Customer Reviews

Nemesis

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4 star:		(1)
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This book is impossible to summarize. The story is incredibly intricate and several cases intertwine with each other. The back of my paperback copy gives a plot outline which really only deals with the second half of the book. Harry Hole is a Norwegian detective and he is called onto a case involving a bank robbery where a hostage is killed in cold blood. Later on he receives a call for a date from an old flame and wakes up the next morning remembering nothing only to find out she was murdered sometime that evening. These two cases take the forefront and many, many things twist and turn before the final outcome. I love a mystery that I cannot guess whodunit before the reveal. I had my guesses but they were wrong.

While the plot and the story is intense the characterization is wonderful. Harry is a flawed man, a recovering alcoholic with a great relationship in progress. He is not exactly everybody's favourite at the station as he has his own way of doing things and often disregards procedure.

Jo Nesbo has, I think, finally crossed the line between mystery and literature. While a great crime novel it is also a beautifully written and deeply profound story of characters. I really enjoyed this book and will be reading more from Nesbo. I just wish they would publish the series in the order it was written. So far they have published the English translations in this order #5, #3, #4 and #6 will published in English later this year. Recommended!

Robert Ludlum was and is my favourite author but Jo Nesbro is taking over number one spot.He writes like you are there and it seems so real.

Book 2 in the Harry Hole series (English version according to Fantasticfiction.uk)

This is the second book in the Oslo trilogy although one wonders if it is the 3rd or 4th book written in the series, actually it all depends where you source your information. The order in which you read them is somewhat irrelevant, they have not been translated in the same order they were originally written. 'Nemesis' is a thrilling, gripping and brilliant thriller, a bit lengthy but well worth the time.

The main plot is fortified with a multitude of sub-plots creating plenty of mystery and intrigue, this one opens with a bank robbery creating instant tension. Cloaked in a balaclava, the armed suspect grabs a teller and demands the bank manager open the safe within 25 seconds or else'.. All hell breaks loose and in all the confusion the suspect escapes from under the nose of the police, leaving them red faced and empty handed.

Investigator Harry Hole of Crime Squad is known for his drinking problem and his knack of rubbing his superiors the wrong way, however it is decided he work the case in collaboration with Robberies Unit. Harry's strong character takes him on a tangent that leaves the other department out in left field. Harry convinces his boss to give him more rope, so he and his partner Beate Lonn, a promising young video analyst, can work their own theory. Beate discovers discrepancies in CCTV footage, this leads to clues that up until now had been overlooked, and this eventually proves to be the game changer.

This clever book has so much going on it would take a book in itself to summarise. There are many twists and turns, dozens of red herrings and a pile of dead bodies. At one point the investigation brings Harry to Brazil, in another instance he looks into a gang of gypsies and still another he delves into the lives of cheating spouses and jealous brothers, this just covers only a few leads he had to follow. There are so many layers, it is a mind game to piece everything together and make sense of it all. I took it as a challenge and went with the flow and enjoyed every tense moment. It all becomes clear at the end.

This book is complicated, immensely rewarding and an enjoyable suspense filled mystery

"Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." -- Matthew 23:28

If you haven't read The Redbreast, I strongly urge you to do so before reading Nemesis. Be sure to read The Devil's Star after Nemesis. The three books make up a trilogy that provide delight that is not to be missed.

Nemesis is the story of two murder investigations: One into a serial bank robber who killed during the first holdup and the other the death of a former lover of Harry Hole, our alcoholic investigator. While ostensibly a police procedural, the book is more of a psychological and moral portrayal of seeking and gaining redemption.

Although I am very pleased by the trilogy, I thought that Nemesis was by far the weakest book in the series. The investigation lags and meanders around in quite ridiculous ways. You also don't have to be an especially close reader to pick up on the clues as to what was going on. In one of the cases, the fact situation is also more than a little on the far-fetched side. Mr. Nesbo is a great developer of the character of Harry Hole, and that provides a lot of entertainment to ensure that this book is above average in every way.

"Arrest the usual suspects."