Killing Moon

About the Author Jo Nesbo is one of the world’s bestselling crime writers. When commissioned to write a memoir about life on the road with his band, Di Derre, he instead came up with the plot for his first Harry Hole crime novel, The Bat. His books The Leopard, Phantom, Police, The Son, The Thirst, Macbeth and Knife have all since topped the Sunday Times charts. He’s an international number one bestseller and his books are published in 50 languages, selling over 55 million copies around the world. Sign up to the Jo Nesbo newsletter for all the latest news: jonesbo.com/newsletter Seán Kinsella holds an MPhil in literary translation from Trinity College Dublin. His translations have been longlisted for both the Best Translated Book Award and International Dublin Literary Award. He lives in Norway. ALSO BY JO NESBO HARRY HOLE THRILLERS The Bat Cockroaches The Redbreast Nemesis The Devil’s Star The Redeemer The Snowman The Leopard Phantom Police The Thirst Knife STANDALONE BOOKS Headhunters The Son Blood on Snow Midnight Sun Macbeth The Kingdom The Night House (September 2023) STORIES The Jealousy Man Jo Nesbo KILLING MOON Translated from the Norwegian by Seán Kinsella Contents COVER ABOUT THE AUTHOR BY THE SAME AUTHOR TITLE PAGE EPIGRAPH PROLOGUE 1: FRIDAY 2: FRIDAY 3: SATURDAY 4: SATURDAY 5: SATURDAY 6: SATURDAY 7: SUNDAY 8: SUNDAY 9: MONDAY 10: MONDAY 11: MONDAY 12: MONDAY 13: MONDAY 14: MONDAY 15: TUESDAY 16: TUESDAY 17: TUESDAY 18: TUESDAY 19: TUESDAY 20: WEDNESDAY 21: WEDNESDAY 22: THURSDAY 23: FRIDAY 24: FRIDAY 25: FRIDAY 26: FRIDAY 27: SATURDAY 28: SATURDAY 29: SATURDAY 30: SUNDAY 31: SUNDAY 32: SUNDAY 33: MONDAY 34: MONDAY 35: TUESDAY 36: WEDNESDAY 37: WEDNESDAY 38: THURSDAY 39: THURSDAY 40: THURSDAY 41: THURSDAY 42: FRIDAY 43: FRIDAY 44: FRIDAY 45: FRIDAY 46: FRIDAY 47: FRIDAY 48: FRIDAY 49: FRIDAY 50: FRIDAY 51: FRIDAY 52: FRIDAY 53: FRIDAY 54: THURSDAY COPYRIGHT 490 ii v 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. Book of Joel 2:31 Prologue ‘OSLO,’ THE MAN SAID, RAISING the glass of whiskey to his lips. ‘That’s the place you love the most?’ Lucille asked. He stared ahead, seeming to think about his answer before he nodded. She studied him while he drank. He was tall; even sitting down on the bar stool next to her he towered above her. He had to be at least ten, maybe twenty years younger than her seventy-two; it was hard to tell with alcoholics. His face and body seemed carved from wood, lean, pure and rigid. His skin was pale, a fine mesh of blue veins visible on his nose, which together with bloodshot eyes, the irises the colour of faded denim, suggested he had lived hard. Drunk hard. Fallen hard. And loved hard too, perhaps, for during the month he had become a regular at Creatures she had glimpsed a hurt in his eyes. Like that of a beaten dog, kicked out of the pack, always