Nemesis

By: Jo Nesbø

Narrated by: Thor Knai

Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Captured on closed-circuit television: A man walks into an Oslo bank, puts a gun to a cashier’s head, and tells her to count to 25. When he doesn’t get his money fast enough, he pulls the trigger. The young woman dies—and two million Norwegian kroner disappear without a trace.

After a drunken evening with his former girlfriend, Anna Bethsen, Police Detective Harry Hole wakes up at home with a headache, no cell phone, and no memory of the past 12 hours. That same day, Anna is found shot dead in her bedroom, making Hole a prime suspect in an investigation led by his hated adversary, Tom Waaler.

Meanwhile, the bank robberies continue with unparalleled savagery, sending rogue detective Hole from the streets of Oslo to steaming Brazil in a race to close two cases and clear his name. But Waaler isn’t finished with his longtime nemesis quite yet.

©2002 Jo Nesbø (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Nesbo manages the unlikely feat of exploring the inner life of his lead character in the thorough and compelling manner one associates with, say, Ruth Rendell, while at the same time juggling multiple, interlocking plot strands as dexterously as David Hewson. No doubt about it: Nesbo belongs on every crime-fiction fan’s A-list." ( Booklist)

Disappointing Narrator!

Where does Nemesis rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a great story - like all the Harry Hole books are. But, the narrator is amateurish and flat. He's such a disappointment compared to Robin Sachs and John Lee who narrate the other books in this series.

What didn’t you like about Thor Knai’s performance?

It's flat, unbelievable and forced. At times, it actually makes the story difficult to understand.

Any additional comments?

Worth the listen in the context of the series - thank goodness he doesn't read any of the others!

Another Good Harry Hole Thriller

This is Jo Nesbo's fourth book in a series involving detective Harry Hole, but the first of his books that was made into an audio book. The narrator was extremely hard to understand. I am glad that he did not narrate the first book of this series or I would not have continued with it. Harry Hole gets himself into some crazy situations but still manages to solve the crime and keep from getting killed.

Amazing book

Another great Harry Hole book. The narrator is very different from the first 2 but you quickly get use to the way he tells the story and it ends up working quite well!

A good read

This is a must for Scandinavian mystery readers. I would like Audible to offer Mr. Nesbo's other novels.

For thriller fans

This may not be Great Literature. And I do love Great Literature. But it is great fun. Nesbo has been added to my Scandinavian thriller list!

Beware the narrator

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not recommend this book because of the narrator.I'm a big fan of Jo Nesbo's work but I have no idea if the story is any good because i could not listen beyond three chapters.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have found someone who knew how to narrate an audio book

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Thor Knai?

Robin Sachs. Even though Knai knows how to correctly pronounce the author's name and Harry Hole's as well, he's far from the reader Sachs is. It's too bad Sachs didn't take the trouble to find out that Hole is not pronounced as it is in English (at least according to Nesbo himself).

Did Nemesis inspire you to do anything?

Never listen to a book narrated byThor Knai.

Any additional comments?

If I could only get my credit back for this one.

3rd book, least desirable performance.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His character voices seem inconsistent applied to various characters.

Any additional comments?

Is the name pronounced Hole, Holey, and Hula? 3rd book, 3rd different pronunciation.

Edge of your seat read

Not great reading, but as always Jo delivers a delicious tale of spicy intrigue and suspense. I have to catch myself talking to the book saying “no don’t go in there” or “yikes”. And I love that the person who did it is not anyone you suspect.

Difficult to get through

The worst story and narrator so far.
His voice lacks the color to keep it interesting!!

Thor Knai is a horrible reader

Jo Nesbo gets better and better in each successive Harry Hole book, with richer characters, more complex plots, and some breathtaking writing. But Thor Knai is one of the worst readers I have ever heard. I nearly gave up on the recording and was ready to ask for a refund, but I only have time for these books on my commute, and I didn't want to have to give up on the series until winter break. Knai reads at a much too rapid pace and consequently swallows his words, making it both unpleasant to listen to and difficult to understand. I had to go back and listen twice sometimes to figure out what he was saying. And giving an American Southern/Western drawl to a Norwegian police official just comes off as ludicrous. While on the whole his Norwegian pronunciation is more accurate than Robin Sachs's renderings, he still makes some inexplicable howlers. (Why does he manage to pronounce the word for "street" correctly sometimes but not always?)