by Jo Nesbø
Part of Harry Hole, book 1
First published 2005
Detective Harry Hole arrives in Sydney to help Australian police investigate the murder of a young Norwegian woman. He has traveled as far from Norway as geography allows. The case pulls him deep into the city's shadowy corners, where he encounters prostitutes and their pimps, transgender individuals, street performers, and drug dealers. He also meets Aboriginal Australians, the continent's indigenous people. The investigation proves complex and challenging. During his blind pursuit through the night, Harry must rely on faint echoes to guide his hunt for the murderer. This marks Harry Hole's first case and established Jo Nesbø as a major voice in Scandinavian crime fiction, earning him both the Riverton Prize and the Glass Key Award for the year's best Nordic crime novel.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Australia, Norway, Sydney
Period: 21st-century
339 pages · Paperback · Aschehoug