Where Monsters Dwell by Jørgen Brekke 357 pages

Detective Felicia Stone is called in when a gruesome murder is discovered at the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond Virginia. Shortly thereafter a similar crime is committed in Trondheim Norway at the Gunnerus Library. Both crimes seem connected to The Johannes Book written by a 16^th century monk who may have been Norway’s first serial killer. Eventually a connection is made between the crimes and Felicia travels to Norway to work with Odd Singsaker to bring a mad man to justice.

Where Monsters Dwell travels back and forth from the 16^th century where we learn about the earliest details into human dissection for the anatomical discoveries and the present. The beginning is rather slow as it presents a lot of information, different characters and locations. But the pace soon picks up and then it’s hard to put down but for the grisly crimes—I mean do you really have to skin and behead a body in order to tell a good story? This is certainly not for the faint of heart.

Where Monsters Dwell is the first in a series and I will read the next one because I really liked the characters. Felicia’s past includes a rape and drug addiction and surprisingly a connection to one of the suspects and Odd is just returning back to work after surgery for a brain tumor, a wife who left him in the midst of it and a son he can’t find time to connect with because of the demands of his job. Lots of potential here.

The Bat by Jo Nesbo 369 pgs.

The Bat     by Jo Nesbo     369 pgs

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Great reads demand a ritual. So when one of my favorite authors comes out with a new book I have a fresh brewed cup of coffee in fine china, I climb into the Chair (plush, huge, 3 positions), put out my do not disturb sign and don’t get up again until I’m finished. Such is the case with Jo Nesbo who is one of my all time favorite authors.

In The Bat Harry Hole from the Oslo Crime Squad travels to Australia to offer assistance when a Norwegian citizen is found brutally murdered. Even though Harry was instructed to stay out of the way he sets out to do what few do better—tortured soul that he is—and that is to solve the crime. Working with an Aboriginal detective Harry soon realizes they are on the trail of a serial killer. 

For some reason the books were published out of order so for the longest time I thought I was starting at the beginning of the series when in actuality I started with the fourth book. This was not a bad thing because I am not at all sure that I would have developed such a love for this author and his character had I started with The Bat because it did not have the same intensity and grit that I have grown to expect of his later novels.

 

Still, I highly recommend this book because Harry Hole is truly a one of a kind character and The Bat gives you insight into some of what makes him who he is. The more the series continues the better it gets.

Jo Nesbo’s latest Harry Hole procedural The Police is due out shortly. I am at the top of the list. I can already feel that it will be a fine china kind of a day.