Jo Nesbo Books In Order – Complete List of Books

Reading the Jo Nesbø books in order in English means that we can now finally catch up to all 13 detective Harry Hole crime novels (they have finally all been translated to English), the 45 Doctor Proctor kids series, and the author’s four standalone novels.

I am really glad that most of his work has been translated, and hopefully, as the Harry Hole series grows and the author has new works, the books will all get the English update as well.

Here are the Jo Nesbø books in order for his several thriller series and standalone novels.

Latest Jo Nesbo Books

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Harry Hole Book Books in Publication Order

The Inspector Harry Hole novels are listed by the original name,  publication order, chronological reading order, and the English date of first time translation for each book.

1. The Bat (Flaggermusmannen), 1997, translated 2012
2. Cockroaches (Kakerlakkene), 1998, translation 2013
3. The Redbreast (Rødstrupe), 2000, translated 2006
4. Nemesis (Sorgenfri), 2002, translated 2008
5. The Devil’s Star (Marekors), 2003, translated 2005
6. The Redeemer (Frelseren), 2005, translated 2009
7. The Snowman (Snømannen), 2007, translated 2010
8. The Leopard (Panserhjerte), 2009, translated 2011
9. Phantom (Gjenferd), 2011, translated 2012
10. Police (Politi), 2013, translated 2013
11. The Thirst (In Tørst), 2017
12. Knife (Kniv), 2019
13. Killing Moon (Blodmåne), 2023

Harry Hole Books In Chronological Order

The chronological order of the Harry Hole books is the same as the order of publication listed above.

Blood on Snow Books in Publication Order

featuring hitman Olav Johansen, a ruthless, cold-blooded killer with a softer side

1. Blood on Snow, 2015
2. Midnight Sun, 2016

The Kingdom Books in Publication Order

1. The Kingdom, 2020
2. Blood Ties, 2024

Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder Books in Publication Order

1. Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder, 2009
2. Bubble in the Bathtub, 2011 (aka Time-Travel Bath Bomb)
3. Who Cut the Cheese?, 2012 (aka The End of the World. Maybe)
4. The Magical Fruit, 2013 (aka The Great Gold Robbery)
5. Silent, But Deadly Night, 2017 (aka Can Doctor Proctor Save Christmas?)

Standalone Jo Nesbø Books in Publication Order

• Headhunters (Hodejegerne), 2008
• The Son (Sønnen), 2014
• Macbeth, 2018 (in the Hogarth Shakespeare books)
• The Night House, 2023

Short Story Collections in Order of Publication

• The Jealousy Man and Other Stories, 2021

Novellas in Order of Publication

• The Confession, 2021

Jo Nesbo Biography – About the Author

Jo Nesbø is a bestselling Norwegian author best known for his Harry Hole books.

Born in 1960 in Molde, where he also grew up, he attended the Norwegian School of Economics from where he got his degree in Economics and Business Administration.

While he grew up in a family of readers, his first passion in life lay elsewhere: he wanted to become a professional football (soccer) player.

However, his dream, along with his cruciate ligaments, was shattered at the age of 18 after a knee injury. Because of soccer, his grades suffered, so when he finished school, several career paths were closed off to him.

So he instead enrolled in the army spending his next three years not only learning to fight but also learning self-discipline and the high school curriculum. After the daily exercises, he would spend his nights studying.

When he eventually got his high school diploma, it was a piece of paper he could be mightily proud of: his grades were excellent.

Sometimes when suddenly many doors open up in front of you, the choices are overwhelming and you can choose to go through the wrong door. This is what Jo experienced as well.

He was not sure of the career path he wanted to follow, so he enrolled in a prestigious school with a long, established tradition in Bergen. But when you are not fully committed to the path in front of you, distractions will happen.

While still studying, he became part of a band of rock musicians called De Tusen Hjem. He was the band’s guitarist.

After graduating from the university with a diploma in BA, he moved to Oslo where he started working in finance as a stockbroker, writing songs by the side.  Someone heard his compositions and offered him the opportunity to start a new band together.

