I'm admittedly new to Harry Hole and this series, so I was able to start from the first book, and then move on to this, the second book. Most English readers were forced to start on the third book, because they were translated out of order for some reason...possibly because in the first two books Nesbo is still finding his rhythm.

Anyways, as of now, I have yet to get hooked by this series, tho I'm willing to give it a couple more tries. Cockroaches, is based in Bangkok, and I found it exciting that Harry Hole disliked Bangkok nearly as much as I did. It's always fun to read of a place that you've had the chance to visit. I also have yet to be successful in guessing the culprit, tho I felt like I was close on this one again. I'm looking forward to trying out the next book in the series.

“He who is destined for the gallows will not drown”

"He opened a can of hot beer he had taken from the plane and confirmed, to his pleasure, that Singh was not as bad as Norwegian beer. Now, the rest of the day seemed more bearable."

"'It's not a question of morality. If you're a target striker in a football team you'll always be in a semi-offside position. Rules are there to be bent.'
'And those who bend the rules furthest win?'
'When Maradona scored with his hand people accepted that as part of the game. Anything the ref doesn't see is fine.'"

"You shouldn't underestimate the streak of irrationality in human nature ... When you bang in a nail and hit your thumb, what do you throw at the wall? The hammer? Well, how does it feel to be a hammer?"

Better than the first in the series, and an interesting gritty urban setting in Bangkok. But still a little too clever at the end.

7/10 και το 2ο βιβλίο της σειράς! Χαίρομαι που ξεκίνησα να τα διαβάζω με την σειρά που γράφτηκαν για να καταλαβαίνω την εξέλιξη του χαρακτήρα αλλά και αυτά που κουβαλεί από τις προηγούμενες περιπέτειες του. Και συνεχίζουμε...

Just sort of “meh” for me. I found the plot convoluted at the same time predictable. While I wanted to like the main character and root for him I was left cold by his personality and back story. The writing seemed uneven and I wonder if this was due to the translation? Or did they get better in later books?

I read The Bat about 10 years ago and was pretty indifferent. Now here I am in Cockroaches, feeling the same. Maybe I’ll like The Redbreast better in about a decade.

Rating 3* out of 5. It's a well-crafted crime novel and I can't put a finger on why I didn't like it. Certainly it did not portray my country of birth, Thailand, in the best of light, but it felt realistic. I think my main problem is with the main protagonist, Harry Hole. He is such an asshole! I didn't like him at the end of the series (except in the last book) and he's certainly not presenting a better figure here.

Harry Hole - he prefers the pronounciation "Holy" in English - had a succesful case in Sydney and is now sent to Bangkok to help solving the murder of the Norwegian ambassador. Harry's drinking problem has the better of him for a while, but finally he begins to emergy from the vapors and untangle real clues. The atmosphere and setting is really authentic, I truly felt as if I was in Bangkok again. I didn't find a single inaccurate detail to get annoyed over. I wish I could say the same about Harry.

It also seems as if I had read the main plot here before, as if Nesbø recirculates ideas, but to avoid spoilers I won't be more speficif here. I'll just say "Phantom" (book 7). I read book 6 to 10 before starting from the beginning.

It's not a terrible book, but I am not extatic over the fact that I've already got the next book on my mp3 player. I'd rather listen to something else, I just don't know what.