Book Summary and Reviews of The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo

The Devil's Star

A Novel

by Jo Nesbo

  • Critics' Consensus (9):
  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • Published:
  • Mar 2010, 464 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Oslo is sweltering in the summer heat when a young woman is murdered in her flat. One finger has been cut off and a tiny red diamond in the shape of a pentagram—a five-pointed star—is found under her eyelid. Detective Harry Hole is assigned the case with Tom Waaler, a colleague he neither likes nor trusts. He believes Tom is behind a gang of arms smugglers—and the murder of his partner. But Harry, an off-the-rails alcoholic, is barely holding on to his job and has little choice but to play nice.

Five days later, another woman is reported missing. When her severed finger is found adorned with a star-shaped red diamond ring, Harry fears a serial killer is on the loose. Determined to find the killer and expose the crooked Tom Waaler, Harry discovers the two investigations melding in unexpected ways. But pursuing the truth comes at a price, and soon Harry finds himself on the run and forced to make difficult decisions about a future he may not live to see.

One of the brightest stars of Scandinavian crime writing, Jo NesbØ has been compared to Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, and Henning Mankell. His novels are bestsellers throughout Europe, acclaimed by critics and revered by aficionados of thrillers and mysteries. Brilliantly plotted and paced, The Devil's Star shows NesbØ at his absolute best, combining powerful emotional resonance with truly stunning suspense.

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What book or books are you reading this week? (02/13/2025)
The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo; The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton: Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende and The Silent Sisters by Robert Dugoni
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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Even with—or perhaps because of—his flaws, Hole is arguably one of today's most fascinating fictional detectives." - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. Harry is one of the best lone-wolf cops for the 21st century ... Scandinavian noir is alive and well, and Nesbø is one of its best authors. Highly recommended" - Library Journal

"[E]ven readers new to this white-hot series will be impressed by Nesbø's generous plotting and his insight into dark places in the human soul." - Kirkus Reviews

This information about The Devil's Star was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Jo Nesbo Author Biography

Jo Nesbo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, whose books have sold sixty million copies worldwide and have been translated into fifty languages. In addition to the Harry Hole series, his novels include The Night House, Headhunters, The Son, Blood on Snow, Midnight Sun, Macbeth, and The Kingdom. He is a recipient of the Raymond Chandler Award for lifetime achievement. He lives in Oslo.

Link to Jo Nesbo's Website

Name Pronunciation
Jo Nesbo: According to the author's website, Jo is pronounced like 'you', and Jo says the 'o' in Nesbo is similar to the vowel in Inspector Clouseau's pronunciation of the word 'bomb'

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