I would say if you haven't read any books in the Harry Hole series, take a gamble and risk a bit of time and energy on THE BAT. I'm not really sure why the first two books are set outside of the intended long term atmosphere of the series, but it works well for me so far, and even though everyone and their mother has told me to skip COCKROACHES, I'll be reading it solely just to gain whatever information there is to glean from it. The mystery kept me guessing and I did not have any of it figured out prior to the reveals, which was a nice change of pace. I really appreciated the severely flawed nature of Harry and his past which has shaped who he has become up until this point. The overall feel of the story reminded me a bit of Ragnar Jonasson's Dark Iceland series, except the setting was drastically warmer.
While I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I've not experienced this character or series before, I actually loved THE BAT! Perhaps it was having the opportunity to learn Hole's backstory and read the books in their intended order, or maybe simply the fact that I don't know any differently, but I was in the mood for a slow burning police procedural and that's exactly what I got.
I know that the first two Harry Hole books are generally the least popular of the series, but I couldn't be persuaded to jump in at book three and altered my expectations accordingly.
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