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    Cockroaches: The Second Inspector Harry Hole Novel
    Unavailable
    Cockroaches: The Second Inspector Harry Hole Novel
    Unavailable
    Cockroaches: The Second Inspector Harry Hole Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Cockroaches: The Second Inspector Harry Hole Novel

    Written by Jo Nesbo

    Narrated by John Lee

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In this #1 New York Times bestseller, Inspector Harry Hole heads to Thailand to investigate the murder of an ambassador.

    When the Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel, Inspector Harry Hole is dispatched from Oslo to help hush up the case.

    But once he arrives Harry discovers that this case is about much more than one random murder. There is something else, something more pervasive, scrabbling around behind the scenes. Or, put another way, for every cockroach you see in your hotel room, there are hundreds behind the walls. Surrounded by round-the-clock traffic noise, Harry wanders the streets of Bangkok lined with go-go bars, temples, opium dens, and tourist traps, trying to piece together the story of the ambassador's death even though no one asked him to, and no one wants him to-not even Harry himself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 11, 2014
    ISBN9780553397673
    Unavailable
    Cockroaches: The Second Inspector Harry Hole Novel
    Author

    Jo Nesbo

    A musician, songwriter, and economist, Jo Nesbø is also one of Europe’s most acclaimed crime writers, and is the winner of the Glass Key Award, northern Europe’s most prestigious crime-fiction prize, for his first novel featuring Police Detective Harry Hole. Nesbø lives in Oslo.

