Review: The Devil's Star

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Devil’s Star is the fifth of Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series, and by this point in the series I believe it is safe to say I’m not a crazy fan. I’d heard so many good things about this series, yet I’m finding they’re just okay reads for me. I’m continuing to read them as I brought a collection, giving me the first seven books in the series, but after that I doubt I will be continuing on. I can see the appeal, but these stories are not blowing my mind in the way I had hoped they would.

Although I’m not crazy about this series, I was excited to dive into The Devil’s Star. Since book three, there has been an underlying story, lingering details I have wanted to see come together. I went in with the knowledge that there was resolution in this book, that things were finally brought together, and I was excited to see what played out. After all, the underlying stories that interlink books in series are one of my favourite things – I appreciate a good standalone crime thriller, but when these standalone stories are linked by tiny nods you’ll only understand as a continuous fan I find myself extra pleased.

If I’m being completely honest, the way things were resolved in this one was rather anticlimactic. I had been expecting so much more from this one, I had expected a lot more drama, and things seemed to come together much easier than I had thought they would. With the way the prior book ended, I expected there to be so much more than what we were given. In reality, things felt rather tame in this one in regards to the continuous story arc I had found myself rather invested in.

That being said, the crime in this one was one of my favourites in the series thus far. I love a good serial killer read and this one certainly had me turning the pages to see how it all came together. I may not have been completely content with how the continuous arc was brought together, but I was content with the standalone crime of this novel.

Overall, another okay read in the series. I do have book six sitting on my shelf, yet I believe I will wait a wee while before diving into it.

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