“Police” by Jo Nesbo – The Price of Failure

In Police by Jo Nesbo we once again see the return of our beloved and charismatic hero, Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad.

This time around, the action takes place in Hole’s home, Oslo, and he finds himself face to face with one of the most dangerous enemies he could ever fathom: a serial killer who targets police officers.

As is always the case though, there is more to this killer’s logic than an unbearable disdain for authority; each police officer was murdered at a scene of a crime they failed to solve in the past.

Considering the fact that Harry Hole found himself at the center of virtually every major investigation in the past few years, the question must arise as to whether or not he is also in danger, and if he has enough time left to put an end to the killer’s spree before he disappears for good.

Contrary to what we saw in the first Harry Hole novel, Jo Nesbo spent more of his time focusing on the story itself rather than character development, which is what we got last time (for a large part at least).

As far as the plot goes, I have to say that even though it doesn’t contain groundbreaking elements to it, it nevertheless remains extremely solid, polished, and satisfying.

The mystery behind the killings is fun and interesting to figure out on your own as there are clues here and there as to who the murderer is and why he does what he does… it’s just up to the reader to put it all together.

Even if you are the kind of person who enjoys to be passive rather than active when reading a book, you’ll still find plenty of enjoyment for sooner or later, as in all great detective novels, all comes together in a surprising and enthralling climax.

Contrary to his previous work, it felt as if this one had many more layers of complexity to it. It takes a little while to get going, but Nesbo uses it to set up various plot threads touching on topics such as corruption, disturbed human psyche, and harrowing decisions which will hurt someone one way or the other.

As you go deeper and deeper into it, the pace of the story begins to pick up and though it can be said that it becomes quite fast, I still found it to be smooth and effective at building an unsettling atmosphere.

It may take some time for you to get into the book, but in the end, I guarantee that it is worth it. The characters are interesting to observe, the events keep your curiosity piqued, and the themes have enough substance to have you think rather than just follow.

All in all, if you are a fan of crime novels, then Police is definitely one you will want to add to your collection.

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Jo Nesbo Personal site Jo Nesbo is a Norwegian musician and book writer who has gained a solid foothold in his native country, selling more than 1.5 million copies of his novels in Norway (9 million worldwide) and having them translated in more than 40 languages. One of his more famous books is The Headhunters, on which a very successful 2011 film was based.