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    Reviews for Cockroaches

    3.5/5

    477 ratings41 reviews

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    • 3/5
      [Cross-posted to Knite Writes]My TakeInterestingly, I did not finish reading the first book in this series — because it was terrible — and usually that would be the end of a series for me. But, I did my research on the Harry Hole series and discovered that, almost unanimously, fans don’t think the series gets good until book three. (Which may or may not be why the first two books weren’t translated until VERY recently.) Regardless, I decided to stick with this series and check out book two before I moved on to the books that are generally accepted as being the “real” start of Nesbø’s well-written detective series.And it wasn’t too bad.But it wasn’t great either.The biggest downside to this book is that the plot is occasionally hard to follow. There’s a lot of jumping from hour to hour, day to day, location to location with very little transition effort between scenes and chapters. And because there are so many characters (most of them minor) and so many places (with Thai names), the sudden shifts can be rather jarring and difficult to keep track of. Now, one could say Nesbø doesn’t waste time, true, but when the actual murder mystery is as complicated as Nesbø’s are, struggling to follow the movements of the protagonist can be very irritating, especially when you reach key scenes in the book.On the upside, as mentioned, the murder mystery itself is well plotted and well executed. All the red herrings are there. All the subtle foreshadowing and carefully hidden clues. Nesbø stuffs so many clues that are obvious in hindsight ONLY into his story that it’s pretty incredible the book isn’t full of plot holes. Obviously, Nesbø is an excellent plotter when it comes to the core of his stories. And really, that’s what makes this book satisfying in the end, despite its shortcomings structure-wise. The actual mystery is truly difficult to unravel ahead of time, and you always feel challenged throughout the book to try and figure out the answers before Harry does.(And generally, you won’t. The twists and turns will still surprise you. By the time you hit the last page, you won’t be able to call the plot “predictable”, no matter what thought a hundred pages back.)Character-wise, too, I think Nesbø succeeds on many fronts. He brings in a large and diverse cast whose roles are all important in some way to the core story but who aren’t solely created for it. They have lives and backstories that are mentioned as necessary but don’t overwhelm the main story. Nesbø achieves a good balance with his characters — they all advance the plot without butting in too much or too often. And Harry, as the protagonist, is an interesting guy to follow — an interesting guy with MAJOR issues that always affect the plot in interesting ways.I think Cockroaches is a definite improvement over The Bat, which I couldn’t bring myself to finish. Structurally, though, it still has a few issues and can be hard to follow at times. I look forward to see how much Nesbø improved between this book and The Redbreast, which fans of the series generally consider to be where the author hits his stride.Overall, a decent read.
    • 4/5
      Action packed, sometimes convoluted story. A good escapism read. Why do people around Harry Hole tend to die?
    • 4/5
      Harry Hole goes to Thailand to investigate the murder of the Norwegian ambassador to Bangkok. Another good fast-paced read, anyway.
    • 4/5
      Interesting but not by far as thrilling / twisted as Nesbo's later work.
    • 3/5
      Timed this one right. Snow and cold here to contrast with the heat in Bangkok. Another tangled web of a plot. Have another part of a star for an engaging lot of characters. Glad I kept some notes of who was who as there were quite a lot of them!
    • 4/5
      Fast-paced page-turner.
    • 3/5
      Harry Hole heads to Thailand to investigate (and hush up) the murder of the Norwegian ambassador there. He quickly discovers that there's more to it than anyone wants to admit, and the further he pries, the more walls that come up. Like its predecessor, this is a pretty gritty case, full of Bad People doing Bad Things. It's not straightforward - there were plenty of parts where I had trouble keeping track who was who - but it's not bad. I hear the books where Harry's actually in Oslo are quite good, so I am looking forward to the next one.
    • 3/5
      Like its predecessor, The Bat, this is listed as an early Harry Hole thriller and is set abroad, this time in Bangkok. Again, like its predecessor, this is weaker, particularly in terms of characterisation, than the later books. A good read nonetheless; but if this had been released first or second, I doubt if we would have picked up on Nesbo's works to the degree we have.
    • 3/5
      A mash up of a Norwegian police detective in Bangkok. It works well most of the time as the story takes you through the twists and turns of who did what.
    • 4/5
      I have to admit for the first 2/3 of the book that the book seemed to aimlessly wonder, but I thought that the final1/3 with Hole's solution to the murders was excellent, particularly with the belt clue(?). I normally prefer different subjects and characters , rather than recurring character books, but I do enjoy Jo Nesbo, although this was not one of his best.
    • 3/5
      I like the characters of Harry Hole's (great name, Nesbo) Bangkok adventure, but I don't agree that Nesbo is the next Stieg Larsson. This mystery/thriller takes place in the winter of Bangkok, and it's so hot and steamy that he (Harry) wonders what it's like in the hot season. The usual gigantic, scary, extremely strong-and-like-steel mafioso guy seems omniscient in how he pops up everywhere is in here. The Uber rich guy who's got every angle figured and covered is in here too. And then we've got ol sad, boozing Harry Hole, who may be a boozer but he's also a pretty good cop.
    • 3/5
      This time Harry finds himself deployed to Bangkok, Thailand to investigate the murder of a Norwegian ambassador. The man was found stabbed to death in a seedy motel by the prostitute he ordered. Naturally, the powers that be want the crime solved and the scandal smoothed over. But Harry Hole has other ideas.
    • 4/5
      By his second Harry Hole novel, Nesbo has hit his stride. Very good.
    • 4/5
      This is the second of Nesbo's Harry Hole series, but only recently has been translated and released in English. I've been reading the series completely out of order as they become available at the local library, so this hasn't proved a difficult transition for me. Coming off his earlier triumph as played out in The Bat, Hole has been recruited to Thailand to investigate the murder of a top Swedish diplomat in a seedy Bangkok hotel room. Political repercussions abound and the powers-that-be want this resolved as quickly as possible. They certainly don't want Hole to investigate too far into Bangkok's seamier underworld. Unfortunately, he and his Thai associates aren't being given the full story.. An engaging and quick read. Descriptions of Thailand are atmospheric and provide an exotic sense of place. One gets a real sense of Nesbo's growth as a writer in comparing this earlier work with those later in the series. I continue to be tickled to the phonetic connection between Hole's superior, Bjarne Moller and 70's TV icon, Barney Miller.
    • 4/5
      Finally, the second Harry Hole novel has been translated into English! In Cockroaches, Harry Hole is sent to Thailand to investigate the murder of the Norwegian ambassador in a brothel. Of course, this a Harry Hole mystery and the investigation of a murder segues into a believable investigation into a child pornography ring.

      The title Cockroaches comes from the adage that for every cockroach you see, there are hundreds hidden behind the way. That's how this mystery played out; for every bad guy there is; there were a hundred hidden.

      I was not as frustrated with Harry in this book. He kept on the straight and narrow for the majority of this novel and I was proud of him. He was haunted by Brigitta's death and his sister's rape. The reason Harry can break open these Russian doll-type cases because of his fierce determination and resilence. He's a dog with a bone and he never lets go.

