Harry Hole

Set in Scandinavia, this series of pulse-pounding, bone-chilling thrillers features one of the greatest antiheroes of modern detective fiction: Oslo police investigator Harry Hole.

Detective Harry Hole specializes in tracking down cold-blooded killers across Scandinavia—and beyond. When a young Norwegian woman is brutally murdered in Sydney in the same manner as several young blonde Australian women, or when the Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel, Hole is swiftly dispatched to the scene. At home, he takes on ruthless neo-Nazi gangs, satanic serial killers, and other monsters—and sometimes becomes the killer’s pawn or a murder suspect. A handsome loner with a knack for meeting the wrong women and a weakness for stiff drinks, Hole is a rulebook-shredding maverick with a strong sense of justice who employs the most unconventional methods to ensnare the most cunning and evil sociopaths. He’s also a tireless investigator, described by his colleagues as the best detective in the Oslo Police Department.

You’ll hit the narrator jackpot with this series, whether you listen to the late, great Robin Sachs or get to hear John Lee. Listeners rave about both award-winning narrators. To quote one fan of Robin Sachs: “Sachs is only perfect as the full cast of this wildly entertaining whizz-bang of a tale starring Harry Hole, Norway’s semi-shattered serial killer specialist who devoutly wanted to stay retired and also drinks and dopes a little. Sachs can do anything: men, women, terror, joy, even a guy with half his tongue cut off, all while maintaining a fevered pace.” As for John Lee, a fan proclaims: “[Lee] expertly delivers a wealth of voices and accents–from British-sounding English of the Norwegians to the Balkan accent of a Croatian hit man. A surfeit of characters–male, female, kids, junkies, and sundry people of various nationalities– gives Lee full range for his vocal mastery.”

Jo Nesbø is a musician, songwriter, and economist, as well as an internationally acclaimed crime fiction writer. In addition to his best-selling Harry Hole mysteries, he is the author of several stand-alone novels and the Doctor Proctor series of children’s books. Nesbø is the recipient of numerous awards and widespread critical praise. To quote Vanity Fair: “Nesbø explores the darkest criminal minds with grim delight and puts his killer where you least expect to find them... His novels are maddeningly addictive.”

The Redbreast, Book 3 in the series, won the Glass Key prize for best Nordic crime novel. The Snowman, Book 7, was made into a feature film starring Michael Fassbender.