Book · in order

Harry Hole Books in Order

By the Bingerun team · How we choose the order →

Thirteen novels, published in Norwegian between 1997 and 2023. Read them in the order Jo Nesbo wrote them. The English translations came out in a genuinely scrambled sequence, which is why so many readers start in the wrong place.

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  1. The Bat 1997

    Flaggermusmannen. Harry in Sydney, investigating the murder of a Norwegian woman. Not translated into English until 2012, fifteen years late.

  2. Cockroaches 1998

    Kakerlakkene. Bangkok, and the last book before the series settles in Oslo. English translation arrived in 2013, dead last of the early novels.

  3. The Redbreast 2000

    Rødstrupe. Where the long arc actually starts: Norwegian wartime history, and the introduction of the thread that runs through the next two books.

  4. Nemesis 2002

    Sorgenfri. Direct continuation of The Redbreast's subplot. Reading The Devil's Star before this one gives away how it ends.

  5. The Devil's Star 2003

    Marekors. Closes the trilogy that began in The Redbreast. This was the first Harry Hole novel translated into English, in 2005, which is the root of most of the confusion.

  6. The Redeemer 2005

    Frelseren. A Salvation Army shooting in Oslo. A cleaner standalone than the three before it.

  7. The Snowman 2007

    Snømannen. The breakout book internationally and the one filmed in 2017. Works reasonably alone, but the personal stakes land far harder in sequence.

  8. The Leopard 2009

    Panserhjerte. Opens with Harry in Hong Kong and depends heavily on how The Snowman ended.

  9. Phantom 2011

    Gjenferd. The hardest book in the series to read out of order, and the one that most rewards having read everything before it.

  10. Police 2013

    Politi. Picks up immediately from Phantom's ending. These two are effectively one story in two volumes.

  11. The Thirst 2017

    Tørst. A four-year gap after Police, and a deliberate restart of Harry's situation. Callbacks to The Redeemer.

  12. Knife 2019

    Kniv. Opens with an event that reframes the whole series. Avoid the blurb if you can.

  13. Killing Moon 2023

    Blodmåne. The thirteenth and most recent, published in English in May 2023. Follows directly from Knife.

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Why this order?

The Harry Hole books have an unusually clear right answer and an unusually messy wrong one.

The right answer is Norwegian publication order, starting with The Bat and ending with Killing Moon. Harry ages, his cases refer back to earlier cases, and several books hinge on losses the reader is supposed to have lived through. Read in order, the series is one long arc about a detective steadily coming apart.

The wrong one is the order English readers were handed. Harvill Secker began translating in the middle: The Devil's Star, the fifth novel, appeared in English in 2005, followed by the third, The Redbreast, in 2006, then the fourth in 2008. The first two books were not translated at all until 2012 and 2013, by which point English readers had already reached the ninth. Anyone who read them as they appeared in English met Harry in his fifth case, learned his backstory two books later, and finally saw his first case after watching him nearly destroy himself in Phantom.

That history is still visible in bookshops and on retailer sites, where the numbering sometimes follows the English release and sometimes the Norwegian original. If a list starts you on The Devil's Star, it is the translation order rather than the story.

The practical consequence is small but real: The Redbreast is where the series properly begins its long arc, and several readers who started there feel they missed nothing. That is nearly true. The Bat and Cockroaches are set abroad, in Sydney and Bangkok, and stand apart from the Oslo books that follow. Starting at The Redbreast is a defensible choice; starting at The Devil's Star is not, because it spoils Nemesis, the book before it.

The series is ongoing. Killing Moon came out in 2023 and no fourteenth novel has been announced.

Timeline 1997-2023

Every entry by release year: rows that share a year are a cluster, and the long droughts are called out on the rail.

  1. 1997 The Bat
  2. 1998 Cockroaches
  3. 2000 The Redbreast
  4. 2002 Nemesis
  5. 2003 The Devil's Star
  6. 2005 The Redeemer
  7. 2007 The Snowman
  8. 2009 The Leopard
  9. 2011 Phantom
  10. 2013 Police
  11. 4-year gap
  12. 2017 The Thirst
  13. 2019 Knife
  14. 4-year gap
  15. 2023 Killing Moon

Where to play it today

  • All thirteen are in print in English from Harvill Secker and Vintage
  • The full series is on Audible, largely narrated by Sean Barrett
  • The Snowman was filmed in 2017; it adapts one novel and is not a substitute for any of them

Availability changes often and varies by region - links search each platform for Harry Hole.

Frequently asked questions

How many Harry Hole books are there?

Thirteen novels, published in Norwegian between 1997 and 2023. The Bat came first and Killing Moon is the most recent, published in English in May 2023.

What order should I read the Harry Hole books in?

The order Jo Nesbo wrote them: The Bat, Cockroaches, The Redbreast, Nemesis, The Devil's Star, The Redeemer, The Snowman, The Leopard, Phantom, Police, The Thirst, Knife, Killing Moon. Harry ages across the series and later books lean hard on earlier ones, so this is not a formality.

Why do the Harry Hole books have two different orders?

Because the English translations arrived badly out of sequence. Harvill Secker started in the middle with the fifth novel, The Devil's Star, in 2005, then went back for the third and fourth. The first two, The Bat and Cockroaches, were not translated until 2012 and 2013, by which point English readers had already reached the ninth book. Lists that still follow the translation order will start you on The Devil's Star.

Can I start with The Snowman?

You can, and many people did because of the film, but you will be starting at book seven. The case itself resolves within the novel, so it works as a thriller. What does not work is the personal side: The Snowman turns on a relationship built over the previous four books, and reading it first flattens both that and the two books after it.

Can I skip The Bat and Cockroaches?

Defensibly, yes. They are set in Sydney and Bangkok and stand apart from the Oslo novels that follow, and they were written before Nesbo found the register the series is known for. Plenty of readers start at The Redbreast and lose very little. What you should not do is start at The Devil's Star, because it resolves a plot that runs through The Redbreast and Nemesis.

Which Harry Hole books have to be read together?

Three groups. The Redbreast, Nemesis and The Devil's Star form a trilogy with a single running subplot. The Snowman and The Leopard are directly linked. Phantom and Police are effectively one story in two volumes, and Police begins where Phantom stops. Knife and Killing Moon are also continuous.

Is the Harry Hole series finished?

Not declared finished. Killing Moon was published in 2023 and no fourteenth novel has been announced, but Nesbo has left gaps of four years before now and has not said the series is over.

Do I need to read Jo Nesbo's other books?

No. Nesbo's standalones, including Headhunters, The Son, Macbeth and The Kingdom, share no characters or continuity with Harry Hole. The Doctor Proctor books are children's fiction. Harry Hole stands entirely on its own.

Where can I read the Harry Hole books?

All thirteen are in print in English from Harvill Secker and Vintage in paperback and ebook, and the full series is on Audible with Sean Barrett narrating most of it. Norwegian originals are published by Aschehoug. Availability of the earliest translations varies by region, so check your local retailer for The Bat and Cockroaches.

How long does it take to read all the Harry Hole books?

The thirteen novels run to roughly six and a half thousand pages, which is around a hundred and ten hours of reading, or close to two hundred on audio. The Redbreast through The Devil's Star is a natural first stretch at about a quarter of that.

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Last verified · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, jonesbo.com, penguinrandomhouse.com

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