      I am so happy that I am not up to date with the Harry Hole series. Now I can continue reading them in order and be spared the confusion.
    • 4/5
      The Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is murdered in a brothel, leading Harry Hole on another complex pursuit. Not Nesbo's best, but not awful.
    • 4/5
      The English reading world was introduced to Harry Hole in the middle of things which, if you think about it, is often how we meet people in actual life. We're more likely to pop in and out of lives, filling in the the missing details and background as we go along. It is only with a small, select group, that we know them from start to finish.With The Bat, we met Harry, already fully-formed and fully-broken, only to break again. In cockroaches the "newest" Hole to be published in English, but in actuality, the second in the series, we travel with Harry to Bangkok, where he is sent to investigate the irregular death (aka murder) of the Norwegian ambassador. It's a gritty, duplicitous, deceptive world and slice of society where Harry does what Harry does best: follows his gut, sometimes stumbling and usually pissing off the wrong people. But, for those of us who love Nesbo's series, getting this backstory, was grand. Even if you haven't read others in this series (which primarily come after this one), this is a good psychological thriller with which to jump on the Hole bandwagon.It's no wonder I really dislike cockroaches, dirty little buggers, every one.
    • 4/5
      This is the first Harry Hole crime story that I've read and I'll be back for more. In this one, Harry travels to Bangkok and the behest of politicians who want him to investigate the murder of a diplomat. But in doing so, he is not to "stir things up". Well, of course things get stirred up. There are twists, turns, and plenty of red herrings to keep the reader engaged. Not to mention the violent fight scene at the end that makes Harry seem almost super human as the reader cheers him on. Great suspense for summer reading. Must go back and read the first in the series to fill in the holes (pun intended).
    • 4/5
      This stands up to the rest of the Harry Hole series with the exciting scrapes Harry gets into and the ingenious way he gets out of them.
    • 3/5
      The second Harry Hole novel and a huge step up from Nesbo's debut The Bat. There is a real sense that both the writer and his hero have matured in the time between books. The narrative is a lot fuller, as is the character of Hole. As with the first novel was a bit taken aback that the setting was not Norway, but again Harry has been sent abroad, this time to Thailand to help investigate the murder of the Norwegian ambassador and close friend of the Norwegian prime minister. The brief is not to make any waves and prevent any political embarrassments for the government. Harry who has fallen of the wagon is apparently selected as it is felt he will be too inebriated to investigate the crime fully. This turns out not to be the case and Harry's full talent for noticing the small things really surfaces in this novel. The subject matter may not make comfortable reading as the spectre of Norwegian paedophiles living in Thailand is part of the plot. That said it does add to the sense of horror that Nesbo is so adept at creating & again is not precious about killing off characters. I enjoyed it and can recommend it.
    • 4/5
      (4 stars, just) This is the second of ten titles (to date!) in the Harry Hole, but the last to be translated (originally published 1998, english translation 2013). Will there be an eleventh? I wouldn't bet against it, having heard Nesbo speak on a couple of occasions, I think the urge to revisit Harry will prove too powerful for him to ignore it.This one is based in a very hot, humid and traffic-infested Bangkok, where Harry is dispatched to investigate the death of the Norwegian ambassador and long-time friend of the Norwegian President, found dead in a hotel room with a knife in his back. There are those who want this case wrapped up and hushed up quickly, and discovery, or rather revelation, of the truth of what took place also not a priority for those same people. Scandal has to be avoided and part of Harry's job is to ensure there is none. Harry of course is not so inclined to pay such scant regard to uncovering the truth when he investigates, which makes for a certain tension between him and his superiors. It turns out too that the Ambassador and his family have their secrets, and getting to the bottom of those secrets becomes necessary for Harry and the half-American Thai police captain Liz in order to solve the case and discover the killer. But getting to the bottom of the case is not easy; Harry relationship with alcohol is not a good one, something his superiors are aware of and which might have been a significant factor in his being sent to Bangkok in the first place. Plus, danger lurks in the form of the killer and a big and dangerous Chinese individual. Bangkok and all its seediness would appear a natural enough setting for Harry who seems to be in his element there as he mixes with the locals, the underworld and the Norwegian expat community. Having now read all of the series, I can say that this second is a definite step up from the first in the series (The Bat), which is the one I liked the least. This has a much better plotline, while Hole's character is much more developed and interesting as a result. But wait!, they get even better with the third in the series, 'Redbreast', capably followed by 'Nemesis' and 'The Devil's Star'.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book and wanted to give it a 5* but having last read Harry Hole #10 I know they get even way better, so have to keep this to a 4*. Harry is in Thailand this time; he's been sent there to take care of a potentially embarrassing situation where the married Norwegian ambassador has been found murdered in a brothel/hotel. Unknown to Harry, the alcoholic detective, has been sent to hush-hush and cover things up quietly, nobody expects him to actually solve the case. But this is Harry Hole, he can smell a rat a mile away and is in full detective mode as soon as he sees the crime scene. Great case, enjoyable characters, gives readers of the series the background finally on the Thailand connection for Harry and why he's always pulled back there. I loved getting to know the early Harry, where his problems came from, how he was shaped, his problems with alcohol and opium. This is the man who in the rest of the books fights these demons constantly. I also finally understand why the publisher's skipped these first two books for English readers. Here was the English speaking world becoming fascinated, addicted even, to Scandinavian mysteries and Jo Nesbo was a brilliant author to introduce us to but his first two Harry Hole books don't even take place in Scandinavia, first in Australia, second in Thailand. They weren't the type of dark, cold, brooding Scandi-crime English readers were discovering and clamouring for. So yeah, I finally get. I loved The Bat more than Cockroaches but it was fun reading them in retrospect from the point of view of someone who already knows the character. Newcomers to the series should keep in mind that the scandi-crime aspect is coming and let these first two books introduce you to Nesbo's pacing, and fantastic plotting.
    • 4/5
      I've been a fan of Norwegian author Jo Nesbo's Detective Harry Hole series from the first North American release. But, sometimes, the order of publication in North America does not match the original release/writing date. Last year saw the N.A. release of the first book The Bat. It was great to read the first book and discover the 'origins' of Harry. (my review) And the second Harry Hole book, Cockroaches, is newly released. The Norwegian ambassador in Thailand has been found dead in a known brothel. It's definitely murder, but that won't play well in the papers. Just back from his surprising success in helping the Aussies solve a case, Harry finds himself volunteered to head to Thailand to help the local force close the case. Fans of Nesbo know what a conflicted soul Harry is. It's revealing to read the first books in this series and see the origins of the character as Nesbo fleshes him out. As well, there are glimpses into Harry's life that help to explain his addictive and self destructive tendencies. But, Harry's sense of justice and unerring desire to ferret out the truth seems to override everything else - often to his own detriment. What the higher ups want is this embarrassing event quietly put to bed. That's not what Harry wants. Nesbo paints a disturbing portrait of Thailand with his settings and characters. Nesbo inserts social commentary into his books that is always thought provoking. In Cockroaches, it's hard to find a player who isn't corrupt or has nothing to hide. Nesbo's writing keeps the reader feeling unsettled and unsure of what will happen next. I hate predictable plots and Nesbo kept me guessing. (He usually does) I've read some negative reviews of these earlier books. I think it's important to remember that the character is still evolving in these first books. Speaking for myself, (and having enjoyed all of the later Hole books), I've really enjoyed these early glimpses into a crime series I really enjoy. Definitely recommended.
    • 3/5
      Harry Hole is once again sent to another country to work on a case that involves a Norwegian: this time it's the Norwegian Ambassador to Thailand in Bangkok. There he meets the widow and daughter of the ambassador and a whole lot more Norwegians to boot; it seems the place is crawling with them. Alongside intrigue and trying to avoid political scandal, Harry once again fights against alcohol and people who just won't tell the truth.


