Phantom: A Harry Hole Thriller, Book 9

Intelligent
Exiting
Emotional

It's difficult to say. It's one of the only series that makes me feel extremely close to the protagonists.

He knows how to underline a scene with intonation, rythm and pauses. It's an act all by it self. Certainly my favourite narrator together with James Masters.

Yes, both.

I am glad I experienced this story.

Harry Hole's trip through the underworld of Oslo keeps getting better and better. Jo Nesbo writes brilliantly and gets the characters from society's lowest losers to the apparent winners (both good and very, very bad!) just right. Harry Hole is both loser and winner, a deeply tragic lost soul and a hero of almost supernatural dimensions. Read them all!

The only hole (sorry) I found in the story was this: the story takes place in the summer and fall of 2011 and makes no (save one very vague, possible) reference to the Utøye/Oslo terror of July 22nd of that year. These events deeply impacted the lives of everyone in Norway, and specially Oslo at that time. But to be fair to Nesbo, had he gone down that road and opened up that subject as part of the novel, it would have become a tangent to the main story that would be necessary to elaborate at length. I can understand that he kept his distance, but a couple of more references to broken glass and roses, the images that defined Oslo at the time, would have been realistic and set my mind at ease.

The reading was good. The vocal characterizations and accents of the different characters with their diverse backgrounds was impressive. There were a couple of norwegian pronounciations that could have been better. Harry's name and the ridiculous pun it contains, doesn't really work in translation. The pun is, of course, english, but the norwegian pronounciation doesn't bring it immediately to mind.

I repeat, read them all.

I would indeed recommend the Harry Hole books to anyone who enjoys this genre. Once you are hooked on Harry, all the books are a must.

There are some similarities to Mo Hayder's character 'Jack Caffrey', although Harry is darker and sadder and his life is quite out of control more often than not

Personally I think Sean Barret is one of the greatest performers when it comes to reading. He becomes each character, all of which are entirely believable. It's almost like watching a stage performance as you can visualise everything that he reads.

I did. I didn't cry but I was left with both a sense of loss and a feeling of relief when the book was finished.

For anyone who hasn't read any Harry Hole - treat yourself. Start at the beginning and enjoy the whole series.

Again Mr. Sean Barrett has trouble with pronouncing norwegian names of people and places but is very good to listen to all the same. But apart from that it is the first book from Nesbo I am not so pleased with.

The author keeps connecting the threads from the earlier books but this is not the best bool in the series. À must read if you have followed Harry (the hero).

It is sometimes à bit to encredible...

He delivers as usauall!