The Devils Star – Jo Nesbo

A young woman is murdered in her flat and a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five-pointed star is found behind her eyelid. Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case, alongside his long-time adversary Tom Waaler and initially wants no part in it. But Harry is already on his final warning and has little alternative but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor when it becomes apparent that Oslo has a serial killer on its hands.

I have read one of Jo's other books and enjoyed it, this one not so much. This is a Swedish translation that didn't feel like it was made for a world wide audience. Firstly their were to many unfamiliar characters involved in this book, where you could get to grips with the main one but the rest just got a bit confusing. Added to that unfamiliar culture and unfamiliar place names just made it feel alien to read.

This was a crime novel and the way Nesbo tried to build suspense, was by launching into chapters, cutting from 'scene' to scene and basically confusing the hell out of the reader. It was very strong novel and I felt lost all the way through and slightly bored. I think it would read slighty better in its own language but even then I think it was just a bit slightly confusing.

I was hoping the story would pick up as I got into it. But unfortunately I never got into, never really connected with it, and therefore really didn't enjoy it. I think i would have preferred a story more about the characters that got murdered and the case than the policeman who was solving the case