A weekly look at the best new crime, suspense, and detective writing. Remember to read with the lights on.
The Thirst
By Jo Nesbo
As if online dating weren’t bad enough — someone is killing Oslo’s female Tinder daters. And infamous, rough-around-the-edges (but nonetheless very attractive) detective Harry Hole, who left the force after his previous (and horrendous) cop-killer case, is dragged back to help catch this latest bloodthirsty (literally) serial murderer. This is the eleventh installment of the bestselling crime series featuring the detective. Fast-paced, with no plot holes, this story follows Hole as he encounters a complication: the killer is leaving clues aimed directly at him. Surrounded by familiar characters from previous books in the series — such as the sexy Detective Inspector Katrine Bratt, slimy police chief Mikael Bellman, the police officer nicknamed “Beavis,” and Harry’s step-son Oleg — Hole battles the killer and, suspensefully, his own personal demons. He’s one of a squad of imperfect, complicated, self-destructive, and very-human fictional detectives — John Luther, Kurt Wallander, John River, Alec Hardy and Ellie Miller (Broadchurch), Rust Cohle and Marty Hart (True Detective), Jane Tennison (Prime Suspect), Stella Gibson (The Fall), and Robin Griffin (Top of the Lake). Despite their personal failings — or maybe because of them — there are very few others we’d want on the case. This fall, you can watch Nesbo’s The Snowman on the big screen, starring Michel Fassbender and directed by Tomas Alfredson (of the cult vampire flick Let the Right One In and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy in 2011).
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(Image: Artur Debat, contributor/Getty Images)
