Tom Nolan of
Wall Street Journal praised
Knifes "memorable, well-drawn" character and called it "arguably the best entry yet" in the Harry Hole series, writing, "The moral conundrums in "Knife" are Dostoevskian, the surprises are breathtaking, the one-liners are amusing and the suspense is unrelenting."
Publishers Weekly criticized the novel for having an "enormous number of characters, backstories, subplots, and themes" but nonetheless praised its "well-orchestrated" ending. Rob Merrill of the
Associated Press praised the novel's pacing but felt part of its quality was lost in the English translation. ==References==