Μαχαίρι
Jo Nesbo, 2018
★ 4.27 from 37.8k ratings on Goodreads
A river, a hidden camera, and an old man who has lost the words to raise the alarm. Nesbø at his coldest. A cold, uneasy crime story that keeps you curious while dread and a sense of madness press closer.
Feels like dread, unease and curiosity. About madness, death and society.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy dark, twisty police procedurals and can stay with Harry through a bleak personal spiral. Be warned that the book is long and detail-heavy, and some readers find his choices, especially his appeal to women, hard to believe.
Why read it
It offers a cold, intricate mystery and a raw look at a detective coming apart, with enough tension to pull you through the long haul.
A page from the book
A beam of light in green water, and a girl dancing in it.
Κι έτσι κάθεστε στον καναπέ και πηγαίνετε μέχρι την κάμερα μόνο για ν’ αλλάξετε μπαταρίες όταν χρειαστεί». «Κι αν η αρκούδα εμφανιστεί τη νύχτα;» «Η κάμερα έχει φωτισμό LED, κανονικό και black light: Είναι αόρατο φως, για να μη φοβίζει τα ζώα». Φως. Αυτό ήταν που έβλεπε ο ηλικιωμένος. Μια δέσμη φωτός που ερχόταν από τα δεξιά. Χωνόταν μες στο πράσινο νερό και φώτιζε το φόρεμα, και για μια ανατριχιαστική στιγμή τον έκα νε να σκεφτεί ότι έβλεπε μπροστά του ένα κορίτσι που είχε ξαναζωντανέψει και χόρευε από τη χαρά του. «Χα! Σαν επιστημονική φαντασία είναι!» Ο γέρος άνοιξε διάπλατα το στόμα του όταν είδε ένα δια στημόπλοιο να μπαίνει στην οθόνη. What readers say
Readers are gripped by the dark, twisty mystery and its shocking turns, and many find Harry’s downward spiral emotionally powerful. Others are frustrated by the length, excessive detail, and what they see as implausible character choices, especially around his appeal to women.
Jo Nesbo.Jo Nesbø was a professional footballer and a stockbroker before writing crime; he also fronts the Norwegian rock band Di Derre.
Books that feel like this
More by Jo Nesbo
Η δίψα
Jo Nesbo, 2023
Ο χιονάνθρωπος
Jo Nesbo, 2007
A winter-set crime novel where a small, unsettling image turns an ordinary visit into a source of dread.
Ο βασιλιάς
Jo Nesbo, 2024
A mechanic returns to a small Norwegian town where old loyalties, family ties and a new road project make trust a dangerous commodity.
Where to get it
Some of these links earn us a small commission, at no cost to you. It keeps BookFeed free.
Questions readers ask
- Is Μαχαίρι for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy dark, twisty police procedurals and can stay with Harry through a bleak personal spiral. Be warned that the book is long and detail-heavy, and some readers find his choices, especially his appeal to women, hard to believe.
- What is Μαχαίρι like?
- A cold, uneasy crime story that keeps you curious while dread and a sense of madness press closer. Feels like dread, unease and curiosity. About madness, death and society.
- What should I read after Μαχαίρι?
- If you liked Μαχαίρι, try Cell (Stephen King), Red Dragon (Thomas Harris) and The Final Count (H. C. McNeile).
A taste of the feed
The speed with which ordinary life becomes archaeology.
Civilization slipped into its second dark age on an unsurprising track of blood, but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist. It was as if it had been waiting to go. On October 1, God was in His heaven, the stock market stood at 10,140, and most of the planes were on time (except for those landing and taking off in Chicago, and that was to be expected). Two weeks later the skies belonged to the birds again and the stock market was a memory. By Halloween, every major city from New York to Moscow stank to the empty heavens and the world as it had been was a memory.
Cell · Stephen King
What makes a place a home is who you come back to.
Graham returned to the table. He was afraid that this was how he would remember the end of Sugarloaf Key-ice melting in two tea glasses and paper napkins fluttering off the redwood table in the breeze and Molly and Willy far down the beach.
Red Dragon · Thomas Harris
When a friend's idea is so strange you start diagnosing him.
I think it was at that moment that I first began to entertain doubts as to Robin’s sanity. Not that people dining near would have noticed anything amiss with him: his voice was low-pitched and quiet. But the whole idea was so utterly far-fetched and fantastic that I couldn’t help wondering if his brilliant brain hadn’t crossed that tiny bridge which separates genius from insanity. I knew the hideous loathing he had always felt for war: was it possible that continual brooding on the idea had unhinged him?
The Final Count · H. C. McNeile
Read pages from books like this, one at a time
Keep reading in the feed