The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

Women are being killed in cruel and mysterious ways in Norway.  Baffled, the police send Kaja, a female policewoman, to Hong Kong to talk Inspector Harry Hole into returning to his native land.  Hole is known as the man who captured the most famous Norwegian serial killer, The Snowman.  That investigation cost Hole everything; his career, his love, his hope of being normal.

Still, the lure of Norway and the fact that his father is ill in the hospital, draws Harry home.  He returns to find his former police structure in a turf war with another government agency, and it is unclear which will emerge as the winner.  Whoever is able to track down this newest killer will have a big bump on their side of the scales.

To solve the murders, Harry is forced to travel to Africa, where the murder weapons are originated and where there seems to be a thread necessary to the unraveling of the plot.  He also has to uncover old family secrets that have been hidden for year.  Harry draws on his network of friends and colleagues and the loyalty that those who have worked with him have for this lonely, tortured man.  His team consists of Kaja and his old friend, Bjorn.  Can they solve the murders in time to stop more from occurring?

This is the fourth in the Harry Hole series, and fans of Jo Nesbo will be thrilled.  Nesbo is definitely one of the masters of the thriller now working, and Harry is a character that cannot be forgotten.  The plot twists and turns with the surprises that a Nesbo novel always provides, and the ending is satisfactory.  The reader learns more about Harry's life and what makes him the man he is.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.