It's a sweltering summer in Oslo when a young woman is found murdered in her flat. One finger has been cut off, and beneath her eyelid is a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five pointed star. Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case with Tom Waaler - a colleague Harry suspects of running an arms smuggling gang and of having murdered his partner - and initially he refuses to become involved. But he is already on notice to quit the force and is left with no choice but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor and get ...
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It's a sweltering summer in Oslo when a young woman is found murdered in her flat. One finger has been cut off, and beneath her eyelid is a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five pointed star. Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case with Tom Waaler - a colleague Harry suspects of running an arms smuggling gang and of having murdered his partner - and initially he refuses to become involved. But he is already on notice to quit the force and is left with no choice but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor and get to work. Five days later, a man reports his wife missing. When her severed finger is found wearing a ring mounted with the same star-shaped red diamond, it seems Oslo has a serial killer on its hands. A riddle of fives: five points to the star, five fingers on the hand, and every fifth day a new victim to be counted. Harry is determined to prove that his hunch about Waaler is right, and he begins to wonder whether his enemy is somehow bound up with the killings. In his pursuit of the truth behind both mysteries, Harry unwittingly finds himself on the run from the police and forced to make difficult decisions about his future as a detective.
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This is the third of Nesboe's books that I have read, and--by chance--I read them in perfect sequence. They are well written and wonderfully translated.
Harry Hole is a real person in a very real setting. Every
detail adds to the mood of these exciting crime stories.
These are probably the best murder mysteries/police procedures I have ever read.
(I wish the translator had translated the term "gate" to street or road or whatever. Unfortunately in English we read that Harry walked up Karl Johan's Gate or down Sofia's Gate--that must be confusing to the one not familiar with Oslo.)
Forscher
Apr 11, 2013
Tense
Another great read from a writer who can weave a complex and interesting story.
Jean L
Oct 4, 2012
Wow.
This is the third book of a story trilogy that had me on pins and needles! Very intriguing mystery/crime novel.
