The Knife: A Harry Hole Novel

Nesbø’s intricate, inventive, but seriously overstuffed 12th Harry Hole novel picks up on the heels of 2017’s The Thirst, but now Hole is separated from his wife, Rakel, and back on Oslo’s police force, working cold cases and drinking heavily. When Svein Finne, whom Harry sent to prison 20 years earlier, is released, Finne immediately resumes his particularly twisted crime: terrorizing and raping women, hoping to impregnate them. Finne also seeks revenge on Harry, who, with his standard disregard of the law and procedure, sets out to put Finne away for good. An enormous number of characters, backstories, subplots, and themes (such as flaws in the justice system) fill this long book. At times, it feels as if there are far too many balls in the air, though the action does build to a well-orchestrated denouement. The surfeit of plot and detail will surely delight Nesbø’s fans, but may not win him many new readers. [em]100,000-copy announced first printing. Agent: Niclas Salomonsson, Salomonsson Agency (Sweden). (July) [/em]