After Phantom's amazing twist-hanger I was almost delirious with glee and trepidation when I heard the next Harry Hole book Police was coming out.
So was my anticipation satisfied?
Yes - however not in the way I expected. Police is a weightier tome than other Hole novel's and thusly the length of the novel evokes tension as a slow-burn rather than a furious action packed feast. While perhaps less immediately exciting Nesbo plies us with a smorgasbord of corruption, deeply disturbing villains, and tormented decisions from our main characters which had my nerves fraying to the point of madness.
Nesbo has a talent for taking crime thriller tropes and twisting them into deranged scenarios than leave most other authors behind as cliche peddlers. While it takes time to warm up to this book it is definitely worth it. The end, perhaps not as shocking as the Phantom, I feel will stick in heads for a while yet.
As to a aforementioned twist-hanger? Don't expect fireworks and or huge magical reveals. Expect ambiguity and sneaky oblique plotting that keeps you guessing throughout the novel. I admit I was hoping for a dramatic conclusion to the events at the end of Phantom, but what Nesbo presents is cool in its own way.
Overall Police reads differently from other Oslo Sequence books. Longer and more nuanced, expect a familiar level of violence, but Nesbo revs up the psychological and sexually perverse aspects of crime. Ultimately creating a novel that is disturbingly original, with just enough light to satisfy.
So was my anticipation satisfied?
Yes - however not in the way I expected. Police is a weightier tome than other Hole novel's and thusly the length of the novel evokes tension as a slow-burn rather than a furious action packed feast. While perhaps less immediately exciting Nesbo plies us with a smorgasbord of corruption, deeply disturbing villains, and tormented decisions from our main characters which had my nerves fraying to the point of madness.
Nesbo has a talent for taking crime thriller tropes and twisting them into deranged scenarios than leave most other authors behind as cliche peddlers. While it takes time to warm up to this book it is definitely worth it. The end, perhaps not as shocking as the Phantom, I feel will stick in heads for a while yet.
As to a aforementioned twist-hanger? Don't expect fireworks and or huge magical reveals. Expect ambiguity and sneaky oblique plotting that keeps you guessing throughout the novel. I admit I was hoping for a dramatic conclusion to the events at the end of Phantom, but what Nesbo presents is cool in its own way.
Overall Police reads differently from other Oslo Sequence books. Longer and more nuanced, expect a familiar level of violence, but Nesbo revs up the psychological and sexually perverse aspects of crime. Ultimately creating a novel that is disturbingly original, with just enough light to satisfy.
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