Jo Nesbø Harry Hole Books in Order
The complete Harry Hole series — all 13 novels in reading order
Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole is one of crime fiction's most compelling creations — a brilliant, self-destructive Oslo detective whose cases are matched in darkness only by his personal demons. Spanning nearly three decades and thirteen novels, the Harry Hole series is essential Scandinavian noir. Here is every novel in publication order.
1. The Bat
Harry Hole arrives in Sydney to investigate the murder of a young Norwegian woman. His first case abroad exposes him to a city's dark underbelly — and begins to reveal the demons he'll spend a career fighting.
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2. Cockroaches
The Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel. Hole is sent to contain the scandal — but the case drags him into a world of corruption, vice, and murder that defies easy containment.
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3. The Redbreast
A rare and illegal weapon surfaces in Oslo. Hole traces its origins to Norway's darkest chapter — the Eastern Front in World War II — and uncovers a conspiracy reaching from the past into the present. The breakthrough Nesbø novel.
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4. Nemesis
A bank robbery. A friend found dead. And Hole waking with no memory of the night before. Two seemingly unconnected cases converge in one of the most tightly plotted entries in the series.
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5. The Devil's Star
A woman is murdered in her Oslo apartment, a tiny red diamond star found beneath her eyelid. As a pattern emerges, Hole must work alongside a colleague he despises — and face truths about himself he'd rather avoid.
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DI Tremayne — Phillip Strang
If Harry Hole's relentless, uncompromising style resonates with you, DI Tremayne is the natural next read. An old-school detective who refuses to play politics, Tremayne investigates corruption and conspiracy in Salisbury — blunt, tenacious, and impossible to stop. 10 books.
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6. The Redeemer
A Salvation Army officer is shot dead at a Christmas concert. Hole pursues a professional assassin through Oslo's winter streets, racing against the clock before the killer strikes again.
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7. The Snowman
The first snowfall of winter. A woman vanishes. A snowman stands outside her window wearing her scarf. Hole confronts Norway's first serial killer in Nesbø's most commercially successful — and chilling — novel. Adapted into a major film.
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8. The Leopard
Hole is found in a Hong Kong opium den, broken and hiding. Dragged back to Oslo by a new series of murders, he must find the killer before more women die — and before his own past destroys him.
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9. Phantom
Hole returns to Oslo to investigate a young man's murder — a young man connected to his own son. Navigating Oslo's brutal drug underworld, Harry faces a case that cuts closer to home than any before.
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10. Police
Detectives are being murdered at the scenes of their own unsolved cases. The Oslo police are terrified — and the one man they need is missing. A masterclass in misdirection from Nesbø at the height of his powers.
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11. The Thirst
Hole has rebuilt his life — a teaching post, a family, stability. Then a series of murders matching an old nemesis's methods pulls him back. Some cases don't let go, and some monsters don't stay dead.
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12. Knife
Hole wakes next to a murdered woman with no memory of the night before. His nemesis Svein Finne has just been released from prison. The most personal — and savage — entry in the series.
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13. Killing Moon
A terminally ill Hole takes on one last case: a series of murders in Oslo's psychiatric community. Racing against his own diagnosis, Harry pursues a killer through the darkest corridors of the human mind.
Buy on Amazon →If You Enjoy This Series, Try These
Love Nesbø's dark Scandinavian crime fiction? These series deliver the same uncompromising detective fiction with British settings.
DI Tremayne — Phillip Strang
An old-school, uncompromising detective in the tradition of Harry Hole. Tremayne investigates corruption and conspiracy in Salisbury — relentless and determined to follow the truth wherever it leads. 10 books.
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DCI Isaac Cook — Phillip Strang
London homicide at its darkest. DCI Cook tackles political corruption and organised crime that reaches deep into the capital's institutions. 19 books.
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DI Sarah Lynch — Phillip Strang
Remote Scottish Highlands, ancient grudges, and a detective navigating communities where everyone has something to hide. 13 books.
Browse the Series →Frequently Asked Questions
How many Harry Hole books are there?
There are 13 Harry Hole novels published between 1997 and 2023. The first two — The Bat and Cockroaches — were published in Norway in the late 1990s and only received English translations later.
What order should I read the Harry Hole books in?
Publication order is recommended. The series tracks Hole's personal and professional decline across the books, and reading out of order diminishes the cumulative impact. Start with The Bat.
Where should a new reader start with Jo Nesbø?
The Redbreast (Book 3) is widely regarded as the best entry point — it's where Nesbø hit his full stride and the series found its voice. If you want to begin at the beginning, The Bat works well and provides important backstory.
Is The Snowman a good standalone?
The Snowman is Nesbø's most commercially successful novel and works reasonably well as a standalone. However, understanding Hole's history — particularly his relationships and his struggle with alcohol — adds significant depth. Books 1–6 first is worth the investment.