Ti | Book Chatter

The Devil’s Star
By Jo Nesbo
HarperCollins
March 2010
452pp

The Short of It:

A gripping police procedural with one of the best detective personalities I’ve encountered in years.

The Rest of It:

The Devil’s Star is a perfect example of why I adore Scandinavian crime fiction.

Detective Harry Hole is what’d you call, a functioning alcoholic. He’s lost his girlfriend and spends his waking hours stumbling through his cases, drinking in bars and smoking cigarettes like they’re going out of style. He’s incredibly flawed, but good at what he does so his superiors often look to him for input, even though physically he is falling apart. Time is running out for old Harry though because his boss just can’t cover for him anymore and he’s just stepped into a very high-profile case involving a serial killer with a penchant for pentagrams and red diamonds in the shape of a star.

This is my first experience with Jo Nesbo and I must say, I have fallen in love. From the moment I opened this book, I was completely pulled into the story and could not put it down. The writing is crisp and the tension between the characters is so flawlessly executed, that you find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat, just waiting for one of them to pick-up on it themselves. The dialogue is smartly written and has that sophisticated, snappy quality that I find in Scandinavian novels. I won’t compare Nesbo’s writing to Larsson, as they each have their own, distinct style, but their books both possess that shrewdness that I’ve come to love.

You don’t have to be a lover of crime fiction to enjoy The Devil’s Star so if you aren’t, I encourage you to try it anyway. It has a great story, well-developed characters and writing that will force you to read it in one sitting. Apparently, Nesbo has written other books featuring Detective Harry Hole. One of which (The Snowman) makes its US debut in May 2011. I can’t wait!

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.

On Sunday, February 13, 2011, we picked up a new friend. Her name is Chloe!

We found her at the shelter. She had been there for only 11 days and was curled-up and trying to get some sleep while the bigger, louder dogs barked all around her. At first, we walked right by her because she was the same color as her pillow, but on my second pass through the kennel, I caught her looking at me.

She is a bit younger than what we were looking for. We wanted a 2-year-old + dog, but she is about six months old. We don’t know what she is. She looks a bit like a Yorkie at times but then other times she looks like a Schnauzer. Yes, a bit of a mutt but she’s so sweet. Her first couple of nights went well. She’s quite taken with The Girl right now. We will be working on house training, which she sort of already knows and leash manners.

Please wish us luck, because our last shelter experience was not a positive one. We want this little gal to be a happy, member of the family. As you can see from the above photo, her first car ride went swimmingly.

BTW, I wanted to name her Lisbeth or some other literary reference but the kids wouldn’t go for it. Oh, and pardon the photo. I took it with my Blackberry.

Also, I don’t know what it is with me, pets and holidays but all of my pets (their births, their deaths, their adoptions) seem to fall on, or near holidays. My beloved cat of 17 years came to me on St. Patty’s Day and died on Valentine’s Day, three years ago. I sort of took the adoption date of this little gal as a sign. A good one.

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