Once again I compulsively read into the wee hours of the morning, unable to put down Jo Nesbo's latest and ninth Harry Hole thriller. As the other books in this series, The Phantom is well over 400 pages long, so it was several nights worth of tense reading. It is a wonder that the suspense created by the writer allowed me to fall asleep, but what dreams I had, I cannot say.
As I mentioned in reviewing The Leopard, this is not the book to begin with if you haven't read any Nesbo. Especially don't begin with this book which has a number of reoccurring characters. You might begin with The Redbreast or The Snowman, which I understand is being made into a film by Martin Scorsese, something to look forward to.
Once again in Phantom we meet up with the apt named Harry Hole (in Norwegian pronounced Holer). As in Leopard, he is living in Hong Kong. It has been three years since he has been in Norway and seen Rakel, the woman he has always loved. Returning now to Oslo, we find him in tough shape sporting a variety of battle scars and bunking in a seedy hotel in a district filled with junkies and pushers. He is no longer a member of the police force, but still maintains a good number of contacts in Kripos. Most of the book takes place in this vicious underworld ruled by drug kings, with names like Dubai, battling for dominance in the trade. Harry has returned to help free Rakel's son, Oleg who is in prison, accused of murdering a lowlife character named Gusto. Oleg, whom Harry has always treated like a son, is now 18 and heavily involved in the drug culture. He and Gusto were mixed up with buying and selling a potent new synthetic drug called "violin" which is more powerful than heroin. While Harry's personal life seems to be falling apart and his own addictions fight to take a hold of him, he never loses his desire to be a good cop.
Phantom is not as well written as a couple of Nesbo's earlier books, but is just as addictive and full of action that would kill a lesser mortal than Harry Hole many times over. Nesbo, a former footballer in the Norwegian Premier League as well as a popular rock singer, is a master at keeping the reader fully engaged with the action. We can all be glad that he has turned his talents toward writing these fast paced books which are perfect antidotes to dull gray days. While I can't recommend his books for the beauty of the writing, I can say you will never be bored, and when the last page is read you will be thirsting for the next installment of this Harry's adventures, just as our children avidly followed their Harry in the J.K. Rowling series.
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