The Bat

A Harry Hole Thriller, Book 1

By: Jo Nesbø

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

The thrilling first book in the best-selling Harry Hole series, never before published in English.

Harry is out of his depth.

Detective Harry Hole is meant to keep out of trouble. A young Norwegian girl taking a gap year in Sydney has been murdered, and Harry has been sent to Australia to assist in any way he can.

He's not supposed to get too involved.

When the team unearths a string of unsolved murders and disappearances, nothing will stop Harry from finding out the truth. The hunt for a serial killer is on, but the murderer will talk only to Harry.

He might just be the next victim.

Appearing in English for the first time, The Bat is the legendary first novel from the worldwide phenomenon Jo Nesbo.

©2012 Jo Nesbo (P)2012 Random House Audiobooks

Great Book

This is the first Harry Hole book I've listened to and it's definitely got me hooked. Interesting detective story set in Australia, but it's the character of Harry that makes me want to listen to more. My only complaint is that the narrator, who was excellent, sounds too old for the character of Harry. I thought, from listening, that he was an older detective and that the Aboriginal detective he was working with was much younger than him. As the story unfolds I learned the opposite is true. This audio book is available with a different narrator. You might want to listen to the samples of both before you decide which version you want to get.

Harry in Austrailia

Would you consider the audio edition of The Bat to be better than the print version?

Yes because the reader put a different spin and inflection into the characters

What other book might you compare The Bat to and why?

None

Which character – as performed by Sean Barrett – was your favorite?

Harry of course

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Aboriginal redemption

Any additional comments?

Not as compelling a story as when Harry operated in Oslo on the verge of self-destruction

Seemed to go on forever.

To me, this book had a lot of unnecessary tangents. If I had been reading this book instead of listening to it, I would have skim-read several parts just to get back to the story.

I read another review that said this was the first in the series, and subsequent books are better. I'll probably give Harry Hole another chance.

The narrator was good sometimes but almost put me to sleep other times.

Social studies lesson

Would you try another book from Jo Nesbo and/or Sean Barrett?

Yes, I've listened to a few by Jo Nesbo and think they're great mysteries. Love Harry Hole.

Would you recommend The Bat to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes and no. Yes, I would recommend it because it's part of the Harry Hole series and gives us a lot of history and insight into his character. No, because it was short on plot and long on social studies essays. A lot about the culture, economy, political environment, and history of Australia. Some of it went on and on and while interesting, it was hard to suspend disbelief that in the course of a conversation at a bar, someone would launch into a 10 minute monologue about the history of the treatment of aborigines.

I hesitate to give it 2 stars because it's much better written than the mysteries I normally would give 2 stars, but honestly, I'm not sure it's worth 3.

The narrator was very good! Not too heavy handed with the accents but still was able to convey them.

Have you listened to any of Sean Barrett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not that I remember.

Did The Bat inspire you to do anything?

See if there is another mystery writer out there similar to Nesbo, not because I won't read him again, but I was bored with this one and didn't want to bring my negative feelings along with me into another book in the series.

Keep them coming

What made the experience of listening to The Bat the most enjoyable?

Great storytelling and perhaps the most complex protagonist since Sherlock himself. Nesbo's Hole, however you pronounce it, sees all even through the tragic alcohol haze he inevitably falls prey to. The plot is never predictable, the characters are never one dimensional and the writing is crisp and with the right balance of humour and gritty reality.

What other book might you compare The Bat to and why?

Obviously the rest of the Hole thrillers, without being as formulaic as most of the successful writers of the genre. But I like the comparison to Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko. Both protagonists persevere despite corruption, incompetence and fatal character flaws.

Which character – as performed by Sean Barrett – was your favorite?

It was hard at first to listen without the bass, sober voice of the perfectly matched Robin Sachs. He seems to bring a little more gravitas to the characterization. But Sean Barrett is on my top five narrator's list, and with his ability with accents, was able to bring out the personalities of the secondary players, particularly the Aborigines. So that after the first few chapters, it mattered not a wit.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The great white Harry ...down under.

Any additional comments?

What a pleasant surprise so soon after the release of The Phantom. I hope the plan is to bring all of Nesbo's work to audioland, there is no one better out there. Keep them coming, but make sure it is Sachs or Barrett doing the storytelling.

Excellent fresh novel

What did you love best about The Bat?

The story was modern and approached in quite a different way.

What other book might you compare The Bat to and why?

Any Robotham novel. The stories unfolds in the same way.

What does Sean Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is one of the best in the business!!!!!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Harry returning to alcohol.

Any additional comments?

Fantastic book.

Narration

Would you listen to The Bat again? Why?

I missed the voice of Robin Sachs, Sean Baarett's voice took something away from the book.

What did you like best about this story?

The twist and turns of the mystery.

Is it he cold.

The winter nights are way dark and bitter in Norway, right? Is that why their interesting authors write way dark and cold stuff? Harry Hole's so damned flawed, so why do I like the guy? Even in sunny, hot, Australia, he finds the dark and chilling. Yet... Yet... I'm off to listen to The Leopard, Nesbo's next. Does that wrap it up for you?

Not for Aussies

This book was ok but went on and on with Australian history and trivia. The Australian parts of the book felt like the author was trying too hard, much of the trivia felt unnecessary and the history felt preachy. As a resident of Sydney for most of my life I may have been more bored/ annoyed by these aspects of this book then a non Australian may be, I'm not sure.
I am not going to give up on the series, I'm definitely going to try the next one, as I think without all the 'travel guide' stuff, they might be ok.... fingers crossed.

Fabulous story

Loved the book, the whole idea of a Norwegian discovering Indigenous Australian culture was really interesting. The thriller/mystery was compelling and the flawed hero was really compelling. The narration was a little annoying at times, although always clear.... Terrific book.