The Snowman (Harry Hole Series)

January 22, 2019 A Review by Anthony T. Riggio of the book The Snowman by Jo Nesbo 1-20-19 I purchased this book on Amazon based on a recommendation by a friend. It was a thriller mystery involving a serial killer in Norway. The book says it is “soon to be a major motion picture”. After reading this book I hope to see this movie to see how close it is to the book it will be. The book would have been a fast read but the Scandinavian names were a bit of a hurdle and the lack of experience with their nomenclatures and street names were a distraction for me. The book was a little slow going at the beginning as too much time was spent on character development. However, once you got over these small issue, the characters and story line began to flow more easily for the American reader. The issue of serial killers is not unique to the United States but it was apparent that in Norway they have no central data base for violent crime as we have here in the United States. In fact the main character and respected detective had garnered his view of serial crimes from his attendance at the FBI's National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. That a serial crime of murder is rare in some countries, the reality is that many countries do not have the capacity to effectively deal with these types of crimes. With the easy travel in Europe, I would hope there is some version of the FBI's VICAP data base where all violent crimes throughout the United States are fed into a common data base. The protagonist in this book is an Inspector of the Police (again, the pronunciations of the Police and their affiliates are impossible to pronounce that you have to struggle to remember) whose name is Harry Hole, and his personal life is a mess, divorced, living alone and a former alcoholic. His reputation as a detective is heralded and his investigative skills are predicated on his incredible perceptive sense of knowing and concluding. This often defies normal deductive reasoning but he is always right. This talent leaves his colleagues in total wonderment. The underlining reason for the instant serial killer's motivation is based on genetics and the reader has to figure out a lot of disease terminologies and the undercurrent for Scandinavian promiscuity, especially among the female gender. The book at some point, becomes compelling and obsessive to the reader, once the overriding plot and characters are fully developed. The book presents many twists and turns and great suspensions and unexpected surprises. I have to say that the author, creates a very readable story once you overcome the names and the incredible intuitive power of Harry Hole. Once the identity of the actual killer is revealed the actions against Harry Hole are fully understandable and may surprise the reader. I purchased this book through Amazon and and give it five stars out of five because of the compelling story and numerous surprises. I unhesitatingly recommend this book to all those who are fascinated by the workings of the criminal mind bent on killing to achieve their goals.

The main character of this book is a man you want to get to know and spend some time with. He's shrewd and savvy with a checkered past and a strong inner voice compelling him to do what's right. His name is Harry, he's a detective in Oslo Norway and his compelling personality adds a lot of entertainment to this book. The plot is also packed with suspense and true to its genre- there are twists, turns, false leads, crime scenes, layers of mystery and action. The basic premises of this book revolves around Harry and his partner Katrine tracking down a demented serial killer. Once the characters are in place, the book takes off. In fact the second half of the book is non stop at times. In short, this is an excellent book for those who enjoy fast paced mystery/thrillers. It predictable but a completely satisfying read and certainly adds to the reason for the growing popularity of Scandinavian crime literature .

Another serial murder mystery by a Scandinavian author, this time a Norwegian, and Detective Harry Hole takes us through a labyrinth of Norse names and Oslo places before this 454 page novel winds to a climactic end. Actually I counted about four climaxes before the final one. There's no Girl with a Dragon Tattoo in this one, no journalist Mikael Blomkvist, and no Stieg Larsson stringing out the plot and fleshing out the characters, but there is a detective Harry Hole known for being the only Norwegian who worked on a serial murder case, and there is the most unlikely object of horror, the eponymous Snowman, whose appearance after a snowfall presages the downfall of another innocent victim. If you've read or seen any of Larsson's Millennium Trilogy and enjoyed them, you will be delighted to find Jo Nesbø, unlike Larsson, is still alive and kicking out marvelous mystery novels, like The Snowman, the one Sara saw when she looked out the window of her bedroom. [page 6] Sara pulled herself up onto her knees. Got up and looked into the garden. And there, there was the face. She laughed out loud with relief. The face was white, with eyes and a mouth made with black pebbles, probably from the drive. And arms made from twigs off the apple trees. "Heavens," she gasped. "It's only a snowman." "Only a snowman" -- those words will never be repeated again in the course of and the curses of this novel. . . . This novel is a book gripper, so if you're reading on a Kindle, be careful not to break the delicate screen. Don't start it unless you have a day or two ahead with nothing planned. I would not want an air traffic controller to start this book one night before going to work on the graveyard shift and not be able to think of anything but whether the latest strawman is the Snowman. Or whether Harry is going down the hole as a scapegoat on this escapade. Or whether Rakel, his main squeeze, will survive her turn on the E-Ticket Snowman Ride. It's all in here. Don't do as I did with Stieg Larsson's book and wait for the movie. This book is by far more interesting and more fun than any movie. And its movie, when it inevitably arrives, will be more interesting if you have first suffered through the enjoyment of the book. The remainder of my review can be found in DIGESTWORLD ISSUE#118 by Bobby Matherne

