> Skip to content
Read an extract
Play sample
  • Published: 16 April 2013
  • ISBN: 9780099520320
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 432
  • RRP: $26.00

The Bat

Harry Hole 1




The thrilling first book in the bestselling Harry Hole series, never before published in English


Discover the addictive first book in the bestselling Harry Hole series

'A stunning opening to the series' Sunday Times

Harry is out of his depth.

Detective Harry Hole is meant to keep out of trouble. A young Norwegian girl taking a gap year in Sydney has been murdered, and Harry has been sent to Australia to assist in any way he can.

He's not supposed to get too involved.

When the team unearths a string of unsolved murders and disappearances, nothing will stop Harry from finding out the truth. The hunt for a serial killer is on, but the murderer will talk only to Harry.

He might be the next victim.

*JO NESBO HAS SOLD 50 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE*

*Watch out for The Kingdom, the new Jo Nesbo thriller, out now*

  • Published: 16 April 2013
  • ISBN: 9780099520320
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 432
  • RRP: $26.00

Other books in the series

About the author

Jo Nesbo

Jo Nesbo is one of the world’s bestselling crime writers, with The Leopard, Phantom, Police, The Son, The Thirst and Knife all topping the Sunday Times bestseller charts. He’s an international number one bestseller and his books are published in 50 languages, selling over 45 million copies around the world.

Before becoming a crime writer, Nesbo played football for Norway’s premier league team Molde, but his dream of playing professionally for Spurs was dashed when he tore ligaments in his knee at the age of eighteen. After three years military service he attended business school and formed the band Di Derre (‘Them There’). They topped the charts in Norway, but Nesbo continued working as a financial analyst, crunching numbers during the day and gigging at night. When commissioned by a publisher to write a memoir about life on the road with his band, he instead came up with the plot for his first Harry Hole crime novel, The Bat.

Sign up to the Jo Nesbo newsletter for all the latest news: jonesbo.com/newsletter

Also by Jo Nesbo

See all

Praise for The Bat

Most satisfyingly we can now see the organic shape that Nesbo always intended his work to take, and the canvas stretching out in front of us is a crowded one

Good Book Guide

A fascinating book, filling in the gaps in Hole's biography and telling the story of the murder case in Australia that cemented his reputation as a brilliant investigator... A stunning opening to the series

Sunday Times

Nesbo is a terrific writer who knows how to build a story, taking you slowly to the top of a rollercoaster before sending you hurtling towards a solution that you never see coming

Sunday Express

Harry Hole is fully formed as the difficult, vulnerable personality we have come to know. The evocation of Australia itself has the customary Nesbo expertise...most satisfyingly - we can now see the organic shape that Nesbo always intended his work to take

Barry Forshaw, Independent

Whether a hardened Hole addict or a first-time imbiber, The Bat is sure to snare your interest with its tale of this booze-fuelled policeman

Sunday Sun

A searing read from a chilling thriller writer

Independent

An ambitious, fun, exciting and original crime novel.

Smålandsposten (Sweden)

The Bat is a truly captivating crime novel.

Berliner Morgenpost (Germany)

The Bat is innovative and different, and the pace that Jo Nesbo creates in his debut novel makes you long for more crime novels featuring Harry Hole.

Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark)

Jo Nesbo has written the cleverest debut novel in the crime genre that I've read in a long time.

Aftenposten (Norway)

Meaty, big and bloody, this is the rock and roll of detective fiction

Financial Times

Hole is a spiky character and this is the first novel to feature him. If you want to get to know this brilliant, flawed character, this is the best place to start

William Leith, Scotsman

Most satisfyingly we can now see the organic shape that Nesbo always intended his work to take, and the canvas stretching out in front of us is a crowded one

Good Book Guide

A fascinating book, filling in the gaps in Hole's biography and telling the story of the murder case in Australia that cemented his reputation as a brilliant investigator... A stunning opening to the series

Sunday Times

Nesbo is a terrific writer who knows how to build a story, taking you slowly to the top of a rollercoaster before sending you hurtling towards a solution that you never see coming

Sunday Express

Harry Hole is fully formed as the difficult, vulnerable personality we have come to know. The evocation of Australia itself has the customary Nesbo expertise...most satisfyingly - we can now see the organic shape that Nesbo always intended his work to take

Barry Forshaw, Independent

Whether a hardened Hole addict or a first-time imbiber, The Bat is sure to snare your interest with its tale of this booze-fuelled policeman

Sunday Sun

A searing read from a chilling thriller writer

Independent

An ambitious, fun, exciting and original crime novel.

Smålandsposten (Sweden)

The Bat is a truly captivating crime novel.

Berliner Morgenpost (Germany)

The Bat is innovative and different, and the pace that Jo Nesbo creates in his debut novel makes you long for more crime novels featuring Harry Hole.

Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark)

Jo Nesbo has written the cleverest debut novel in the crime genre that I've read in a long time.

Aftenposten (Norway)

Meaty, big and bloody, this is the rock and roll of detective fiction

Financial Times

Hole is a spiky character and this is the first novel to feature him. If you want to get to know this brilliant, flawed character, this is the best place to start

William Leith, Scotsman