Wolf Hour Summary By Chapter | Jo Nesbø

Chapter 15: Taxidermy, October 2016

Bob visits taxidermist Mike Lunde after finding his card in Gomez’s apartment. Lunde admits knowing Gomez and recounts the tragic story of Gomez’s family killed in a 1986 gang shootout at a McDonald’s.

Lunde expresses sympathy for Gomez, claiming he was a “good man” driven mad by loneliness. Bob suspects Gomez joined a gang to seek revenge for his family.

Chapter 16: Alice, October 2016

Kay Myers watches a painter (later revealed as Lunde in disguise) working in the Homicide office. Superintendent Walker suspends Bob and takes his badge and car keys due to the Tony Stärk assault.

Bob pays $2,300 in fines to get his own car from the impound yard. He watches Alice from a distance at her clinic.

Chapter 17: Amigo, October 2016

Bob uses his old “lost” ID to perform a fake arrest on a drug dealer in Phillips. He bribes the man for information on “Lobo,” a legendary gang killer from the 90s matching Gomez’s description. The dealer reveals Lobo was so “loco” and disciplined that gangs eventually threw him out.

Chapter 18: Milkman, October 2016

Hanson goes fishing to escape his wife and receives a call from “Die Man,” a gang leader from his corrupt past. Die Man orders Hanson (whom he calls “Milkman”) to kill Lobo before police can interrogate him.

Hanson, who used to take bribes to destroy evidence, realizes his past has returned to haunt him.

Chapter 19: Four Hundred Yards, October 2016

The killer (Mike Lunde) visits a shooting range to practice height-adjusted shots from 400 yards. He uses the name “Tomás” accidentally but isn’t suspected.

He shoots with high accuracy, visualizing the face of Cody Karlstad. He nearly panics when a police officer runs after him, but the officer is only returning a forgotten target.

Chapter 20: The Eyes, October 2016

Bob returns to Lunde’s taxidermy shop to discuss the technical details of the trade, specifically the importance of the eyes.

Lunde explains “idealisation” in taxidermy—creating a story rather than mere resemblance. They discuss the unbearable nature of loneliness. Bob installs a recording app on Mike’s phone to capture any calls from “Gomez.”

Chapter 21: Southdale Mall, September 2022

Holger visits Southdale Mall, the first of its kind, and reflects on its history as a “parasite” that destroyed downtown centers. He speaks with striking nurses about the 2016 murder that occurred in the parking lot.

He immerses himself in the “warm cacophony” of the mall, searching for the air of his childhood.

Chapter 22: The Desert, October 2016

The killer observes Cody Karlstad at the Southdale Mall parking lot, which he views as a “desert.” He marks Karlstad’s truck windshield with a white tape square to act as a target. He notes Karlstad is a creature of habit who parks in the same spot daily to buy chewing gum.

Chapter 23: Wheel of Fortune, October 2016

Bob attempts to find Liza at Bernie’s Bar, but she’s home with her sick son. In desperation, he calls several women from his contacts, eventually reaching “Dory Anvil,” whose husband Tony he beat up.

He hears a radio debate featuring Mayor Kevin Patterson, a vocal Second Amendment supporter.

Chapter 24: Recoil, October 2016

Lunde waits on a parking garage roof across from Southdale Mall. As Cody Karlstad enters his truck and fastens his seatbelt, Lunde fires two shots through the white tape square on the windshield. Karlstad dies instantly, his body shaking briefly before falling still.

Chapter 25: Night-Vision, October 2016

Hanson learns of the Southdale shooting and tries to take the case before Kay Myers arrives. Bob also arrives, called by Kay despite his suspension.

Bob checks the parking garage CCTV and finds a clear image of the suspect (Gomez). He sends the picture to all patrol cars in the city.

Chapter 26: Skyways I, October 2016

Hanson uses the “coupon system”—favors among corrupt cops—to get a twenty-minute head start on the investigation at Track Plaza, where Gomez was spotted.

Bob and Kay discuss victim Cody Karlstad, an NRA spokesman and friend of Mayor Patterson. Kay realizes Bob’s intuition remains sharp even while drunk.

Chapter 27: Skyways II, October 2016

The killer walks through Dayton’s department store, carrying his rifle wrapped in bubble wrap. He spots Hanson pursuing him and ducks into a men’s room at Track Plaza, leaving an “Out of Order” sign on the door. Hanson prepares to shoot Gomez in an elevator where there are no cameras.

