Phantom

Whew! What a roller coaster ride! For all fans of Harry Hole and Jo Nesbo, this is a must-read.

Harry returns to Oslo from Hong Kong after a three-year absence. Oleg, the son of Rakel (Harry's one, true love), has been charged with the murder of Gusto Hanssen, a drug user who was also Oleg's friend. Although no longer a police officer, Harry sets out to investigate the case against his surrogate son; this investigation soon leads to the discovery of other criminal activity. In particular, Harry tries to identify a mysterious figure known as Dubai who is responsible for the sale of violin, a potent, synthetic drug.

Harry is still Harry, though perhaps more cynical and less hopeful. He is a gifted detective who has been emotionally and show more physically scarred by all he's seen and done: "He was undoubtedly a very damaged person" (360). At one point he is compared to another man who is "totally, totally alone with his own guilt, his own ghosts, his own loneliness, his own decisions" (350). Harry may think of it as a deficiency but the reader can only admire him for his inability "to tell himself he didn't care, to forget, to clear off" (360).

The plot, as one would expect from Jo Nesbo, is complex. A long list of characters makes an appearance, many involved in drug smuggling and sales and/or corrupt officialdom. There is always more than one person with a credible motive for a crime.

Suspense is kept at a maximum, especially as Harry's investigation takes him into the realm of dangerous people who will stop at nothing to avoid exposure. Harry no longer has the protection of a policeman's badge and does not have easy access to police resources, although he does receive assistance from former colleagues. The use of Gusto, a voice from the grave, as a narrator in certain sections adds to the suspense. Will Harry be able to piece together the information that the reader is given by Gusto?

There are numerous twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, the ending being perhaps the most shocking. Nonetheless, there is ample foreshadowing which suggests the appropriateness of what happens. The book is worthy of a second read to pick up on some of the clues that may have been overlooked on first reading.

The reader should be warned that this is a sombre read. The subject matter, with its focus on the damage done by drugs, is certainly serious. The number of lives ruined by substance abuse keeps piling up, as does the number of people involved in aiding and abetting addiction.

The reader would also be advised to read the Harry Hole novels in order. This is the seventh to be translated into English and, although it can be read alone, a knowledge of Harry's previous relationships and cases will add much depth to one's understanding and enjoyment of this book.

This is a first-class, breathlessly fast-paced, multi-layered thriller. It is perfectly understandable why millions of Nesbo's books have sold worldwide. show less

My favorite of the entire series!

It's so poignant. Despite being essentially a murder mystery, Phantom creates havoc with the reader's emotions, especially if they've been following Harry for some time. Oleg's grown up and the way he's turned out is no surprise given all that he's seen and faced.

While I had Cato pinned as Mr. Dubai the minute he entered the story, the journey through the book was hauntingly beautiful. And the end, oh the end was gut-twisting, superb!

Note: There are no spoilers for this book.

This is the latest police detective thriller in the Harry Hole series, and it brings back a number of characters from earlier books. On the surface it is a dark, gritty tale about competing drug gangs in Oslo, but the story goes much, much deeper. The roiling passions spilling out from those who are involved suggest there may be more to the murders being committed than competition for territory. Harry, though ostensibly no longer on the police force, has his own reasons to get in the investigation. Being a policeman is something Harry has difficulty giving up, even when it’s a life or death matter.

Discussion: As usual, Nesbo gives us clues throughout that we should have picked up, if only we show more had known where to look! Surely, we think, as we metaphorically pace back and forth in our minds from the tension, Harry can see what we cannot! But as even Harry admits (in perhaps a meta comment on the book), our brains are always willing to see only the consoling answers needed by our hearts. All of the characters fall prey to this fallacy.

Phantom is structured, in an important way, like James Joyces’ Finnegans Wake, which is to say, among other things, it is quite clever. It also is driven by the same Biblical and Shakespearian themes that characterize Joyce’s Ulysses. Intentionally or not, Nesbo has created a story that touches upon major chords of the human psyche. This is not just a superficial crime thriller.

Additionally, amidst the Dante-esque tour of Oslo’s drug underworld, Nesbo intersperses flights of literary beauty that shine glimmers of light on subterranean Oslo and its environs:

"The long, slim feminine legs of the pine trees rose into the skirt of green that cast hazy afternoon shadows across the gravel in front of the house.”

