COCKROACHES by Jo Nesbo

COCKROACHES by Jo Nesbo – Harvill Secker - $37.99
NZ Publication 6 December 2013

Reviewed by The Bookman with Kathryn Ryan on Radio New Zealand National, Monday 16 December 2013

Back in March of 2012 I had the great pleasure of interviewing Jo Nesbo (right) at a public meeting in Auckland while he was in NZ promoting his then latest title in his series featuring Norwegian policeman detective Harry Hole. Nesbo was quick to tell us that this surname spelt Hole and which we would tend to pronounce Hole is in fact pronounced Herler.

Today’s book, Cockroaches, was in fact the second of the Harry Hole titles published in Norway way back in 1998 but because of the immense popularity of his later titles already published in English the publishers have been quietly working their way through all the previously unpublished titles and having them translated into English and other languages.

There are ten in total and all are now translated. I have read and enjoyed them all and even though they all feature the flawed but likeable Harry Hole and are something of a series they all stand-alone perfectly well and can be read in any order. It was interesting for me reading about Harry when he was so much younger and less experienced than we know him today. We do know a lot about Harry, he graduated in law before joining the police, we know about his family, his father is a teacher, his younger sister has Down’s Syndrome, Harry is 6 foot 2 inches and weighs 95 kilos. He even has his own Wikipedia page!

In this early title he is still struggling with his drinking problem, Jim Beam is his drink of choice, usually consumed at Schroder’s, while in later books he has this alcohol problem largely under control.

Enough for now about Harry’s personal life.  
In this book, which at 374 pages is a good solid read, Harry has been sent to Bangkok where the Norwegian ambassador has been found dead by a prostitute in a seedy motel cum brothel. Harry has been sent out to investigate and has been told by the authorities at home to keep the circumstances of the death under wraps as the murdered man has close ties to the Norwegian Prime Minister and they want to avoid a diplomatic scandal. It is clear to Hole quite quickly that the dead man’s family have secrets they wish to keep and he has trouble fending off scandal during his investigation.

Nesbo has clearly spent time in Bangkok himself because he does a great job in describing the way of life there – the picturesque seediness, the heat and noise and traffic, the bars, the sex industry, the ex-pat and diplomatic communities way of life.

The book is gripping from the outset, there is a fast-paced narrative throughout with numerous plot twists and turns. I read it over this past weekend and couldn’t put it down.

One can understand why Jo Nesbo is regarded as one of the great Scandinavian crime writers with his titles having won many awards and his books sold in over 40 countries. I am a fan and hope the author keeps Harry Hole going for many more years. I reckon as a character he is up there with Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander and Ian Rankin’s Detective Inspector Rebus.