Wolf Hour, by Jo Nesbø (REVIEW) -- When a Lone Wolf is Out for Blood

We toss around the phrase “lone wolf”, often romanticizing it far more than we probably should.

The definition, of course, is right there in the words. “Lone”, as in loner... something or someone who prefers to do, well, whatever, on their own.

It’s the second part we usually glance over—“wolf”. An intelligent and savage predator, in the animal kingdom... but nearly as admirable or romantic, when applied to humankind. 

In his latest thriller, Wolf Hour, bestselling Norwegian author Jo Nesbø pits a pair of lone wolves against each other... forcing the reader to look beneath the surface, to find the humanity and reason in scenes of savagery.

 

 

In 2016, Minneapolis, Minnesota has more than its share of serious crime... including the case of a gun dealer, seriously wounded—though not killed—by a shot from above.

No one saw—or knows—anything, but the police eventually settle on a former gang member, Tomas Gomez, as the probable sniper wanna-be.

Gomez is nowhere to be found... and more shootings with the same basic M.O. soon follow. This time, though, dead bodies are left behind.

The city officially has a new serial killer, and the police set up a major task force with different branches across the Twin Cities to help quell public fear and outrage.

Unexpectedly, though, it’s Bob Oz—a depressed, hard-drinking, womanizing middle-aged police detective, currently suspended from duty—who is actually closest to figuring out how to get a handle on Gomez. The killer’s motivations... who he’ll target next... and most importantly, how to track him down.

Bob’s problem is getting anyone to listen to his theories... and then to act on them, before someone else dies. 

 

 

But there’s a second storyline going on, as well—also in Minneapolis, some six years later.

A Norwegian crime writer, visiting the Twin Cities he’s loved since childhood, is researching the Gomez case for a book he’s writing.

As his hired driver shuttles him across the metro area—visiting each place where something, anything, happened—the writer attempts to channel Detective Oz... putting himself not only in the physical locations, but into the troubled mind of the man who’d finally put all the pieces together. 

The question is what, exactly, the writer is trying to accomplish. Is he merely absorbing details to help him flesh out his writing, or does he know more than he’s letting on?

 

 

Wolf Hour is a fascinating standalone work by Nesbø, with the classic touches that make each of his stories uniquely him.

It’s smart, and keenly observant of little details about individuals, of which they are often unaware.

It’s also an achingly sad novel, full of loneliness and loss... and the many outlets—both healthy and horrifically unhealthy—such feelings can take.

And of course, it’s far more complex than anyone initially thinks. 

I enjoyed Wolf Hour, but have one caveat: patience is a virtue, here, as the pacing is rather leisurely. There’s a fair amount of exposition between things actually happening, which can be a bit wearing on the reader.

Definitely recommending it to fellow fans of dark, Scandi-noir crime, though... and to suspense lovers who enjoy waiting for the lone wolf’s next lonely howl in the nights.

~GlamKitty