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The Bat (Harry Hole 1)
 
 
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The Bat (Harry Hole 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nesbo Jo (Author), Don Bartlett (Translator)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews) |
Digital List Price: £17.01 What's this?
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Review

An ambitious, fun, exciting and original crime novel. Smalandsposten (Sweden) The Bat is a truly captivating crime novel. Berliner Morgenpost (Germany) The Bat is innovative and different, and the pace that Jo Nesbo creates in his debut novel makes you long for more crime novels featuring Harry Hole. Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark) Jo Nesbo has written the cleverest debut novel in the crime genre that I've read in a long time. Aftenposten (Norway)

Book Description

The thrilling first book in the bestselling Harry Hole series, never before published in English
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Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 534 KB
  • Print Length: 374 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1846551455
  • Publisher: Vintage Digital (11 Oct 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B008AX1HD8
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #193 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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› Visit Amazon's Jo Nesbo Page
Jo Nesbo
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The Bat (Harry Hole 1) 17 Oct 2012
By S Riaz HALL OF FAME TOP 10 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I first read "The Redbreast" I assumed that it was the first in the Harry Hole series, only to discover there were mentions of past events in the life of character Harry Hole that suggested earlier books. In fact the English publisher had opted to publish the third book in the series first, leaving the first two books - The Bat and The Cockroaches - untranslated into English. Therefore, if like me, you hate reading series books out of order, you will be glad that The Bat has finally arrived.

Harry Hole is in Sydney to investigate the murder of Inger Holter, a Norwegian citizen working in Australia. Inger was young, blonde and she was found dumped in Gap Park, having been raped and strangled. As Inger was a minor television celebrity in her home country, having hosted a children's television programme a few years previously, the case is considered important enough to have aroused interest in Norway's press. In this book we discover much about Harry's character, as he investigates a possible serial killer. Admittedly, I can understand the publisher wishing to begin the series with another book - in many ways this is pretty standard fare, and the digressions in Aboriginal culture and folk tales are, frankly, pretty boring in parts. However, there is much in this novel which is good, the plot is fast paced and Andrew Kensington, an Aboriginal detective, is a great side character. More to the point, this is the starting point of the series and, as readers, we should be given the chance to read them in order and not have publishers decide how and when we can read them. I hope they will publish the second book in the series as quickly as possible in English, so readers of the series can read them completely in the order the author intended.
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283 of 295 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The first Harry Hole 13 Jun 2012
By J. Gavand
Format:Kindle Edition
i am a huge fan of Jo Nesbo and I have been waiting for a long time for this book to be translated.
so long I have already read it in my native language, French.
it is very well written and we can recognize Jo's style straight away.
lots of suspects, twisted plots in Australia where Harry has been sent to solve the killing of a young Norwegian woman.I strongly recommend this book
which won the 1997 Glass Key Award.
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47 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The first Harry Hole thriller, "Has anyone ever heard of anyone called Harry ever making it in anything" 8 Oct 2012
By Huggermugger TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's always been a mystery why Jo Nesbo's UK publishers cherry picked the novels starring Harry Hole, the brilliant yet flawed detective. They were released out of order into the UK market and introduced the author once he had been firmly established abroad - the chronological sequences wasn't observed. While The Snowman was, for English readers, the first encounter between the damaged, introspective detective and a vicious serial killer, that wasn't the case in Norway. Nesbo's first novel had Harry encountering a similar murdering monster. That book, "The Bat" has now been finally been given a much belated UK publication.

The Bat is instrumental in helping readers appreciate and re-consider the later books in the series, Harry's motivation and alcoholism are explained, and established readers will, I hope, regard the series in a new light. To say anymore would only spoil the book. Nesbo's debut doesn't contain any of the weaker points of a first novel, the plot is somewhat slighter compared to later books, there's a smidge too much exposition early on, but this is to be expected with the first book in an ongoing series. On the plus side the writing, overall, is as strong as ever it was/will be!

Without giving too much away, the debut Harry Hole story sees the heavy drinking detective sent to Australia, to assist in a murder investigation. A Norwegian girl has been murdered but Hole is merely there to assist the locals and keep out of trouble. With more murders and other mysterious disappearances Harry gets stuck into the case. But in doing so he attracts the attention of a ruthless and cunning serial killer.

Ultimately the story is tough, lean and gritty, and a "fish out of water" tale, as it's the only Harry Hole book not set in his native land (until The Leopard). Nesbo has provided us with a relentless page turner. The author combines the urgency of the best crime fiction writers with a keen and intelligent engagement with the issues facing society, as he exams morality and the need to do the right thing.

With a tensile-steel narrative grip, Nesbo's crime fiction reassures the reader that the serial killer vs Detective scenario hasn't been exhausted. Nesbo's the kind of writer - like Stephen King and James Herbert - who wanted to be a rock star. But readers are very lucky that his success as a crime writer over shadowed his earlier musical efforts, after all, who needs more rock stars?

If you haven't read any of Nesbo's books then I truly envy you. I would suggest you start with 'The Bat' and look forward to hours of gripping detective fiction
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Jo Nesbo
As the first of the Harry Hole series it emerges fully formed with a taut teasing plot, excellent characters and atmospheric descriptions. This book does not disappoint.
Published 1 day ago by Mr Rodney C Bennett
4.0 out of 5 stars A good light read.
He writes well, to a formula . You know what you are getting and you get it. A nice long engroseing book some blood and guts good characterisation and lots of action. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Gillian O'Bryen
2.0 out of 5 stars Disapointed
A good book but the story wanders off in different tangents that don't seem to be connected and doesn't relate to the plot and a bit of a waste of time
A little bit... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Ken
3.0 out of 5 stars good
Not as good as the others but still enjoyed reading this book.
Hope there will be some more Harry Hole books.
Published 2 days ago by nelly
3.0 out of 5 stars The Bat
I waited until The Bat was published to read the Harry Hole books as I like reading a series in order. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Justhavingfun
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read.
I enjoyed this first Harry Hole novel and it filled in some interesting back story on Harry. I would definitely recommend it.
Published 5 days ago by James
3.0 out of 5 stars Harry Hole.
Didn't enjoy this as much as his later Harry Hole stories.Sometimes i got a bit lost with the charactors and kept backtracking.For me it was not a book that i couldn't leave down.
Published 8 days ago by Maureen Cameron
4.0 out of 5 stars The First Harry Hole
For those that follow Harry Hole will know that although this was Jo Nesbo's first Harry Hole novel it was only translated and released in the UK recently. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Leigh
4.0 out of 5 stars newcomers START HERE - a pacey, entertaining read...
...and the sooner Liam Neesum gets signed up to start making these into movies, the better.
Mr "Holy" could become iconic if someone was able to apply some Wallender on the... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Ginola14
4.0 out of 5 stars Compulsive Reading
We have read all the other Jo Nesbo books and thoroughly enjoyed them. They are well written and once started it is impossible to put them down. Read more
Published 10 days ago by sandra boden
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