I really like Jo Nesbo's thrillers, and 'Phantom' is no exception. The author has a knack for building suspense and limiting unnecessary fluff so that the pace doesn't get bogged down. Harry Hole is about as flawed a character as they come--any more flawed, and I might not care about him. But Nesbo gives the ex-cop enough positive traits to make you root for him, especially his loyalty to his loved ones and his driving need for justice, even at his own peril. 
 Nesbo captures the drug world of Oslo, a world I know nothing about, and yet from his descriptions, I felt as though I were there. He does a great job of planting clues and foreshadowing that you didn't realize were significant until after the fact. The reason I gave the four stars instead of five stars is because at times, the writing seemed choppy--which might have been due to translation problems--and because part of the story is told from the viewpoint of a dead man. That isn't a spoiler since the first chapter is in the voice of this dying character. It seemed a bit of a shortcut to narrate from this perspective, and I found myself not as interested in those passages. I preferred the passages by characters in the here and now. 
 But all in all, a good read. I look forward to going back to the first Harry Hole novel, 'The Bat,' now that it's been translated to English.