      The Harry Hole series is full of very quick reads that are exactly what one wants from a thriller and crime novel: murder, intrigue, lies and deceit and a detective who is slightly unhinged and intriguing themselves. Whilst it's fairly formulaic, if you're looking for that then that's great. There's not much different with these books (though I've only read the first two) but with average expectations you'd do worse elsewhere.
    • 4/5
      A terrifically well-executed mystery, dropping our chilly Nordic detective into another locale halfway 'round the world that strikes him as utterly foreign - and as a result, we get to watch him grow 'out of his element', as it were. Perhaps it's good to read these novels after the rest of the series - having established what Harry is like at home before we see him take off for parts more exotic. And yet, there's a sense of history in these stories - a slight release of tension because we know what will go on to happen to Harry. The stakes, high as they might get, are always hobbled.

      More TK at RB:
    • 3/5
      I guess I'll eventually get to read all the Harry Hole (Hur-ler) detective novels. This is my 4th so far. A crackingly complex plot with plenty of hints along the way to keep us guessing. And a Holmes-style reveal towards the end. Too much violence and gore for my personal tastes - otherwise probably an extra star.
    • 5/5
      Harry Hole in Bangkok. He was sent there to investigate the bizarre death of the norwegian ambassador but he quickly realized that he was intended NOT to reveal the real motives behind the murder. The bureuocrats didn't count on just one thing, how stubborn the ex-alcoholic, burn-out Hole could be... Great!
    • 4/5
      Harry is on a special mission

      Detective Harry Hole arrives in a steaming hot Bangkok. The Norwegian ambassador has been found dead in a seedy motel room, and Harry has been sent to investigate. It's clear that the Ambassador's family are hiding some secrets of their own, but few people are willing to talk.

      He needs to solve a crime and avoid a scandal

      When Harry lays hands on some incriminating CCTV footage, things only get more complicated. The man who gave him the tape goes missing, and Harry realises that failing to solve a murder case is by no means the only danger that faces the unwary.

      But in an unfamiliar city, who can you trust?

      A great pre "Oslo Sequence" Harry Hole adventure in a steamy, sweaty Bangkok...

      "He felt like he has entered a bathroom and someone had turned on a scalding hot shower. He knew the secret to tackling high humidity was to ignore it. Let the sweat pour down you and think of something else. The light was worse. It pierced the cheap dark plastic glasses through to his shiny alcoholic eyes, and cranked up the headache that until then had only been rumbling in his temples.
    • 4/5
      Good mystery; a complicated plot with a lot of interesting characters. I'll be reading more of his mysteries.
    • 4/5
      These first two books are about nesbo finding his feet and style. It's almost here in this second book, Hole is starting to become the jaded super sleuth of the later novels. A quick read and lots of fun.