Jo Nesbo Books

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Jo Nesbo is a Norwegian reporter, a former economist, musician and a writer. Jo was born on 29 March 1960. More than three million of Jo’s novels and copies have been marketed in Norway as of March 2014. After selling around twenty-three million copies, Jo’s work has been translated into over forty languages. The crime novels about Inspector Harry Hole have helped to shot Jo Nesbo to the public eye. For the rock band called Di Derre, Jo Nesbo has remained the primary songwriter and vocalist. Jo unleashed his premier children’s book in 2007 titled Dokto Proktors Prompepulver. Jo’s novel entitled Hodejegerne was turned into a 2011 film called Headhunters. Jo Nesbo also played active top-flight football for Molde FK. Due to an injury in the important ligaments in his knee, Jo ended the football move. Jo continues to focus on the issues of life after experiencing a difficult knee injury from top-flight football. History records that Jo is a committed rock climber. Nevertheless, he has climbed sports pathways for up to French grade 7c. Jo resides near his previous wife and daughter in Oslo.

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Order of Harry Hole Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Bat 1997 Description / Buy
2 Cockroaches 1998 Description / Buy
3 The Redbreast 2000 Description / Buy
4 Nemesis 2002 Description / Buy
5 The Devil's Star 2003 Description / Buy
6 The Redeemer 2005 Description / Buy
7 The Snowman 2007 Description / Buy
8 The Leopard 2009 Description / Buy
9 Phantom 2011 Description / Buy
10 Police 2013 Description / Buy
11 The Thirst 2017 Description / Buy
12 Knife 2019 Description / Buy
13 Killing Moon 2023 Description / Buy

Order of Doktor Proctor Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder 2007 Description / Buy
2 Bubble in the Bathtub / Time-Travel Bath Bomb 2008 Description / Buy
3 Who Cut the Cheese? 2010 Description / Buy
4 The Magical Fruit 2012 Description / Buy
5 The Great Gold Robbery 2013 Description / Buy
6 Silent (But Deadly) Night 2016 Description / Buy
7 Can Doctor Proctor Save Christmas? 2017 Description / Buy

Order of Blood on Snow Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Blood on Snow 2014 Description / Buy
2 Midnight Sun 2015 Description / Buy

Order of Kingdom Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Kingdom 2020 Description / Buy
2 Blood Ties 2024 Description / Buy

Order of Jo Nesbø Standalone Novels

# Read Title Published Details
1 Headhunters 2008 Description / Buy
2 The Son 2014 Description / Buy
3 The Night House 2023 Description / Buy

Order of Jo Nesbø Short Stories/Novellas

# Read Title Published Details
1 London (Short Story) 2021 Description / Buy

Order of Jo Nesbø Short Story Collections

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Jealousy Man and Other Stories 2021 Description / Buy

Order of Hogarth Shakespeare Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Gap of Time ( By: Jeanette Winterson) 2015 Description / Buy
2 Shylock is My Name ( By: Howard Jacobson) 2016 Description / Buy
3 Vinegar Girl ( By: Anne Tyler) 2016 Description / Buy
4 Hag-Seed ( By: Margaret Atwood) 2016 Description / Buy
5 New Boy ( By: Tracy Chevalier) 2017 Description / Buy
6 Dunbar ( By: Edward St. Aubyn) 2017 Description / Buy
7 Macbeth 2018 Description / Buy
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Jo Nesbo has written several books covering various book series Among the work of Nesbo is The Doctor Proktor series, The Harry Hole series, and The Olav Johansen series also known as the Blood on Snow series. These amazing works of Nesbo have helped to build his career as a writer in the real world.

Jo Nesbo was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1960, and grew up in the city of Molde. During his teenage years, Nesbo ended up on the books of Molde, a Norwegian football team in the country’s Premier League. However, at the age of 18, he tore the ligaments in his knee. So, giving up his dream of being a professional footballer, Nesbo put in three years military service. Nesbo then went into tertiary education at the Norwegian School of Economics from where he graduated his a degree in Economics and Business Administration. It was during this time that he also formed the rock band Di Derre, which went on to have some success in Norway’s charts. During this time, he also put his degree to good use, working as a financial analyst during the day, and pursuing his other passion, his music, at night.

Through his music, Jo Nesbo was approached to write a memoir about his time on the road with Di Derre. But Nesbo had other ideas, and he actually used the time and the commission to plot out his first novel, The Bat, which was also the first book in his world-renowned Harry Hole series.

