The Devil's Star [Paperback]

The Next Big Thing... Absolutely gripping Daily Telegraph Compelling...Shocking and surprising...expertly paced...I place Nesbo high up in the Scandinavian mystery league The Times A well-crafted rollercoaster of a book...Nesbo sets a cracking pace...A series of spectacular plot twists lead to a thrilling finale. Highly recommended Guardian Terrific...A stunning twist turns this into a first-rate thriller Sunday Telegraph --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

"An astonishingly confident debut. The Devil’s Star scores with an intriguing plot and Nesbo’s mastery of pace and tension." --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Detective Harry Hole: an angry and off-the-rails detective who wants to play the game by his own rules --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

It's a sweltering summer in Oslo when a young woman is found murdered in her flat. One finger has been cut off, and beneath her eyelid is a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five pointed star. Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case with Tom Waaler - a colleague Harry suspects of running an arms smuggling gang and of having murdered his partner - and initially he refuses to become involved. But he is already on notice to quit the force and is left with no choice but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor and get to work. Five days later, a man reports his wife missing. When her severed finger is found wearing a ring mounted with the same star-shaped red diamond, it seems Oslo has a serial killer on its hands. A riddle of fives: five points to the star, five fingers on the hand, and every fifth day a new victim to be counted. Harry is determined to prove that his hunch about Waaler is right, and he begins to wonder whether his enemy is somehow bound up with the killings. In his pursuit of the truth behind both mysteries, Harry unwittingly finds himself on the run from the police and forced to make difficult decisions about his future as a detective.

Detective Harry Hole: an angry and off-the-rails detective who wants to play the game by his own rules.

‘A well-crafted rollercoaster of a book…Nesbø sets a cracking pace… A series of spectacular plot twists leads to a thrilling finale. Highly recommended’ Guardian ‘Compelling…shocking and surprising…expertly paced’ The Times A young woman is murdered. One finger has been severed from her left hand and behind her eyelid is secreted a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five-pointed star – a pentagram, the devil’s star. Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case with his long-time adversary Tom Waaler and initially wants no part in it. But Harry is already on notice to quit the force and is left with little alternative but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor and get to work. With a wave of similar murders, it soon becomes apparent that Oslo has a serial killer on its hands… ‘The next big thing…absolutely gripping’ Daily Telegraph --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

JO NESBO is a musician, songwriter, economist and author. His first crime novel featuring Harry Hole was published in Norway in 1997 and was an instant hit, winning the Glass Key Award for best Nordic crime novel (an accolade shared with Peter Hoeg, Henning Mankell and Karin Fossum). Another of the series was recently voted best Norwegian crime novel of all time by Norwegian readers. The Devil's Star is the first of his novels to be translated into English.