The band they created was called Di Derre, a Norwegian rock band, where he was the main vocalist, a rock star, which turned out to become quite popular in Norway.

Working a regular job during the day, Jo Nesbø was playing during the night. He would not commit to ditching his daytime job because it was one thing to play as a part-time hobby and another to fully commit to it, which might mean becoming burned out.

And eventually, he got burned out by everything in Jo Nesbo’s life, so he decided to take a sabbatical and moved for a while to Australia. While on the plane, he started working on his very first novel, which would become his first Harry Hole book as well.

When he returned from Australia, the book was almost done. After he finished writing it, he sent it to a publisher under a pseudonym, since his name was pretty well known in Norway.

The first Jo Nesbo book was published in 1997 under The Bat. It soon won two awards, the 1997 Riverton Prize for Best Norwegian Crime Novel and the 1997 Glass Key for Best Nordic Crime Novel.

In 1998 Jo moved to Bangkok for a while, where he worked on his second book called Cockroaches. And so a new famous novel star, Jo Nesbo’s main character, Harry Hole, was born.

In 2011 the movie Headhunters based on the book of the same name became and is still the highest-grossing Norwegian film of all time.

In October 2017, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, and Charlotte Gainsbourg starred in a film adaption of The Snowman, the 7th of the Harry Hole books.

Macbeth, published in 2018, the author’s rendition of the Shakespearean story is a bloody crime noir. In an interview, the author himself mentioned that the book is a “thriller about the struggle for power” taking place “in a gloomy, stormy crime noir-like setting and a dark, paranoid human mind.”

Jo Nesbo’s story is still set in Scotland, as per the original Shakespeare, but the time setting is different. The Jo Nesbø Macbeth novel is set in the early 1970s instead of the 11th Century.

Overall, Jo Nesbø wears many different hats, including that of an author, musician, economist, reporter, former soccer player, and lately also TV producer. In addition, he also wrote novels, including Blood on Snow, under his pseudonym Tom Johansen. Later editions of these books, including the audio books, were published under his own name.

Jo Nesbo Books Adapted into Movies and TV Series

Currently, the following Jo Nesbo novels have been turned or will be adapted into movies and TV series:

• Headhunters was adapted into a Norwegian film in 2011 with Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Synnøve Macody Lund as main characters
• The Snowman was adapted into a movie in 2017 with Michael Fassbender as Harry Hole
• The Jealousy Man short story was adapted into the movie Killer Heat in 2024 featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, and Richard Madden as main stars
• The Harry Hole series is being brought to the screen as a Netflix TV series with a personal adaptation by Jo Nesbo himself. It is based on the series’ fifth book, The Devil’s Star. The series has a release date of 2026.

Jo Nesbo Awards and Nominations

1. The Bat – The Riverton Prize 1997 for Best Norwegian Crime Novel of the Year
2. The Bat – The Glass Key Award 1998 for Best Nordic Crime Novel of the Year
3. The Redbreast – The Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize for Best Novel of the Year 2000
4. Nemesis – The Mads Wiel Nygaard Bursary 2002
5. The Redbreast – Best Norwegian Crime Novel Ever Written awarded by the Norwegian book clubs in 2004
6. The Devil’s Star – The Finnish Academy of Crime Writers’ Special Commendation 2007 for Excellence in Foreign Crime Writing
7. The Redbreast – Shortlisted for Duncan Lawrie International Dagger 2007
8. The Snowman – The Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize for Best Novel of the Year 2007
9. Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder – Shortlisted for Ark’s Children’s Book Award for Best Children’s Book 2007
10. The Snowman – The Norwegian Book Club Prize 2008 for Best Novel of the Year
11. Headhunters and Doctor Proctor’s Time Bathtub – Nominated for the Norwegian Bookseller’s Prize 2008
12. Nemesis – Nominated for the Edgar Award 2010
13. Awarded the Norwegian Peer Gynt Prize 2013