Book Review – Phantom

by Jo Nesbo (Harvill Secker) ISBN: 9781846555220

Harry Hole returns from Hong Kong to investigate a murder which is already considered solved. This leads him to investigate the underground world of drugs.

Although Phantom is well plotted and the story is deftly weaved together, I don’t think the author managed to pull off the dual narrative in the book. The large sections of monologues were tedious, at best.

Being a translated text I tried not to be too critical on the use of English. I was left wondering whether the author’s writing style was “telling rather than showing” or whether the writing style was something that was lost in translation from the original text.

The success of The Snowman and The Leopard may have carried this book. For someone who did not read the previous books I found the story and plot solid but the use of English and the writing style ruined the experience for me.

Michele van Eck
2.5/5