Police: A Harry Hole thriller
Police: A Harry Hole thriller
Police: A Harry Hole thriller
Police: A Harry Hole thriller

Norwegian detective returns


  • English
  • Arabic

Shan Kelly

Police is the 10th novel by Norwegian rock star-turned-crime writer Jo Nesbo, now considered one of the top crime writers in the world. His hero Harry Hole – pronounced “Holy” – doesn’t appear until almost half way through the 500-page tome when a team of detectives beg Harry to help them catch a serial cop killer.

Police is a brilliant showcase of modern life in Oslo, where women and men work long hours and relationships are made tricky by divorce and distance.

Infidelity and hard drug use have seeped into the fabric of this oil-rich society and poisoned some of those at the top.

Nesbo shows us a wonderful Oslo, and how the investigators balance gruesome jobs with complicated family lives.

He masterfully cranks the suspense as some likeable characters end up chopped into tiny pieces. It’s not all brutality and horror, though. Harry is a 40-something “kidult” who likes having fun, but wrestles with commitment and alcohol issues.

The plot twists are rapid and gut-wrenching. Such mastery may explain why Nesbo’s novels have sold 50 million copies.

thereview@thenational.ae

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

The stats

Ship name: MSC Bellissima

Ship class: Meraviglia Class

Delivery date: February 27, 2019

Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT

Passenger capacity: 5,686

Crew members: 1,536

Number of cabins: 2,217

Length: 315.3 metres

Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)

'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Colin%20Trevorrow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Sam%20Neill%2C%20Laura%20Dern%2C%20Jeff%20Goldblum%2C%20Bryce%20Dallas%20Howard%2C%20Chris%20Pratt%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Roger Federer's 2018 record

Australian Open Champion

Rotterdam Champion

Indian Wells Runner-up

Miami Second round

Stuttgart Champion

Halle Runner-up

Wimbledon Quarter-finals

Cincinnati Runner-up

US Open Fourth round

Shanghai Semi-finals

Basel Champion

Paris Masters Semi-finals

 

 

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

MATCH INFO

First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs

Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets

Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13