Scan barcode
A review by edgwareviabank
Luna rossa by Jo Nesbø
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
NOTE: while my review is in English, I read the Italian translation of this book.
One of the reasons I love the Harry Hole series so much is that it always surprises me. I can't think of a single time I had the right hunch about a plot twist or a killer, even when it seemed oh-so-obvious up to the last chapter. So now I just sit back, try to resist the temptation to put a lot of effort into making guesses, and read on, knowing at some point the plot will subvert all of my expectations. It's become a part of the enjoyment.
This time, I got some things right. I was surprised Nesbø made them so easy to predict! My very first instinct about the killer wasn't the right one, but, unlike in previous Harry Hole novels, the dots to connect to work it all out appear much earlier on in Killing Moon. Still, even when I was certain I knew, I couldn't put the book down: spending time with the cast of familiar characters, and finding out how exactly they would get to the truth, was at least half the fun.
Now, does the series tend to rely on the same elements over and over? Definitely. Does it get old? Hell no. Harry Hole's investigations and thought processes follow a similar structure in many of the novels. Even when it's hard to guess who the killer is, it's clear who the author will prompt the reader to suspect. The "aging detective on a self-destructive drinking spiral" angle is played with as heavy a hand as ever, and of course, after the life-shattering events of The Knife, the novel that followed was bound to double down. A bit repetitive at times; but also, it's what makes it so easy to pick up any of the Harry Hole books as standalones, or to read them out of order (I started from The Snowman, and am still missing a few of the earlier novels, which I'll get to at some point).
I can think of a few crime authors that have overplayed their tropes to the point of making me scream at books in frustration. With Jo Nesbø, I see the repetition as part of a package I will buy any time it's on offer: the complex and well-constructed plots with continuous twists and hardly ever a loose end more than make up for it. I'm glad that The Knife wasn't the end of Harry Hole, as it so easily might have been. His adventures are Nesbø's best work, and one of the most consistently excellent series Nordic Noir has to offer.
One of the reasons I love the Harry Hole series so much is that it always surprises me. I can't think of a single time I had the right hunch about a plot twist or a killer, even when it seemed oh-so-obvious up to the last chapter. So now I just sit back, try to resist the temptation to put a lot of effort into making guesses, and read on, knowing at some point the plot will subvert all of my expectations. It's become a part of the enjoyment.
This time, I got some things right. I was surprised Nesbø made them so easy to predict! My very first instinct about the killer wasn't the right one, but, unlike in previous Harry Hole novels, the dots to connect to work it all out appear much earlier on in Killing Moon. Still, even when I was certain I knew, I couldn't put the book down: spending time with the cast of familiar characters, and finding out how exactly they would get to the truth, was at least half the fun.
Now, does the series tend to rely on the same elements over and over? Definitely. Does it get old? Hell no. Harry Hole's investigations and thought processes follow a similar structure in many of the novels. Even when it's hard to guess who the killer is, it's clear who the author will prompt the reader to suspect. The "aging detective on a self-destructive drinking spiral" angle is played with as heavy a hand as ever, and of course, after the life-shattering events of The Knife, the novel that followed was bound to double down. A bit repetitive at times; but also, it's what makes it so easy to pick up any of the Harry Hole books as standalones, or to read them out of order (I started from The Snowman, and am still missing a few of the earlier novels, which I'll get to at some point).
I can think of a few crime authors that have overplayed their tropes to the point of making me scream at books in frustration. With Jo Nesbø, I see the repetition as part of a package I will buy any time it's on offer: the complex and well-constructed plots with continuous twists and hardly ever a loose end more than make up for it. I'm glad that The Knife wasn't the end of Harry Hole, as it so easily might have been. His adventures are Nesbø's best work, and one of the most consistently excellent series Nordic Noir has to offer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Medical content, Sexual content, and Incest
Moderate: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury