The Bat
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Our view
“The Bat” introduces Harry Hole in a crime novel that keeps its plot within believable bounds and still manages to surprise. Nesbø threads the investigation with stories from the cultures his detective meets along the way, which some readers count as its chief pleasure. Others find the opening dull enough to put the book down; it matters most to those who want to follow the series from its very first case.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Bat is a 1997 crime novel by Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø, the first in the Harry Hole series.
Reading order · Harry Hole series
Full order & progress →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 6.7 across 295 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 67% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Crime & mystery average of 7.6. That is how 7.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 6.7 | 295 | 100% |
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Crime & mystery — with scores between 7.1 and 7.3, closest to this book.
