x dismiss this message
Did you know you can edit this page?
-
Sign Into Shelfari
-
Choose something to edit
-
Save your contributions
see page history
Description edit
In the depths of winter, a killer stalks the city streets. His victims are two young women, both found with twenty-four inexplicable puncture wounds, both drowned in their own blood. The crime scenes offer no clues, the media is reaching fever pitch, and the police are running out of options.... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters edit
- Skai: County Police Officer from Ytre Enebakk
- Harry Hole: Hole is an Oslo detective who at the beginning of the novel is living as a junkie in Hong Kong, only returning to Norway when told his father was gravely ill.
- Kaja Solness: The young Oslo detective sent to find Hole and to bring him back. Remains a member of the investigating team.
- Tony Leike: A Norwegian entrepreneur raising capital to develop a mining venture in Congo Kinshasha
- Adele Vetlesen: Does not appear in the novel. A young woman who unwittingly precipitates the events of the novel.
- Sigurd Altman: The nurse at the Reikshospital
- Bjorn Holm: From Krimteknisk, the forensics unit in Bryn, a hillbilly from Skreia.
- Gunnar Hagen: The Politioverbetjent, Head of Crime Squad
- Krongli: A policeman
- Marit Olsen: Socialist Party member of Stortinget (Norwegian Parliament) for Finnmark District. Overweight and exercising to lose it.
- Mikael Bellman: Head of the Kripos unit of the Norwegian police
- Lene Galtung: The daughter of a wealthy Norwegian businessman engage to Tony Leike
- Van Boorst: An expatriot, sellings weapons in the Congo.
- Elias Skog: The young man who stayed at the tourist cabin
- Rakel Fauke: Harry Hole's ex girlfriend.
- Oystein: Harry Hole's childhood friend
- Katrine Bratt: A former detective with skill in searching the Internet
- Truls Berntsen: An officer in Kripos and long time associate of Mikael Bellman. Nickname is 'Beavis'.
- Kinzonzi: A young Congolese mercenary
- Saul: Taxi driver in the Congo
- Beavis: Nickname for Bellman's oldest colleague
- Johan Krohn: Lawyer for Sigurd Altman
- Olav Hole: Harry's elderly father, an invalid.
- Beate Lønn: Head of Forensics
- Jussi Kolkka: A Finnish police officer brought into Kripos as Bellman's right hand man.
- Oleg: Rakel Faulke's son
- Stine: A women that Elias Skog 'stalks'
- Ulla Bellman: Mikael Bellman's wife
- Rasmus Olsen: Marit Olsen's husband
- Herman Kluit: South African mercenary and gambler
Setting & Locations edit
This novel is set mostly in Norway and Congo Kinshasha
- Havass: The Tourist cabin in the National park where the events of the novel begin
- Oslo, Norway: Capital of Norway and its largest city
- Nyiragongo: An active volcano in the Congo
- Goma: Town in Congo where much of the action occurs
- Rikshospital: Largest hospital in Norway. Olav Hole is a patient here.
- Bryn: Suburb of Oslo
- Frogner Park: Oslo's largest park. Scene of the third murder
- Bergen: Norwegian City
- Hong Kong: Former British colony in Asia
- Sandviken Hospital: A psychiatric hospital
- Ytre Enebakk: A summer holiday destination with a lake
- Stavanger: Second city of Norway. Services oil industry.
- Fagerborg: Suburb of Oslo.
- Congo Kinshasha: The Central African Country with vast mineral wealth
- Ustaoset: Town in Northern Norway
- Kigali: Capital of Rwanda, staging point for Goma
- Rwanda
- Leipzig
- Kadok
- Sydney
- Hivass
- Manglerud
- Oppsal
- Zurich
- Bristol: Suburb of Sydney where Iska Peller lives
- Nydalen
- Holmenveien
- Sofies
- Stovner
- Nordbo
- Geilo
- Lesja
- Gorilla Hotel: Hotel in Rwanda used by Hole
- Gronland
- Manila
- Schroder
- Copenhagen
- Drammen: Small town in Norway
Organizations edit
- Crime Squad: The Oslo police specialist unit for homicide and other serious crime
- Krimteknisk: The Forensics Unit in the Norwegian police
- Kripos: Specialist policing unit in Norwegian Police National headquarters set up to support small police units undertake complex investigations
First Sentence edit
She awoke.
Table of Contents edit
1 The Drowning
2 The Illuminating Darkness
3 Hong Kong
4 Sex Pistols
5 The Park
6 Homecoming
7 Gallows
8 Snow patrol
9 The Dive
Part 2
10 Reminders
11 Print
12 Crime Scene
13 Office
14 Recruitment
15 Strobe lights
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Leopold's Apple: A torture device which has a central role in the novel.
- Coltan: A very valuable mineral ore mined in the Congo
- Leopard: Is it Ole or Tony who's the leopard?
Series & Lists edit
This is book 8 of 9 in Harry Hole. (standard series)
Preceded by The Snowman, and followed by Phantom.
This is book 8 of 10 in Amazon.com Best Books of December (2011). (authoritative list)
Preceded by Girl Hunter, and followed by The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories.
This is book 9 of 146 in Whitcoulls Top 100 (2011). (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Help, and followed by The Passage.
First Edition edit
Original Language: Norwegian
Publisher: H.Aschehoug & co
Country: Norway
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 611
Publisher: H.Aschehoug & co
Country: Norway
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 611
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
See all 50 tags
Links to Supplemental Material edit
- Random House: Publisher's website offering newsletters, notes and tips for reading groups, author events,
- Harvill Secker
More Books Like This edit
We’re hiding the errata, movie connections, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.
