The Leopard by Jo Nesbo - A Fast-Paced, Gripping Thriller Harry Hole Series Novel

The Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo, being an internationally successful gory crime/suspense author from a Scandinavian country, is often compared to Stieg Larsson, notwithstanding the obvious difference between their works. However, Nesbo is a great thriller novelist in his own right.



The English translation of The Leopard was published in 2011. It is the latest instalment of the Harry Hole series that was translated into English (a new Harry Hole novel, Gjenferd, was already published in Norway in June, 2011). The original Norwegian title of The Leopard is Panserhjerte; the meaning of the word is not literally „leopard”.
After the events of The Snowman, the Crime Squad needs the bitter and disillusioned Harry Hole’s experience again. Two females are found brutally murdered, and the two cases seem strangely similar. However, Hole has already left for Hong Kong. Alongside with his familiar drinking problems, he also developed some gambling habits and is addicted to opium. The Crime Squad sends their new officer, Kaja Sollness, to Hongkong, to lure him back to Norway. She tries to persuade him, but he consequently declines the offer. Sollness at last tells him that his father is seriously ill – thus Hole does return. When a third female is killed, an MP who was hanged and the noose severed her head, Hole at last decides to join the investigation. He and Sollness find out that all of the three victims were at the same ski lodge at the same time. The first suspect soon meets a gory death. The second one traps the pursuers, creating an avalanche on purpose, and almost kills both Harry and Sollness. The third one is someone who is close to Hole – and the line of suspects has not ended yet.
Whilst the previous book, The Snowman, indulged in graphic violence (which is much to my liking), The Leopard is a fast-paced suspense thriller, full of action, tension, and unexpected twists.