Book Review: Nemesis

NEMESIS | Jo Nesbo
(Harry Hole #4)
10.03.2017 (first published 2002) | Harper Perennial
Rating: 4/5 stars

A masked man recently entered an Oslo bank to rob them. Things quickly turned deadly, as a cashier was shot dead after being instructed to count down from twenty-five. Less than thirty seconds to empty an ATM. Less than thirty seconds to live.

Harry Hole is assigned to find this masked murderer, but just as he starts to find his groove on the case, he learns he may a suspect in another murder. An ex-girlfriend and local artist, Anna, invited Harry over to reconnect. The next day Harry wakes up unable to remember anything that happened. He is soon called to the scene of her suicide, which looks all too close to murder. Harry must work in parallel to prove his innocence and find two killers. Will the clock run out on Harry?

Losing your life is not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing is to lose your reason for living.

NEMESIS picks up shortly after the events of THE REDBREAST. We find a Harry Hole who is in mourning for his murdered former partner. He is trying to build a life that borders on normal with his girlfriend, Rakel and her son, Oleg. Fighting away the temptations of alcohol is not easy for Harry, but he appears to be on the upswing. That is until an ex-girlfriend, Anna, reaches out to him and wants to reconnect. When she dies Harry’s world is thrown into shambles yet again.

Nesbo expertly weaves Harry’s personal life, the case involving Anna, and the string of bank robberies together into an exhilarating novel! I loved each of these individual storylines and the ways in which they connected through Harry. If I was forced to pick a favorite, I think I would go with the case involving Anna. There are so many interesting characters that come out of Harry investigating her life and the results were perfectly delightful. Harry never fails to surprise me with his investigating methods and they certainly were not lacking with this case!

Sometimes a crime is so monstrous it clouds your vision. Externally or internally.

I loved the addition of some new faces to the Oslo police force and hope that they will continue to be present in the following installments of this series. Whenever Nesbo adds someone new, I never feel that they are just there to serve a minute supporting role because he works so hard to bring them to life. Characters have backstories that are interesting and sometime related to the case at hand. The ability to connect with these secondary characters brings a new level of interest to my reading and by connecting with more than the main character, I feel that I become more invested in continuing my series read.

I’m looking forward to picking up book 5 of this series soon and seeing what crazy case Harry Hole finds himself in next!