''Phantom'' is a

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

by Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø, published in 2012. Its Norwegian title, ''Gjenferd'', does not directly translate to "Phantom"; rather to "revenant", a word similar to "ghosts" but specifically meaning "someone who comes back from the dead". ''Phantom'' is the ninth novel featuring crime detective Inspector Harry Hole.

Synopsis

Inspector Harry Hole is returned from his self-imposed exile in Hong Kong when he is told that Oleg, the son of his on-off girlfriend Rakel Fauke, has been arrested for the murder of his flatmate, Gusto. Since Hole has become a

father figure A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal term "father f ...

to Oleg, he comes to Norway to determine the truth about the murder. Meanwhile, an airline pilot is arrested for smuggling heroin, but—thanks to a mole within the

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

police, he is released and is pressured into working more intimately for the

drug dealing The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...

gang. Hole meets an elderly priest who, throughout the novel, gives Harry seemingly random information that ultimately aids him in solving Gusto's murder. Hole discovers that the drug scene in Oslo no longer revolves around heroin, but around a highly-addictive

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. Ther ...

-based drug called violin. He discovers that drug-pushers who deal in violin wear

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

football shirts and, using this clue, manages to obtain a sample. Pretending to be Oleg's lawyer, Hole manages to sneak into his cell to get his side of the story. Hole becomes convinced that the police have the wrong suspect and that Oleg has been arrested to take the heat off the real violin dealers. This theory is seemingly confirmed when Oleg is attacked in his cell moments after Hole leaves. Flashbacks reveal how Oleg, Gusto, and Gusto's foster-sister Irene got involved in the violin trade, and how Irene has been kidnapped by the man who developed violin to use as a

sex slave Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a s ...

. Hole manages to track down and free Irene, then heads to a house which he has discovered is the residence of the mysterious drug lord is residing. He kills a bodyguard before getting trapped in the cellar of the house, which is flooded with water. Using an empty whisky bottle as an air pocket, Hole is able to escape drowning. An object in the drug lord's house gives Hole a hint about his identity, and he realizes that he has unknowingly met him already. He confronts the man in a life-and-death struggle which involves a paradoxical grudging respect and mutual attraction. The encounter also enables Hole to discover who had killed Gusto, and how Gusto himself was related to the drug lord. Hole then confronts Gusto's killer, but before he can be taken in, he shoots and apparently kills Hole.

Translation

As with the previous Harry Hole novels, ''Phantom'' is translated from Norwegian into English by Don Bartlett (http://donb.info/).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom 2011 Norwegian novels 21st-century Norwegian novels Harry Hole (novel series) Norwegian crime novels