The Devil's Star: A Novel

Book Description

Oslo is sweltering in the summer heat when a young woman is murdered in her flat. One finger has been cut off and a tiny red diamond in the shape of a pentagram—a five-pointed star—is found under her eyelid. Detective Harry Hole is assigned the case with Tom Waaler, a colleague he neither likes nor trusts. He believes Tom is behind a gang of arms smugglers—and the murder of his partner. But Harry, an off-the-rails alcoholic, is barely holding on to his job and has little choice but to play nice.

Five days later, another woman is reported missing. When her severed finger is found adorned with a star-shaped red diamond ring, Harry fears a serial killer is on the loose. Determined to find the killer and expose the crooked Tom Waaler, Harry discovers the two investigations melding in unexpected ways. But pursuing the truth comes at a price, and soon Harry finds himself on the run and forced to make difficult decisions about a future he may not live to see.

One of the brightest stars of Scandinavian crime writing, Jo NesbØ has been compared to Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, and Henning Mankell. His novels are bestsellers throughout Europe, acclaimed by critics and revered by aficionados of thrillers and mysteries. Brilliantly plotted and paced, The Devil's Star shows NesbØ at his absolute best, combining powerful emotional resonance with truly stunning suspense.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. A serial killer taunts Harry Hole in Nesbø's searing third crime novel to feature the Oslo police detective to be made available in the U.S. (after Nemesis). Still suffering from alcohol-fueled demons and obsessed with hunting for evidence against a clearly dirty cop, Hole grudgingly agrees to help look into the murder of a woman whose finger has been amputated and a red diamond stuck under her eyelid. More bodies follow, with the murderer leaving identical five-pointed diamonds (the titular devil's star) at each crime scene. At first the killings appear to be random, but Hole soon discovers an ominous pattern. Nesbø brilliantly incorporates threads from earlier novels, including Hole's often tumultuous relationship with his lover, Rakel, without ever losing the current story's rhythm. Even with--or perhaps because of--his flaws, Hole is arguably one of today's most fascinating fictional detectives. 5-city author tour. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine Maybe it's something in the icy water. Along with Ã...ke Edwardson (Sweden), Karin Fossum (Norway), Stieg Larsson (Sweden), and Henning Mankel (Sweden), Jo Nesbo¸ is one of a growing number of Scandinavian crime writers who have burst with great fanfare onto the international scene in the last few years. Much of the action in The Devil's Star will be familiar to aficionados, though the author's characters and atmosphere make clear why Nesbo¸'s star is on the rise in America (he's already wildly popular in Europe). Crime readers who don't yet know Nesbo¸ will embrace the author, his tormented Harry Hole (comparisons have been made to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch), and the complex, noirish Norway hiding beneath the placid surface.