The Thirst

The greater world will discover Norway’s finest, yet flawed, detective, Harry Hole (pronounced Hu-La) when Tomas Alfredson’s The Snowman (starring Michael Fassbender) hits screens in the fall. Until then, for anyone with a fascination with Nordic noir, Jo Nesbo’s résumé is rife with profoundly engaging thrillers, with his best featuring Harry Hole. What makes the character worth caring about is that, like the rest of us, he is anything but perfect. It is his resilience, tenacity and loyalty to those he holds dear that render him noble in the face of his dark and overwhelming addictions. At this juncture in the series, his alcoholism is under control yet still a threat in light of the pressures he puts upon himself to reach beyond his mortal limitations while trying to solve murders. Hole primarily faces serial killers, but where The Thirst increases the stakes is by bringing back one—with a deadly set of steel dentures and an insatiable craving for chaos and killing—who got away to taunt the “retired” detective into returning to action.