The Bat by Jo Nesbo.

The Bat is the first Harry Hole thriller by the top selling Norwegian author Jo Nesbo. It is a Police Crime Drama set in Sydney, Australia. Harry Hole is a Norwegian policeman sent down under to investigate the murder of a Norwegian young woman working in Sydney.

The Bat is different to other crime thrillers in that it is not solely focused on the plot or the development of characters. The Bat is full of anecdotes given by everyone involved in this story. The plot moves on as the police try to indentify and catch the murderer of Inger but alongside this there is a wealth of anecdotes imparting wisdom on the reader. As the scenes unfold, a character will present an anecdote to explain the background or procedure involved. This vast content provided by these anecdotes makes you feel involved with the story as you are carried along on it’s learning curve. None of these anecdotes are tedious or just put in to bulk out this story. Jo Nesbo tells his story with such a lovely depth. I finished the book and the themes of these anecdotes still buzzed in my head. Most of the anecdotes are quite long and detailed, so I will quote 2 very short anecdotes to illustrate…

1. He watched her as she bounced up and down. She met his gaze, sent him a brief smile and looked away. It was the kind of smile you get when you’re on the tram and inadvertently stare at someone for too long.

    2) ‘The precursor to Coca-Cola was discovered by an American chemist who wanted to concoct a remedy for hangovers,’ Joseph said. ‘But he reckoned he’d failed and sold the recipe on for eight dollars. If you ask me no one has found anything better.’

Jo Nesbo has written a very good novel and he is a top author in this genre. The Bat is a very good read, it is a full and entertaining story. I was impressed and could find nothing wrong with this book. I am not alone in my praise for this book as the editors at Amazon have included it in their top 100 thrillers to read in a lifetime. I will vote The Bat the top score of 5 stars and look forward to reading the second novel in the Harry Hole series called Cockroaches.

The Bat has 425 pages and was written in 1997 but was translated into English by Don Bartlett in 2012.