Chapter 28: Skyways III, October 2016

Bob realizes the suspect is “playing cat and mouse” with a plan. SWAT raids the restroom but finds only bubble wrap and an insulin syringe—the suspect has vanished.

Bob points out the open ventilation shaft fan. O’Rourke crawls through and realizes the suspect escaped into a deserted yard.

Chapter 29: Feeling Minnesota, October 2016

Bob and Kay drink at a sports bar, discussing the suspect’s apparent military-level training. Bob reveals he found a 400-yard target from a professional range in the bubble wrap.

Kay shares her childhood trauma in Englewood and how her mother’s gun made her feel safe. Bob, drunk and soaked, returns to Lunde’s taxidermy shop for shelter.

Chapter 30: Death Penalty, October 2016

Bob dries his clothes at Mike Lunde’s shop as they discuss capital punishment. Bob confesses the true story of his daughter Frankie’s death: she found his service pistol in a bedside drawer and accidentally shot herself.

Bob admits he and Alice were pulled down by a “millstone of grief” that destroyed their marriage. Mike drives Bob home, noting they are both “frozen” by memories.

Chapter 31: The Great Equaliser, October 2016

Hanson encounters his drug-addicted son Sean, who has stolen Hanson’s revolver. The killer reflects on his torture of “Lobo,” who confessed that Hanson (the “Milkman”) was in Die Man’s pocket. The killer views his crusade as protest against the “mechanical” chain of gun violence. He prepares for his plan’s final stage.

Chapter 32: The Password, October 2016

Bob wakes and heads to Bernie’s Bar for Wi-Fi. He gives Liza his daughter’s Radica 20Q toy as a bribe for the staff password. They discuss his search for “Perez,” a 1995 homicide case.

Bob realizes the suspect intentionally left the restroom stall unlocked—he wants to be caught.

Chapter 33: Porn, October 2016

The killer scouts US Bank Stadium, visualizing Mayor Patterson’s assassination during the NRA conference. Walker meets with Kay, hinting she’s being considered for his job if she doesn’t “mess up.”

They receive a report that Gomez has been seen at the Rialto, a pornographic movie theater.

Chapter 34: Orange, October 2016

The Joint Terrorism Task Force takes over the case, grading the threat “orange.” The FBI puts Hanson in charge of the Homicide end. Bob visits Mike Lunde’s shop but finds it locked. He speaks to Alice, who tells him she’s pregnant with another man’s child. Mike calls Bob, claiming “Gomez” just contacted him from a payphone.

Chapter 35: Target, October 2016

Kay investigates the shooting range where the target originated. She finds a white man, not a Latino, was practicing with the M24. Instructor Jim remembers the man specifically because of the 400-yard adjustment. Kay receives a tip about a sighting in Cedar Creek but is delayed by a torrential rainstorm.

Chapter 36: McDeath, October 2016

Bob meets Mike at a McDonald’s—nicknamed “McDeath”—where Mike’s family was killed in 1986. Mike plays a recording of “Gomez” calling him, but Bob begins suspecting Mike is calculatingly warning the suspect. Mike explains the man he is today is just a “ghost” of the person who survived the massacre.

Chapter 37: A Desolate Place, September 2022

Holger Rudi visits the Mindekirken and speaks with a priest who remembers his uncle. The priest dismisses Holger’s cousin as a “poor misguided soul.” Holger reflects on the nature of truth and why he could never have been a priest.

Chapter 38: The Rage of Abandonment, October 2016

Bob visits Alice to sign house papers and asks her to explain the “rage of abandonment” in psychological terms. Alice confirms her pregnancy, and they share a bittersweet goodbye. Bob feels “relief” that one life returns to the world, even if it isn’t his.

Chapter 39: Fish, October 2016

A janitor at the Rialto finds a man dead in the theater—”Die Man,” killed by a pufferfish poison needle. Bob drives Liza home, and she lets him see her sleeping son.

She calls him a “sheep in wolf’s clothing.” Meanwhile, the killer confronts Olav Hanson by the river, revealing he knows Hanson protected the men who killed his family. The killer shoots Hanson as he tries to draw his gun.

Chapter 40: Gated Community, October 2016

Hanson’s headless body is found mounted on a “Pegasus” sculpture in a park. At US Bank Stadium, Walker notices a pufferfish hanging from a mast. Bob reads the 1986 “McDeath” report and realizes the surviving father’s name was Mike Lunde.

