The Bat: A Harry Hole Thriller, Book 1

This is my favorite series in this genre and my favorite book in the series. It answers many mysteries concerning Harry Hole's history while exposing the detctive's peculiar genius.

This reader is my favorite, though I liked Robin Sachs. He does a brilliant job with the different voices, especially.a drunk Harry Hole.

This is the story of the case that made Harry famous, the Australian serial killer case.

because is a fast paced thriller with a myriad of characters that make you hold in a carrousel of ups and downs ,really funny!!!!!!!

hary hole ,plausible human detective at the same time unique

the emotion on the voice

when harry starts drinking again...

I've devoured all of Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series so when "The Bat" finally became available I had to buy it. It filled in some holes in Harry's persona. I'm so used to Robin Sachs' narration, this one threw me. Robin Sachs' gives Harry a relaxed and melancholy demeanor and this narrator makes Harry more excitable. I prefer Robin Sachs' portrayal.

The later books in the series seem to have greater depth and more surprises. It is clear that Jo Nesbo has grown and evolved in his writing. The continual Aussie folklore really slowed this one down.

Sure wish Robin Sachs' would have narrated this....but maybe they wanted an Aussie accent to fit the novel's setting.

Okay, this is Nesbo's first Harry Hole book and the story is okay. It definitely gives us a glimpse in to what makes Harry like he is. Sadly, Sean Barrett does NOT do this justice. No, he's not as bad as the guy who does Nemesis, Thor Knai, but he's close. He sounds like he is 95 years old - like Robin Williams playing a very old man. That great, masculine gruff sound that Robin Sachs bring to all the other books is sadly missing. If you can get past that, the book is good.

It's bad news for narrator Robin Sachs because Nesbø makes clear in the first couple of pages that Harry's last name is not pronounced like the English "hole" the way Robin did it in several other Harry Hole books. What will Robin do if he's the narrator in a future Harry Hole book?

In "The Bat" the Aussies render Harry's name as "holy" which, Harry admits, is better than being called a hairy orifice. I think Thor Knai had it about right in "Nemesis" when he pronounced it "hOO-luh", at least if Google Translate's pronunciation feature is right.

Sean Barrett does a nice job, though he doesn't impart much tough-guy to Harry's character. On a scale of Hercule Poirot to Philip Marlowe, this rendition is somewhere in the middle. And Harry surely is a tough guy, wading into fights with bad Aussies in a bar. On examining his broken tooth, Harry asks the guy who broke it "Shouldn't the pulp be red?"

Narration aside, it's a great read. I'm really glad this book, the first in the Harry Hole series, got translated. You get a good bit of Harry's back story here, but none of it is necessary to enjoy the other books in the series. Each of Nesbø's Harry Hole novels pretty much stands alone, and you can read them in just about any order.

I didn't see the translator's name credited for this book, but whoever (Don Bartlett?) did it it is seamless. When I hear word-play or puns in a translated work, I always wonder how they were rendered in the original? Well, they're funny in English, so I suppose they were in Norwegian too, though maybe different.

I believe the second book in the series ("The Cockroach") has been or is being translated. Something to look forward to!

Developing interesting character

The plot did not keep me on the edge of my seat but did provide a good basis for Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series each book of which gets better and better.

The storyline describing Aborigine culture is very interesting.

When Harry bonds with his Australian partner almost at once, I was intrigued by the way Nesbo did this so that I would believe it could happen so fast.

Look forward to more in this series.

An excellent narrorator does a wonderful job of giving voice to Harry as well as the Austrailian characters.

Our first introduction to Harry and as is typical of Nesbo's writing we are thrown right in. An excellent book that gave more background to Harry than any other of the series. Highly recommend!!

I would highly recommend this fast-paced detective thriller. This is my first experience with Jo Nesbo and the Harry Hole series and what a terrific story. Let me also state emphatically at the outset that Sean Barrett does an incredible job as actor (the word "narrator" is too limiting).
This book has all the essential elements of an exciting novel - strong characters and plot, extremely well-written and, as mentioned above, well-told. Nesbo uses the effective technique of short anecdotes and flash backs to enrich the story and build the characters. There are also, at least in my opinion, many similarities between James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux and Nesbo's Harry Hole.
One other comment: this book is incredibly funny despite its theme.
Finally, I don't see Harry Hole Series #2 on the Audible list. #3 is there and thankfully Sean Barrett is the narrator.
This is clearly a must listen.

I was gripped by Nesbo's "The Snowman" from start to finish, but I had difficulty getting through this book (finished after many starts/stops.) I appreciated getting acquainted with Harry's background, but I felt like this was the required prerequisite before getting to the interesting book. I intend to read other Nesbo books, though, as perhaps the Australian setting wasn't a good fit for a Harry Hole mystery.

Sean Barrett did a great job with narration.

This is one of those series where you first listen to the author, like the story, and realize you are starting somewhere in the middle. I've listened to all of them since that first one and enjoyed them all immensely but then audible releases the original first book. I decided I had to try it to see what I could learn of Harry Hole's beginnings. Often times authors get better with time. "The Bat" started kind of slowly but from the time Harry went on a bender and still thinking through the case while there, the book too off and the Nesbo I've learned to be a great fan of was right there. I do wonder why he picked Australia as the setting for his first Hole novel as all the other ones I've listened to were set in Norway. Harry has his demons for sure but you feel empathy as he unravels the mystery. Can't wait for the next one!