Summer Reading: Found My Detective Thrillers

 I find that I like certain kinds of books for certain activities: For plane rides and quick bites of a book while sitting in my backyard I really enjoy a good detective novel. I tried a few different authors over the past few months and after a couple of books decided no more. But I think I may have found my summer romance - the thriller series that will get me from plane to beach to sitting around swim meets: Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole Detective Novels.  I've read the first two and I'm in.

In The Bat: The First Inspector Harry Hole Novel (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Original)we meet Harry. A former alcoholic, hard bitten and pain-driven by a bad past, Harry is sent to Australia to investigate the death of a fellow Norwegian. There he bonds with new police partners, uncovers that the killing is part of a hitherto undiagnosed serial killer's spree, falls in love, falls off the wagon and goes through a lot of hell. The ending is worthy of Hollywood's best stunt men and special effects.







In Cockroaches: The Second Inspector Harry Hole Novel (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Original) Harry is mostly recovering from the events of the former novel when he is once again sent abroad to investigate the death of a Norwegian overseas—this time the American Ambassador to Thailand. Whereas in the first novel we get a foreigner's experience of the exotica of Australia, in this novel we get an equally interesting entree into the twisty truths of Bangkok. It would seem that exotic locale are a perk of the series! Not a serial killer this time, so that is not necessarily the ongoing theme of the series, but a equally convoluted set of murders. Harry kind of falls in love, and climbs back on the wagon. A sub-theme of the books is clearly addiction, and it is handled with an insider's perspicacity. The ending is also a direct call to Hollywood to start lining up the stunt men. But despite Harry's best efforts he leaves Bangkok equally wounded by the events that transpire during the novel—how much can one guy take? I guess I'll have to go on with the series to find out!