's writing to Larsson, as they each have their own, distinct style, but their books both possess that shrewdness that I've come to love. You don't have to be a lover of crime fiction to enjoy The Devil's Star so if you aren't, I encourage you to try it anyway. It has a great story, well-developed characters and writing that will force you to read it in one sitting. Apparently, Nesbo has written other books featuring Detective Harry Hole. One of which (The Snowman) makes its US debut in May 2011. I can't wait!

An Edge of Your Seat Thriller You Need The Lights On To Read!

Detective Harry Hole used to have it all. Great job, reputation and respect of his colleagues and his girlfriend Rakel, and then in a short span of time, he begins to unravel like a ball of yarn, held at one end while being tossed in the air.

The loss of things in his life has taken it's toll and his only solace is the bottle of a Jim Beam bottle. Anything to try to keep the nightmares at bay.

When a mysterious murder happens in a flat in Oslo, Harry is called in to work after a long holiday as a last resort. Unfortunately for him, his partner in this case is Tom Waaler, who Harry personally holds responsible for the death of his last partner Ellen. However when every witness and lead in that case turns up empty handed, Harry wonders if his nightmares are becoming reality.

Tom Waaler is Oslo's next up and coming chief of police. Well admired and loved by those that work with him, he is good at what he does, solving crimes. However when a red star diamond begins to show up in all the murders in Oslo and fingers are being systematically removed, will Tom be able to work with Harry long enough to solve the case and put this latest serial killer behind bars or does he have other motives?

I received the novel The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo, compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review. Being a huge fan of authors like James Patterson, this one will completely satisfy any mystery crime fan in huge ways. Not only does Jo have you hanging on the edge of your seat with every page turn but this one you will want to read with the light on to keep the nightmares at bay. A perfect 5 out of 5 star rating! Available in hardcover and paperback formats.

A great crime fiction writer

The Devil's Star continues the story of police detective Harry Hole, who has been in such other Nesbo novels as The Redbreast and Nemesis. Harry is a mess; he is an alcoholic, too involved in his work (and about to get fired), and these flaws have distanced him from his girlfriend and her young son.

When women are found murdered in Oslo, a serial killer is on the loose, and Hole must work with a detective he believes is involved in the death of his former partner. Her death precipitated his decline, but a serial killer means pulling himself together and finding the killer.

I always say that I learn at least one new thing from every book I read, and in this book, one of the characters, a criminologist, states that
"the most characteristic trait of the serial killer is that he's American."
That made me take notice, and it's really a lousy category in which to be number one.

Nebso writes well and it's not too gory or bloody, thank goodness. The characters are well drawn, especially Hole. The author really nails the effects of alcoholism, the ugliness and desperation of it. You want to root for Hole, and you want to slap him at the same time.

When Harry takes his girlfriend's young son to a place where the serial killer has been, his girlfriend is furious. Harry knows she will be, but it didn't matter.
"He knew he could give her an answer. He could have said that what he was 'doing' was trying to save lives in the city, but even that would have been a lie. The truth was he was 'doing' his own thing and letting everyone else around him pay the price. It had always been like that, and it always would be, and if it happened to save lives, then that was a bonus."
That passage nails the character of Harry in just a few sentences.

The mystery of the story- who is killing these women- is interesting, and Nesbo throws in enough red herrings that when you think you may know whodunnit, another suspect pops up. The action is well paced, and this book and its characters are very cinematic. It would make a terrific movie.

The setting of Oslo is unique, and it's really another great character in the book.

The Devil's Star is crime fiction at its best; it's literate, and complex, and Harry Hole is a character I want to know more about. Fans of Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly should add Jo Nesbo to their list of authors to read.

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