2020-07-01
A strange and quirky detective novel – Nordic noir set in Australia. At first it’s interesting for the mix of Aboriginal stories and alternative sexuality.
However, it soon gets bogged down with chattiness to make up for the lack of character POV. This resulted in the main character, Harry Hole, doing a lot of things without the reader having any idea why, unless Harry outright explained himself to another character in dialogue. This became an increasing issue as the book went on, and was underlined near the end by Harry Hole talking to the murderer without the reader actually being told who it was for a number of pages.
I read The Son by Jo Nesbo a few years back and it seemed a well-rounded and polished novel. The Bat, however, is not, making it an okay read but difficult to really enjoy.
Rating: 2/5