“Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole novels are being adapted into a Netflix series titled “Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole,” set to be released in 2026. The series will adapt several of Nesbø’s novels, with the first season focusing on “The Devil’s Star”, the fifth book in the series.”
I ran across this notice halfway through the aforementioned novel, The Devil’s Star. I had not read a Nesbø novel in many years, irritated not only be the name of the protagonist, Harry Hole: how am I supposed to pronounce that surname? Amazingly you can pronounce it as spelled as one syllable, synonym of a ‘cavity.’ However, I always chose the two-syllable pronunciation, ‘hoo-leh,’ as in the Norwegian. Otherwise, it would be too much of a sophomoric finger in the eye.
But I was also irritated by Harry’s continual failure to deal with his alcoholism. Seemed like such a nice bloke. Folks on the force like him, Most, anyway. He’s great at his job: intuitive, stubborn, seeker of justice. But over and over again, he let Mr. Beam draw him into the headache clutches of too much booze and forgetfulness.
At any rate, I had been away from the misadventures of Harry for a number of years. Long enough that my son, now 21, had, as a young bairn, been amused with some of the children’s books from Nesbø, such as the wonderfully titled Dr. Proctor’s Fart Powder.
But short on reading material this time during my annual months in Hong Kong, I downloaded The Devil’s Star, and oh my, what a tale it is. The best of Nesbø. The absolute best: a twisty, turning, got-you-last yarn that is so much better than it even needed to be. As if Nesbø woke up every morning and said to himself, “Not done quite yet, sir. One more twist.”
I am not even going to bother with a synopsis. You’ve either read Nesbø or you haven’t. If you have, you know what he can do. And he does it with this one. And if you’ve never read him, I sort of want you to hold your fire. Maybe begin at the beginning of the Hole series. Keep this one for a rainy day. The man can write. And write.
So, I am definitely looking forward to the Nesbø series on Netflix that will begin with this amazing novel.
But you, happy reader, do not have to wait for the televised series. There are a lucky 13 ‘Harry Hole’ titles to work your way through meanwhile. And then, there’s always the fart powder.
Scene of the Crime