This is part of my longish term strategy to read Nordic thriller writers, to get a sense of the what seems to be a really exciting literary wave. This was one of the best of those I've read, and I really enjoyed it.

Harry Hole is a bad-ass cop I can get behind: an alcoholic and cynical ex-punk rocker, Hole is kind of a mess, but also a really good detective, helped by the fact that he's totally huge.

In this particular story, there're some other strong selling points: there's the first compassionate and curious writing about Roma I think I've ever read, some nice international travel, some strong writing about class and place, and also, not a ton of murder. This is, for most of the book, a story about a bank robber, which is an appealing change of pace from what I'm used to.

It's also well-written-- it's long as hell, and maybe doesn't totally land the ending. But it's very good, and I'll gladly go back to read more in this series.