Phantom

Harry Hole #9

Hardcover: 400 pages.
Publisher: Knopf
Not yet available in the US

Summer. A boy, Gusto, is lying on the floor of an Oslo apartment. He is bleeding and will soon die. He is trying to make sense of what has happened. In order to place his life and death in some kind of context he begins to tell his story. Outside, the church bells chime.

Autumn. Former Police Detective Harry Hole returns to Oslo after three years abroad. He seeks out his former boss at Police Headquarters to request permission to investigate a homicide. But the case is already closed; a young junkie, Gusto, was in all likelihood shot by a pal in a conflict over drugs. Harry is granted permission to visit the accused boy in prison. There, he meets himself and his own history. It’s the start of a solitary investigation of the most impossible case in Harry Hole’s life. And while Harry is searching, Gusto continues his story.

A man walks the dark streets of nighttime Oslo. The streets are his and he has always been there. He is a phantom.

Praise

“Truly fascinating… One can almost hear the western soundtrack when [Harry] clinks his spurs and steps into the saloon… Nesbø’s novels about Harry Hole are earnest action stories in straightforward prose, but they contain a great deal beyond the plot itself.”
Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

”Just as dark, just as well-written and just as dreadfully suspenseful as the previous novels in the series”
Värmlands Folkblad (Sweden)

“Fantastic … The pace is high and the violence plentiful, and Jo Nesbø does what he is so impressively good at – mixing action with a powerful depiction of a frightening big-city reality that is both engaging and upsetting.”
Norra Skåne (Sweden)

“Fast-paced, entertaining and frightening. Moreover, [Nesbø] is good at dialogue, characterization and unpredictable endings.”
Dagbladet (Sweden)

“As always, Nesbø writes gruesomely effective /…/ This is a crime novel without any dead spots, cleverly constructed with a constantly fascinating story”
Göteborgs-Posten (Sweden)

“Clever and suspenseful…full of twists, turns and impressive stylistic devices.”
Sundsvalls Tidning (Sweden)

“Once again Nesbø demonstrates that he is a crime writer of absolute world class /…/ It is an amazing achievement for a crime writer to put as much effort into the characters as the plot. And it is never trivial. Even the love scenes are believable (and they seldom are in literature). /…/ You will understand what I mean when you read Phantom. And please do, this is a masterpiece of the genre. Jo Nesbø just gets better and better.”
Västerbottens Folkblad (Sweden)

“The return of the Master /…/ I have always praised Nesbø’s books and Phantom offers no reason to revise the notion that Jo Nesbø is one of the most skillful in his genre. He also manages to avoid the phenomenon of writing more and more desperately and deficient the larger the readership gets. /…/ When 2012 comes to an end, Phantom will appear on every Best Of Crime list. The only concern I have when I put the book down is that there will be no more Harry Hole. In this, the ninth novel in the series, the circle is closed with the crystal clear drama that makes Jo Nesbø a Master”
Kristianstabladet (Sweden)

“Jo Nesbø has never before had a better command of his material and told his story with such a confident sense of style. One takes pleasure in sarcastically hard-boiled phrases that could not have been delivered any better by Hammett or Chandler over there on the mean streets of California. The crime plot provides one delightfully nail-biting twist and turn after another.”
Jyllands-Posten (Denmark)

“Harry Hole returns in one of the best crime novels of our times. /…/ [Nesbø is] Scandinavia’s greatest plot and intrigue maker, the most intelligent and well researched crime writer.”
Politiken (Denmark)

“Yet another excellent crime novel where hope for the best and despair for the worst fight until the very last page /…/ A volcano of human drama, spanning from the sweetest to the foulest feelings”
Ekstra Bladet *6 stars* (Denmark)

“Phantom must be the crime novel of the year. There is no one better or even equal to Jo Nesbø in Scandinavian crime fiction. /…/ You are pulled into to the most raw, unsettling and tragic situations – it hurts to read Nesbø, that’s just the way it is. It is written in a minor key and it ends in a minor key and leaves no hope for the future. Or does it, Jo Nesbø? Please!”
Weekendavisen (Denmark)

“Nesbø is one of the best suspense writers in the world and this novel fully confirms that claim. The novel is suspenseful, moving, well written and impossible to put down. /…/ I just can’t recommend this enough.”
Litteratursiden.dk (Denmark)

“Jo Nesbø is a master of his craft. His latest novel, Phantom, is world-class crime writing. /…/ Phantom is a crime novel that pleases on every level…”
Dagbladet (Norway)
 
“Harry Hole, better than ever.”
Dagsavisen (Norway)

“With a steady hand, Jo Nesbø deftly ties together the different narratives, steering the novel towards its goal with great precision.”
VG (Norway)

“The latest novel about Harry Hole, Phantom, is probably the best in the series…”
Dagens Næringsliv (Norway)

“I’m happy to announce that all expectations are met. /…/ What’s most salient is Jo Nesbø’s intense, eloquent yet terse prose. The same goes for his talent as a story teller, as well as his eye for narrative construction.”
NRK (Norway)

“Jo Nesbø has driven Harry Hole’s gloomy love story all the way into the dark. It is masterfully done.”
Vårt Land (Norway)

Excerpt

Coming soon…