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Harry Hole
The Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbø has 14 known books (13 published; 1 announced) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Bat (1997). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Killing Moon. The next announced book, Kill Shot, is due 5 November 2026.
- Books
- 14 known books (14 novels)
- Published
- 13
- Announced
- 1
- First published
- 1997
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: The Bat (1997) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series. Announced future books are marked below.
- Book 1:
The Bat
The Bat (1997) opens the Harry Hole series and, along with its sequel Cockroaches, sets up the Oslo detective's formative early case abroad -- though English-language readers didn't get it until a 2012 translation, more than a decade after The Redbreast made Jo Nesbø internationally famous. It runs 369 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Bat - Book 2:
Cockroaches
Cockroaches (1998) is the second Harry Hole novel, set during Harry's formative case in Thailand, though it wasn't translated into English until 2013 -- so many readers encountered it as a belated "prequel" after already reading later books. It runs 367 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cockroaches - Book 3:
The Redbreast
The Redbreast (2000) is the book that made Jo Nesbø an international name, the third Harry Hole novel and, for years, many English-language readers' accidental starting point since the first two books weren't translated until over a decade later. It runs 448 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Redbreast - Book 4:
Nemesis
Nemesis (2002) is the fourth Harry Hole novel, one of the longer entries in the series at 706 pages, continuing Jo Nesbø's brutal Nordic noir plotting as Harry's personal unraveling deepens alongside the case. It sits between The Redbreast and The Devil's Star.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nemesis - Book 5:
The Devil's Star
The Devil's Star (2003) is the fifth Harry Hole novel and the book chosen as the starting point for the Netflix adaptation of the series now in production. It runs 522 pages, following Nemesis.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Devil's Star - Book 6:
The Redeemer
The Redeemer (2005) is the sixth Harry Hole novel, continuing Jo Nesbø's run of elaborate, serial-killer-driven plots in which Harry's own self-destruction absorbs as much narrative weight as the murders he investigates. It runs 397 pages, following The Devil's Star.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Redeemer - Book 7:
The Snowman
The Snowman (2007) is the seventh Harry Hole novel, one of Nesbø's best-known internationally, sitting between The Redeemer and The Leopard as the series' darkest set pieces continued to escalate. It runs 454 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Snowman - Book 8:
The Leopard
The Leopard (2009) is the longest Harry Hole novel at 720 pages, published as the series' scope kept expanding beyond Oslo -- Nesbø moved these later books out to cities like Bangkok, Hong Kong and Sydney. It's the eighth entry in the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Leopard - Book 9:
Phantom
Phantom (2011) is the ninth Harry Hole novel, running 611 pages, continuing the series' deep entanglement of Harry's investigations with his personal life -- his bond with Rakel's son Oleg runs through this stretch of books.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Phantom - Book 10:
Police
Police (2013) is the tenth Harry Hole novel, continuing Jo Nesbø's brutal, internationally bestselling Nordic noir series as Harry's rivalry with corrupt colleagues on the force keeps complicating his cases. It runs 435 pages, preceding The Thirst.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Police - Book 11:
The Thirst
The Thirst (2017) arrived four years after Police, the eleventh Harry Hole novel, continuing the series' pattern of an elaborate serial-killer plot entangled with Harry's own obsession and self-destruction. It runs 461 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Thirst - Book 12:
Knife
Knife (2019) is the twelfth Harry Hole novel, running 451 pages, one of the darker, more violent entries as Jo Nesbø's series continued its long unraveling of Harry's personal relationships. It sits between The Thirst and Killing Moon.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Knife - Book 13:
Killing Moon
Killing Moon (2022) is the thirteenth Harry Hole novel and, until Kill Shot, the most recent -- Jo Nesbø's next entry in the series took four years to follow. It runs 512 pages, following Knife.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Killing Moon - Book 14:
Kill Shot
Kill Shot, due 5 November 2026, is Jo Nesbø's first new Harry Hole novel in four years, built around a string of killings that each echo a scene from a classic film. It runs 416 pages and arrives alongside a Netflix adaptation of the series now in production.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Kill Shot
About the Harry Hole series
Harry Hole is an Oslo homicide detective whose brilliance as an investigator is matched only by his talent for wrecking everything around him — alcoholism, dead partners, burned bridges with his own police force — across Jo Nesbø's brutal, internationally bestselling Nordic noir series. Each book is a genuine whodunit built around an elaborate, often serial-killer-driven plot, but the real engine is Harry himself: a man who solves cases through obsession and self-destruction in roughly equal measure, and whose personal life (his relationship with Rakel, his surrogate-family bond with her son Oleg, his rivalry with corrupt colleagues) absorbs as much narrative weight as the murders.
Nesbø writes some of the darkest, most violent set pieces in mainstream crime fiction, and the series has only gotten bigger and more ambitious as it's gone on, moving from Oslo out to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney and beyond. It's for readers who want their Scandinavian crime fiction genuinely grim rather than melancholy, with a lead character readers root for even as he sabotages himself book after book.
Frequently asked questions
How many Harry Hole books are there?
13 novels are published, from The Bat (1997) to Killing Moon (2022), with a 14th, Kill Shot, due 5 November 2026.
What order should I read the Harry Hole books in?
Publication order, starting with The Bat. Harry's sobriety, relationships and career all develop continuously across the series.
Why weren't The Bat and Cockroaches available in English for years?
Nesbø's UK and US publishers didn't translate the first two novels until 2012 and 2013, over a decade after The Redbreast (2000) made him internationally famous, so many English readers encountered the series out of order for years.
What is the next Harry Hole book?
Kill Shot, due 5 November 2026, Nesbø's first new Harry Hole novel in four years, in which a string of killings each echo a scene from a classic film.
Is Harry Hole being adapted for television?
Yes. A Netflix adaptation of the series (beginning with The Devil's Star) is in production alongside the release of Kill Shot.
If you like the Harry Hole series
Reading order last verified .