Melancholic, Twisted and Horrifying Makes for A Brilliant Thriller | ARC Review: Knife (Harry Hole #12) by Jo Nesbo

 

A man like Harry had better watch his back…

Following the dramatic conclusion of number one bestseller THE THIRST, KNIFE sees Harry Hole waking up with a ferocious hangover, his hands and clothes covered in blood. Not only is Harry about to come face to face with an old, deadly foe, but with his darkest personal challenge yet.

The twelfth instalment in Jo Nesbo’s internationally bestselling crime fiction series.

Disclaimer: I received a physical ARC of the book from Penguin India in exchange for an honest review! However, the thoughts, opinions expressed in the review are entirely my own.

Knife is the latest addition to the Harry Hole thriller series by Jo Nesbo – and despite being quite personal in nature for our protagonist, it can still be read as a standalone, within the series itself. I however, wouldn’t recommend that this be the first book you pick in the series, for it is a whole lot gloomier, brutal and messier than the previous books in the series!

Just a precaution, this book; Knife is heavier on violence, promiscuity, and has themes of infidelity within the plotlines – and while infidelity is a no – go area for me; not many thrillers are written without this underlying theme. So, yes, proceed with caution if any of the themes are no go for you.

With his wife throwing him out, and his marriage in shambles for reasons that the readers are suspicious about for better part of the book – Harry is at his lowest in this book. Going back to his alcoholic ways, he has been relegated to a superficial role in his professional life. Despite this, he remains one of the sharpest police officers in the department.

For Harry is still has one of the best investigative minds in his country, even with alcohol dulling his senses; so when he is rocked by a devastating news, he immediately slips into his investigator role, because he knows he needs that identity far more than any other identity of his.

And not only this, one of the notorious criminals he captured, Svien Finne “The Fiancé” an infamous rapist is now out, and Harry knows, that Finne is the one responsible for the wrongs in his life.

You will find the plot of Knife; a lot gloomier and full of dark, melancholic themes – for throughout the story, its hard to find even a speck of light. The protagonist is a hard man to like, or at times even tolerate; his decisions are however easier to understand.

Multiple plotlines are weaved throughout the story; in fact that’s the sneakiest and yet the most brilliant stroke by the author – for the reader gets the opportunity to come to their own conclusions – all the information is revealed to the reader simultaneously with the protagonist and this it becomes a race between the reader and the protagonist to solve the case first.

The information is all in the details after all!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ .5

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