... arguably the best entry yet in the author’s outstanding series ... a number of memorable, well-drawn characters—the good, the bad and the ugly—go about their business in a well-engineered narrative that alternates between at least a dozen points of view ... The moral conundrums in Knife are Dostoevskian, the surprises are breathtaking, the one-liners are amusing and the suspense is unrelenting. This is that rare lengthy book that one wouldn’t want shortened by even a single page.
Who is the darkest of them all?' If there was a crime-fiction magic mirror somewhere, and one were to put this query to it, hoping to determine whose novels were the darkest in mood, in theme, and in the protagonist’s soul, the answer, almost certainly, would be Jo Nesbø. No one knows darkness like Nesbø’s Harry Hole ... may be Nesbø’s best storytelling yet. It’s not just clever; it’s diabolical, and let’s be glad it is, because the corkscrewing plot provides a measure of relief from the pain on view in this uncompromisingly intense and brilliant novel.
... a sharp example of its genre. The pages turn, the violence is brutal, and the characters are well-drawn and mysterious ... Nesbø has a great sense of pacing. Each reveal — did he do it? did she? — is meticulously laid out as he takes readers along for the ride. I never felt like I was ahead of Harry in my deduction. The final whodunit is powerful and leaves Harry — and readers — wondering what's next ... If you're already high on Harry, I suspect Knife will scratch all your itches until the very end, when Nesbø does the only sensible thing an author can do after writing 12 books featuring one character — set you up for book 13.