"Harry focused on the spruce trees. The little colour remaining was quickly sucked out of them, and now they stood like ranks of black uniformed silhouette-guardsmen. Then he heard her come over, felt her hand under his arm, her head against his shoulder, her hot cheek through his linen suit, and breathed in the perfume of her hair. … [She] had started crying and buried her face in his neck. The tears warmed his skin as they ran down inside his shirt, over his chest, over his heart.”

Evaluation: OMG. The mix of hope and love and pain broke my heart, all the way through, and left me absolutely bowled over. This is a must-read for fans of the Harry Hole series! Not recommended as a standalone – one should be aware of Harry’s story from at least The Snowman onward. show less

A thriller. It twists and turns like the death knife some Russian mafioso would stick in your belly.
You cannot put Phantom down. You cannot stop--just like with the drug everyone craves in Oslo, the mystery drug that starts with an "orgasm" (Nesbø's description) when you shoot it in your arm. Phantom acts slower. But keeps you up late.

The whole book is so much bigger than my get-up-groggy-and-hit-the-john life, the one that we all lead. The characters' lives would kill me in a day (It kills most of them too-but takes longer) -- Detective Hole, the Russian mafia and Mr. Dubai, the druggies on the street, even old soggy Norway with its shooting-gallery protuberance, the one built for the Oslo Opera House.

I had to go into detox for a show more couple of days, so I am putting down the book and reading a slow, plodder--the History of the British Empire. Then I go back and do a little Nesbø. I don't want to OD on it. show less

At times I could barely breathe reading this and at other times I could barely manage to read it, being needle-phobic. Nesbø doesn't waste a word in his plotting or description of drug addiction. Like some of its main characters this has left me craving & clawing to get my hands on the next installment of this compelling series. Harry Hole like Kurt Wallander may well be the most heroic and flawed of policemen, as he lurches between hope and pessimism, ideals and pragmatism.

Phantom is the first Harry Hole and the first Jo Nesbo novel I’ve read. He lives up to the hype. Nordic crime fiction seems to share a sort of dark and moody atmosphere. Nesbo has that too, but he also has more action and intensity than some of the other Nordic novelists I’ve read. Having not read any Harry Hole books before, I felt I was able to pick up on the character and his background rather quickly. Reading earlier novels in the series would be helpful and perhaps enrich the experience, but it is not necessary to read them in order to enjoy this book..

Harry Hole is an outstanding character. Dark, brooding, and trapped by his policeman nature that doesn’t allow him to pursue his own happiness. He recognizes that there are any show more number of choices along the way, but he always picks the one that drags him in deeper and leads him closer to the truth.

Nesbo paints a grim and unforgiving picture of Oslo and particularly the drug scene there. Harry Hole’s outlook is nearly as dark. He knows he has a blind spot for Rakel and Oleg, the woman he left behind and her son, but he fights through it to find the truth behind the murder Oleg has been accused of. His own alcoholic past leaves him few friends among his former police colleagues upon whom he can rely. Where others are willing to accept easy answers, Harry keeps pushing, no matter the personal cost.

Phantom is an intense book, and the last half of the book rushes at you with a series of twists and turns that keeps you guessing and a shocking ending that will stick with you long after you put the book down. Highly recommended.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book show less

Harry Hole doesn't need a curly, red wig to render a heart-felt and genuine version of "It's a Hard-Knock Life," although he'd wish himself dead if he were ever to sing it. At the start of the latest account of his difficult life, he's already visibly marked as a man of sorrow. Returned from exile as a debt collector in Hong Kong after throwing in the towel on his police career, Harry is back for the only people who mean anything to him, his former lover Rakel and her son, Oleg. Oleg is slam-dunk charged with the murder of a fellow junkie and Harry, sober three years and still a detective at heart must work outside the forces of law and order to free the boy he considers his son. The trail, as ever, leads to the highest offices of the show more government and the police force and to the lowest wastrels and waifs before reaching a shattering conclusion. It's a very good read but if, like me, senility is approaching fast, I suggest writing down the names as you go. Trust me. I liked this much more than the previous book, "The Leopard." I suspect it has to do with being able to connect more with Harry when he has more to connect with, like Rakel and Oleg. show less