Chapter 41: White, October 2016

The shooting range instructor calls Kay’s desk; Joe Kjos takes the message that the suspect was white. Bob frantically calls Kari to get Mike Lunde’s home address, realizing Lunde has been telling Bob his own story as if it were Gomez’s.

Chapter 42: The House of Horrors, October 2016

Kay visits Lunde’s studio in Cedar Creek forest. She breaks in and finds a gallery of “rogue taxidermy,” including a fox sawing itself in half. Inside a locked booth, she finds the flayed, frozen body of the real Tomás Gomez sitting in a chair with his stuffed cat.

Chapter 43: Lobo, October 2016

Walker learns from Marco Dante that Gomez was “Lobo” and had strange stitches on his hands. JTTF prepares for Patterson’s speech at the stadium.

Chapter 44: Cat, October 2016

Bob arrives at Mike Lunde’s house and meets his sister Emily. He searches Mike’s room and finds a realistic face mask of Tomás Gomez and gloves made of human skin with Lobo’s star tattoo. Bob realizes Lunde didn’t escape through the vent—he simply took off the mask and walked out.

Chapter 45: Portrait, October 2016

Emily Lunde tells Bob that Mike is “unveiling his masterpiece” today. Bob finds Mike’s antidepressants untouched, explaining his deteriorating mental state.

Bob races to the city, realizing Lunde’s target isn’t the Mayor at the stadium but the Mayor’s family at the taxidermy shop.

Chapter 46: Enter, October 2016

At the stadium, JTTF is alerted to a suspicious man entering a private box. Springer orders SWAT to move in while the Mayor prepares his speech.

Chapter 47: Red Light, October 2016

Bob calls Kay and explains Mike Lunde’s disguise. They realize JTTF is looking for a “Latino” who no longer exists. Bob stops at a red light, deciding whether to go to the stadium or the shop.

Chapter 48: A Beer Outdoors, October 2016

SWAT raids the stadium box but finds only the stadium janitor having a beer. Walker tells the Mayor the suspect is Mike Lunde. The Mayor realizes he’s in danger and demands more information.

Chapter 49: The Masterpiece, October 2016

Jill Patterson and her children arrive at the taxidermy shop to pick up their stuffed dog, Quentin. Mike reveals his rifle and tells them politicians like Kevin Patterson are responsible for putting guns in the hands of his family’s killers. He raises the rifle to his cheek, preparing to execute them.

Chapter 50: Hector, October 2016

Bodyguards Hector and Gerard realize the danger and attempt to storm the shop. Mike shoots Hector in the shoulder as he enters. Gerard pulls Hector to safety and calls for backup.

Chapter 51: Message, October 2016

Bob arrives at the shop and enters unarmed to talk to Mike. Mike explains he doesn’t actually want to kill the family—he only wanted them to feel the possibility of death as a message. Mike lets Bob cut the hostages loose, and they escape with the stuffed dog. Mike confesses he tortured the real Gomez to find everyone involved in his family’s death.

Chapter 52: Kentucky Fried, October 2016

Liza watches the hostage drama on news, praying for Bob’s survival. Kay argues with Springer, who wants to kill Mike Lunde to prevent broadcasting his political message. O’Rourke refuses to risk Bob’s life.

Chapter 53: Hunting Trophy, October 2016

Mike tells Bob he has already “stuffed” Detective Hanson and displayed him in the park. Mike points the rifle at his own chin and asks Bob to help pull the trigger because it’s “too hard” alone.

Bob, thinking of his daughter Frankie, places his thumb on the trigger with Mike. They fire together. Bob exits as SWAT swarms in.

Chapter 54: Hero, October 2016

Walker treats Bob as a hero, but Bob refuses media interviews. A young reporter from the Star Tribune tells Bob he has a small window of power to change the world. Bob reflects that the world needs “naive optimists” more than “resigned realists” like himself.

Chapter 55: Cashmere, October 2016

Walker rescinds Bob’s suspension. Alice gives birth to a healthy baby girl. Bob begins a relationship with Liza, sharing a meal and laugh as they drive into their new life.

Chapter 56: Departure, September 2022

Holger Rudi meets the modern Bob Oz in 2022. Bob is retired, works in tech security, and has a two-year-old son with Liza. They reflect on Mike Lunde’s story—how a good man became a monster.

Holger decides fiction is truer than fact, and he will tell Mike’s story to give it meaning.

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