The Bat would eventually be published in Norway in 1997, where it would enjoy reasonable success. Nesbo would follow The Bat up with Cockroaches in 1998. He then took a few years out, before writing The Redbreast, which was published in 2000, the third book in the Harry Hole series of novels. Nemesis followed The Redbreast in 2002, followed by The Devil’s Star in 2003, and The Redeemer in 2005. In 2007, Nesbo released the seventh book in the Harry Hole series, The Snowman.

Also in 2007, Jo Nesbo turned his attention to writing children’s books, creating the the Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder series, featuring the mad professor Doctor Proctor who is constantly looking for the his next big invention to bring him fame and fortune. The series is gross and humorous, and have been given great reviews by kids and parents alike. The first book in the series, which was published in 2007 was simply called Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder, followed up Bubble in the Bathtub in 2008, then Who Cut the Cheese in 2010, and then The Great Gold Robbery in 2012.

While writing the Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder series, Jo Nesbo continued to write the Harry Hole series, releasing The Leopard in 2009, Phantom in 2011 and Police in 2013.

Nesbo then decided to write under a pen name, using the name Tom Johansen to write the Blood on Snow series, featuring the character Olav Johansen, who works in Oslo’s underworld. The first book in the series, Blood on Snow, was published in 2015, followed by the second book in the series, Midnight Sun the same year.

There has also been standalone novels written by Jo Nesbo, including Headhunters and The White Hotel which do not feature any of Nesbo’s recurring characters.

Jo Nesbo Awards:

Jo Nesbo has won several great awards for his work. This includes the Peer Gynt Price 2013, The Best Norwegian Crime Novel of the Year the Riverton Prize 1997, Edgar Award, Duncan Lawrie International Dagger in 2007 just to mention a few. These awards have really plunged Jo to a great height not only in Norway but the entire world as a whole.

Jo Nesbo Books Into Movies:

Jo Nesbos Doktor Proktor series saw its first book in 2014, Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder.

His standalone novel Hodejegerne / Headhunters was turned into a movie in 2011.

Jo Nesbo also wrote the TV series Occupied, and a Harry Hole novel, The Snowman, is being released in 2017.

Best Jo Nesbo Books:

The Bat: The Bat is the first novel in the Harry Hole series featuring Inspector Harry Hole, and many still refer to it as the best Jo Nesbo book yet. Hole has to solve a murder case in Sydney – a 23 yr old woman from Norway has been murdered, and she is a minor celebrity. However this is not just one murder – it’s one of many by a suspected serial killer. A great introduction to the Harry Hole series, this USA Today Critic’s Pick is extremely refreshing. He’s very similar to a detective like Poirot – someone who just keeps working away at a case relentlessly until he solves it. There’s a lot of graphic violence in this one and it’s a tremendous book.

The Son: It’s always interesting seeing an author switch from a series to a standalone novels. Usually it’s an indication that they have a brilliant idea – one which they can’t quite transform into an existing series. That seems to be the case here as The Son is one of the highest regarded Jo Nesbo books ever. It features Sonny Lofthus – a man who has been wrongly imprisoned for many years. However this was his own choosing – and he gets a constant heroin supply in return. Sonnys dad had taken his own life many years ago – however as Sonny finds himself in the middle of a crazy level of corruption and discovers a secret in regard to his dads suicide – well he’s going to escape and find everyone who is responsible. This is a very violent novel but one with characters who you will find yourself caring about and is an incredible thriller with a wide variety of twists to keep you reading and reading until well after your bed time.

Jo Nesbo FAQs

Q: What nationality is the author Jo Nesbo?

A: Jo Nesbo is a Norwegian author of crime fiction, as well as children’s novels.

Q: What is the name of Jo Nesbo’s first book?

A: The first book written by Jo Nesbo is The Bat, which was first published in 1997.

Q: What is the name of Jo Nesbo’s band?

A: Jo Nesbo’s band is called Di Derre.

Q: Was Jo Nesbo a professional footballer?

A: Jo Nesbo was on the books of Molde, a Norwegian Premier League side, but a cruciate injury ended his career before it really began.

When Does The Next Jo Nesbø book come out?

Jo Nesbø doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Blood Ties and was released on September, 26th 2024. It is the newest book in the Kingdom Series.

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