Nemesis

By: Jo Nesbo

Narrated by: Thor Knai

Don’t Miss the Netflix series Detective Hole, based on Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, premiering March 26, 2026! “Nesbø’s storytelling abilities are incomparable. Nemesis is crime novel as art form and great entertainment.” —USA Today

Detective Harry Hole must use his maverick methods once again as he investigates a slew of brutal bank robberies and the suspicious suicide of a female artist in this clever and harrowing installment in the Harry Hole series from the author of The Snowman.

Captured on closed-circuit television: A man walks into an Oslo bank, puts a gun to a cashier's head, and tells her to count to twenty-five. When he doesn't get his money fast enough, he pulls the trigger. The young woman dies—and two million Norwegian kroner disappear without a trace.

After a drunken evening with former girlfriend Anna Bethsen, Police Detective Harry Hole wakes up at home with a headache, no cell phone, and no memory of the past twelve hours. The same day, Anna is found shot dead in her bedroom, making Hole a prime suspect in the investigation led by his hated adversary, Tom Waaler. Meanwhile, the bank robberies continue with unparalleled savagery, sending rogue detective Hole from the streets of Oslo to steaming Brazil in a race to close two cases and clear his name. But Waaler isn't finished with his longtime nemesis quite yet.

The second Harry Hole novel to be released in America—following the critically acclaimed publication of The Redbird—Nemesis is a superb and surprising nail-biter that places Jo Nesbø in the company of Lawrence Block, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, and other top masters of crime fiction. Nesbø has already received the Glass Key Award and the Booksellers’ Prize, Norway’s most prestigious literary awards. Nemesis is proof that there are certainly more honors in this extraordinary writer's future.

Unwinding story to the end

What did you love best about Nemesis?

I am enthralled by the way Jo Nesbo unreels a story from start to finish with barely a hint of

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes of course. All of the books in this series do that, by winding back and forth and up and down. You have to stay on your toes to keep up.

Have you listened to any of Thor Knai’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No and actually I prefer Robin Sachs to do the performance for the Harry Hole series. Thor was ok, but Robin Sachs really brings it to life.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Neither- It is a book that just leaves you wanting more.

Any additional comments?

For some reason I cannot find a book 6 in this series. It skips right from Book 5 to Book 7 & 8. Is there a book 6 that may have been written by someone else or am I just overlooking something?

Great book, monotone reading

What three words best describe Thor Knai’s performance?

I really liked the book, but Mr. Knai's performance left something to be desired. He was very monotone in his reading, and the character voices were not differentiated enough to be able to follow back and forth dialogue very well.

Not Nesbo's Best

Difficult to follow. Seemed a bit convuluted. Only finished due to past novels. If I had listened to this book first, I would not have listened to another of his books.

Still undecided, but driving on.

I'm still not a fan of the main character, Harry Hole (pronounced like Hoola); and BTW, I'm not sure if the pun is intended or not. After all, the books were originally written in Norwegian.

There must be something here, 'cause I keep using my credits on this series. For those who don't know, Harry is a bit damaged as a human being, but his heart is in the right place. If you are a fan of detective fiction, think Jesse Stone.

The story lines are good to maybe even clever, so I'll give the next in the series a go. I enjoyed the narration in this one. I wasn't captivated by Thor Knai, but the work is easily competent or better. It's not at all necessary to experience the series in order, at least up to this point. There are a couple of references to earlier cases, but nothing that would be a spoiler for the earlier books or prevent your enjoyment of this one. So, if this sounds like your thing, pick any of the series up to this point, and give Nesbo a try.

Great, but why changing the narrator

Great story as always by Nesbo, but I would have liked to have Robin Sachs or John Lee as a Narrator ... as in the former books