Nesbø's 13th Harry Hole novel (after 2019's Knife) covers familiar terrain in a too familiar way. Norwegian sleuth Hole has left the Oslo police after a tragedy and relocated, broke and despondent, to sunny California. At the start, Hole saves Lucille, an aging actor, from a powerful family's attempts to collect the almost $1 million she owes them. It's a temporary fix, but fortunately, a contrivance gives him a chance to help her pay her debts: Hole's former colleagues are probing the murder of Susanne Anderson, a 26-year-old found dead in an Oslo forest. Suspicion focuses on Markus Røed, a real estate mogul, who'd slept with Anderson. Røed decides to hire his own investigator for PR purposes and contacts Hole, who agrees to investigate if he pays Lucille's $1 million debt. The killer's unusually gruesome method is the book's only novelty--otherwise, Nesbø hits all the typical beats of a serial killer thriller, including a lead who seeks redemption through his work, sections presented from the perspective of the murderer, and the imperiling of a significant character. This is a shadow of the author's best work. Agent: Niclas Salomonsson, Salomonsson. (May)

ldquo;But, does Oslo love you?" Harry Hole is destined to find out after tangling with a Mexican cartel in Los Angeles leaves him desperate for cash. Harry agrees to take on a lucrative private investigation for an Oslo defense attorney seeking an alternate suspect for the mutilation murders of two women who are linked only by his powerful client. Hole counters the police task force with his own motley but talented crew: his former psychologist, his outlaw taxi-driving childhood friend, and a rule-breaking former police colleague. At the same time, fate conspires to force Hole to confront his role in the deaths of his wife and best friend Bjørn (from Knife, 2019) as Katrine Bratt, Bjørn's widow, leads the police team and reveals a secret that will further bind them. Despite deep dives into a serial killer's manipulative psyche and unflinching hard-boiled brutality, this is a virtual romp as far as Harry Hole stories go, with childhood friend Øystein providing comic relief and Harry, mostly sober, unbegrudgingly reconnecting with his people. Nesbø sweetens the storytelling pot by wrapping fears of bioweapons in twisted-love and revenge themes and offering a master class in uncontrived red herrings. For readers wanting more, Hole's tragedy-courting vibe pairs well with Ken Bruen's gut-punching Jack Taylor tales.

Harry Hole is pulled back home from La-La Land to investigate a series of killings for a most unexpected reason. Inspector Katrine Bratt, head of the Oslo Police Department's Crime Squad, desperately wants the help of her ex-lover, a terrible cop who's also the country's leading authority on serial killers, when Susanne Andersen and Bertine Bertilsen, both of whom have gone missing, turn up dead and disfigured in a truly ghoulish manner. There's no way, says her boss, Chief Supt. Bodil Melling: Harry's already disgraced the department in so many ways that he'll never work there again. Little do they know that Harry's already agreed to take the case at the request of real estate mogul Markus Røed, who's under suspicion because he played sugar daddy to both of the victims. The staggering fee Harry demands is $960,000, exactly the amount that one-time movie actress Lucille Owens owes the Esposito family, whose enforcers Harry's just rescued her from in Los Angeles. Arriving back home, Harry promptly assembles the Aune Group, a cadre of four helpers even more disreputable than him, and sets them to work knowing that the Esposito family will close Lucille's account in seven days. Every one of the Aune Group has something to contribute, but they can't prevent the body count from rising. Like the old pro he is, Nesbø doles out some teasing details about the killer, who calls himself Prim, early on while withholding enough information about Prim's modus operandi, motive, and true identity to keep the pages fluttering long past bedtime. A battered hero, a memorably creepy villain, a series of false endings worthy of Jeffery Deaver: What's not to love? Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.