The Devil's Star

The Devil's Star

by

Jo Nesbø

A Norwegian Author of a series of Harry Hole books set in Oslo and translated into English.

I can claim no knowledge of real life but fictional detectives seem to tend toward alcoholic, divorced, eccentric loners who do not play well with others and have odd tastes in popular music. Think Ian Rankin's John Rebus. The reason their superiors put up with them is the results they get. Can't comment on the quality of the translation but will note that the author makes frequent jumps to totally new venues and unknown characters leaving the reader hanging and wondering, did I somehow jump into a different text? The reader of hard-copy book would just turn it

over and glance at the cover, not so easy in e-Book format. 

The book picks up after one gets accustomed to Nesbø's writing style and acclimatized to the setting and the characters. At 530 pages it takes a while to get engrossed in the storyline. As murder mysteries go this has the usual plot twists and red herrings. If Mysteries are your schtick you'll probably want to read more in the series and subsequent books should make the reader feel more at home.

A Death on the Wolf

Since I've been reading two much longer and heavier books decided to try something lighter. Was not expecting to encounter another story involving young men coming of age with issues of homosexuality. Nearly 16-year-old Nelson is coming to terms with the fact that his best friend loves him, in the Biblical sense that Jonathan loved David. Nelson, on the other hand, is coping with his first infatuation with the blind girl spending the summer with his Aunt next door. In the Mississippi of 1969 where the word 'nigger' was still thrown around with impunity and hippie was a term of derision Nelson fears for his friend's safety. Nelson is blessed with enlightened parental guardians in a part of the world where this was unusual at the time.

The book captures the daily drudgery of the routine on a working farm without itself seeming boring. Owning your own wheels as a means of getting out and being independent is a priority. You depend on your neighbours in a rural setting of necessity, whether you like them or not. And then there's the issue of being responsible for a younger sibling. Given the details the writer goes into about appearance and clothing I had to check to determine that GM Frazier was a male, not a woman. By coincidence I find myself reading this novel at the same time that I'm watching Michael Burk's The Mudge Boy which in a similarly rural setting reverses the roles. Frazier handles his material in a much less awkward fashion, but then Duncan Mudge's father is anything but understanding.

The historical events worked into the storyline help ground it. If everyone had a dad like Nelson's the world would be a far better place.Throwing in Free Masonry and the Presbyterian Church helps broaden the background. The forty-year later epilogue was a nice touch.