Loved this read. Jo Nesbo has easily become one of my favourite authors. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me THREE times?? Well done, Jo.

In his fifth novel starring Oslo police inspector Harry Hole and his fellow officers, author Jo Nesbo provides a complete surprise. The Snowman is more than a mystery, containing an element of horror that may soon make this his most popular novel among English speaking audiences, a breakthrough novel which may finally put to rest the misperception that the Norwegian Nesbo is some kind of "successor" to the Swedish Stieg Larsson. It takes nothing away from Larsson and his terrific Millenium trilogy to say that Nesbo is a more versatile and more polished writer who has now written sixteen novels since 1997, including three children's novels, all of them big successes in Scandinavia. He has received eight major prizes for his work and four "shortlist" nominations. If you enjoy tantalizing mysteries in the "Nordic Noir" genre and have not yet discovered Nesbo, I guarantee that when you do, you will not ever compare him to any other Scandinavian writer. The novel opens dramatically in 1980, as Sara, a young mother with her son in the car, makes a stop at the home of her lover for a last goodbye. Their love-making is observed by a snowman who looms at the window, and Sara's young son, waiting in the car, believes that they are all going to die. Nothing more is heard about this episode, but in 1992, a terrible murder and dismemberment takes place on top of a mountain in Bergen, the first of the disappearances/murders by a serial killer who strikes on the first day of snow each year from 1992 - 2004. Each crime is witnessed by a snowman who appears at the murder scene. Police inspector Harry Hole, in charge of the investigation, is soon being taunted by the snowman whose sole purpose seems to be to suggest that innocent people are behind the crimes. In the midst of all the turmoil involving the disappearances and the effects on the distraught families, Harry, an alcoholic, is trying, sometimes unsuccessfully, to stay on the straight and narrow. His long-time love, Rakel, has found peace with a new lover, and her relationship with Harry seems to be over. Other characters from past novels also appear here. Beate Lonn, an expert on facial recognition, is now caring for her baby son, born after the death of Halvorsen, who was her lover and Harry's partner. The obnoxious Magnus Skarre is still making Harry's life miserable. And a new female recruit, Katrine Bratt, is introduced and impresses Harry with her diligence and intelligence. It is impossible to describe the complexity and cleverness of this plot without risking spoilers, and the novel is too much fun to read to risk that. Suffice it to say, the novel is detailed and intelligent, and will keep even the most jaded mystery lover intrigued and wanting to see how it is all resolved. Medical mysteries run parallel with the murders, old mysteries from the cold case files get dredged up and investigated, characters are not who they appear to be, and who the snowman is and exactly how he is able to pull off his crimes with the whole country watching all keep the reader on tenterhooks. When the last little piece finally falls into place at the end, every detail in the novel suddenly makes sense--and provides a satisfying sense of finality to this challenging case. A non-stop thriller that may very well keep you up reading till the wee hours--and great fun! Mary Whipple

Good book, exciting story

La storia è in pieno stile Jo Nesbo. Tanti colpi di scena, e un Ispettore Hole sempre molto sensibile. Difficile interrompere la lettura, anche in inglese. Non so se questo sia il primo romanzo della serie, ma so che è stato il quarto romanzo che ho acquistato di questo autore. Ho il quinto da iniziare quindi un saluto e buona lettura.

I was quite fascinated with the plot. Jo Nesbo delivers once again.