This guy: http://jonesbo.com/#!/books is supposed to be the new steig larikson (who wrote dragon tattoos), I like the dragon tatoo movies, but wasnt sure what these books were like. Interesting name for the main character “Harry Hole”?

I think it does Nesbo a disservice to call him the ‘new Stig Larsson’ as he’s been writing for years and was a best-selling author in Norway before Stig Larsson.

I read the translations of The Devils Star and The Redbreast before any of the Stig Larsson books had been released in English.

All his books are well worth reading.

The missus has read these over the last couple of years:

– Redbreast
– Nemesis
– Devil’s Star

She digs them. Didn’t realise there were 2 earlier books though.

Didn’t realise there were 2 earlier books though.

It’s down to the order that they’ve been translated by Don Bartlett. He’s not translated the first books yet.

Mum, brother and partner have read them all… so they must be reasonable (you’d hope).

do you need to read them in order? the mrs has just ordered “the snowman” for somweone as a gift, but that is number 7 in the series?

I’ve read them all (I think).

There is an order to them, but I didn’t follow it. Doesn’t affect the storytelling.

And they are really good.

Although by the tiem I read the last one the story arc is quite predictable (usual crime story arc, it’s always the person you didn’t suspect untill it’s revealed).

There are references to earlier books but the latest ones stand up on their own. I would however recommend reading The Redbreast, Nemesis and The Devils Star in order as there is a sub-story that follows through them

Read them all earlier this year. Read the snowman first then started at the beginning and read them through one after the other.
They are a bit predictable in that if you have read one you can guess what will happen in the others.
His non Harry Hole book headhunters was turned into a film and I thought was a better read than several of the Harry Hole ones.
I went back to inspector rebus afterwards. More suspense, better written.

Yep, read all the Scandi thriller types, Jo Nesbo is a lot darker than most, Steig Larsson came good with the Dragon Tattoo books, but Jo Nesbo is definitely not the new SL, very different to my thinking. He’s a bit more like a Henning Mankell’s Wallander with Harry Hole, but much darker. Some pretty nasty stuff in the books and they are not pick up, read and forget, they make you wonder what some people have floating around in their heads – in this he is more like Larsson. IMHO Mankell knocks spots off the rest of them, very good at social commentary through the books.

I like Jo Nesbo, but they do not make for easy reading. In some ways, a bit overrated, you feel like you need a good wash and scrub after you read them. Also try Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch series if you like a good cop story and a main character who you care about.

Out of left field though is Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Icelandic and very, very good.

Read all of the Harry Hole books – a gripping read but certainly not a challenging read and the character did remind me of ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus as well. But like the Stieg Larsson books I wouldn’t read them again.

you feel like you need a good wash and scrub after you read them

Leopolds apple is a bit SAW, but the rest is no worse than an eppisode of Silent Witness on the BBC.

I’ve read quite a few, and not in order. While there is a narrative about his life that runs from book to book the investigation is the key in each one, so the sequence didn’t seem to matter too much – reading some as prequels was nice in a way.

And I think they’re good.

I’ve read and watched Headhunters too, I liked the book and the film.

I read The Snowman.

Obvious from the outset whodunnit. No real mystery or suspense just the inevitable clumsy reveal.

Didn’t bother with any more.

I’ve read all the Harry Hole books from the beginning and really enjoyed them. I was recommended them after reading SL Millenium trilogy. I found them a better read with some wonderful detail, how the characters developed between the books and always a nice little twist or two. I also finished Headhunter last month, completely different style of book and an easy read but again very enjoyable

Currently reading the Jack Reacher books by Lee Childs and hopIng they get better otherwise I’ll be looking for something else to read.

Kathy Reichs Tempé Brennan books are very good, the forensic science is fascinating, but then that’s Reichs’ professional speciality.