Phantom

Harry Hole returns in this ninth Scandinavian mystery from bestselling author Nesbø. After a three-year, self-imposed absence, former police detective Hole is drawn back to Oslo when the son of the woman he loves is arrested for the murder of a low-level drug dealer. Though he may no longer have a badge, Hole is still a formidable investigator, and he’s soon hunting for the truth behind the dealer’s death—a truth that could very easily get him, or someone close to him, killed. Narrator Robin Sachs hits all the right notes in his reading of this stark thriller, but it’s his richly nuanced portrayal of Harry Hole that is most memorable. It would be easy to make Hole a bleak, depressing, one-note character, but Sachs digs deeper into the material and perfectly captures Hole, presenting him as a man who lives every day with a sense of sadness, loss, and regret, but whose belief in justice and loyalty keeps him moving forward. Sachs and Nesbø make a fine match, and listeners are the beneficiaries of their partnership. A Knopf hardcover. (Oct.)