
The Bat
A Harry Hole Thriller, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Sean Barrett
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By:
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Jo Nesbø
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 AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...




















I was surprised to see The Bat pop up in Audible.
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What made the experience of listening to The Bat the most enjoyable?
As an Australian I was amazed with the depth of knowledge shown of Australian, if not Aboriginal history, dream time stories, Australian history that made this story shine out, especially when written by a Norwegian. Well Done. How the author wove in each chapter title to the story, and kept me listening was great.Who was your favorite character and why?
Harry of course, a damaged star.What about Sean Barrett’s performance did you like?
Very good, voices not so bad but still very good.If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Intrepid, determined, out of his zone and drunk, the killer never had a chanceAny additional comments?
A great story, it has now made me want the rest, in fact number 3 is already purchased. A gripe, why is number 2 not available? But a minor gripe as time will I hope bring it to me. I really want to listen to more, especially with this writer and performer collaboration.Brilliant, just brilliant
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Then, to top things off, it turns out to be set in Sydney, Australia! Go figure? Surreal. Immediate download required.
It starts well, with plenty of detail written in an engaging way. It is not Larsson, so don't come at it with that expectation. However, the research is impressive. Nesbo (pronounced Nes-Bore, or close to that) writes of the indigenous issues that remain a blight on the social and justice systems of my country. He wrote of the Mabo Case that dispelled the legal fiction of terra nullius (that there were no settled people here when the Brit's arrived). These are issues that many Australians don't understand enough. However, like many eastern Europeans, this Scandinavian understands and appreciates the indigenous population of this country better than most Australians. He certainly understands it sufficiently well to write about it with empathy, authority and accuracy. I was impressed by this alone, and I remain impressed.
Then the plot explodes. A little murder and a bit of drugs in the sexually ambiguous 'Cross becomes a full scale hunt for a serial killer. I could say (disingenuously) that I picked it early, but the truth is that I knew (from the blurb) that Harry was looking for a serial killer and I was looking for him or her, too. I thought about the eventual culprit, but I dismissed it (because I was cleverly distracted by the narrative). When the perp' is announced, I wasn't surprised, but that didn't diminish the enjoyment of the book. It just made me want to read the next one! (By the way, the next one, The Cockroaches, has yet to be translated into English and is not available in audio at the time of writing).
Sean Barrett's narrative and characterisation are very good. He gets the Oz accent right, fortunately (because nothing annoys me more in audio than a parody of an Australian accent). I am not sure about the Norse accent, but I get the impression that he has opted for substantially his own tone for Harry (which is sensible, I think). I thought he and Jo (pronounced "You" according to his webpage) Nesbo captured Harry's alcoholism very well. The back story for this was well developed, too.
Overall, I think it is a well above average crime thriller. Larsson, it's not, but it is engaging enough for me to change plans from the book I intended to listen to next and say, "On to Book 3, then!"
A Worthy Beginning
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I wanted to check how Hole should be pronounced and found an interview with Jo Nesbo in the UK where he is asked the question. The link gives his response. An interesting guy!
In answer to the pronunciation of Hole
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The plot of the book is fairly simple, and the actual killer is easy to suspect very early on. Without giving it away, the manner in which the killer "gets his" is a surprise, but I had a feeling it was also a facile ending, one designed to appeal to a mass market.
The narrator, not Robin Sachs of the later books, saves this book. We hear the correct pronunciation of the both the author's and the characters names. Jo isn't Joe, but more like Yo. Nesbo is more like NesBuh. Hole isn't pronounced at all as spelled, but more like HullUh. His tone and pacing are excellent throughout. He differentiates the characters nicely.
Several times I was tempted to pull this out of my ear. I'm glad I didn't because it's the first book in the series, but it wasn't easy.
Don't Read This First
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Australian adventure
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beginning
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Early Nesbo. Good story. Wrong narrator.
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Like all of Nesbo's books, it's sad, fast and emotionally powerful. The plot twists in ways you'd never suspect, even if you're a seasoned crime reader like I am. Unlike most detective stories though, the author truely cares about his characters and opens them up to you in wonderful and imaginative ways. You care so much about Harry, the suspects and other detectives he meets and you dread the horrors that will inevitably befall them.
Once you start, you'll be hooked and you'll read the rest. But as of this writing, the second book still hasn't been translated, so you'll be waiting on anxious feet (just like me.)
Worth the Wait
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NOT Robin Sachs, unfortunately!
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