The Snowman

Sometimes I wonder about the writers who think up this kind of plot. Do they hate women? Or just find them good victims for mystery stories? Are there that many twisted people in the world, and if so, is one of them the author?

Harry Hole finds himself enmeshed in another serial killer case when multiple abductions are seen as a pattern. Nesbo gives us the usual twists and turns and incorrect identifications, but this time, even more than in other ooks of his, I was screaming at Harry to see what was directly in front of him. Lots of hints that turn out to b e true, but... An enjoyable, almost compulsive read, if you don't mind being scared.

"What is worse? Taking the life of a person who wants to live or taking death from a person who wants to die?"

I don’t know what’s scarier in this book, the Snowman or reading about George W Bush getting re-elected! But, this is a damn good book! Harry Hole believes that he is on the trail of a serial killer, but who is the Snowman? Jo Nesbo takes us on quite a journey to that end, with enough twists and turns to have kept me guessing, and being wrong, multiple times! It's my first book by him, but will not be my last!

The Snowman is the 5th book to be translated from Norwegian in the Detective Inspector Harry Hole series.

Jo Nesbo’s Norwegian police procedurals are hard to describe. On the surface, they’re incredibly formulaic, and in this one, I figured out who the murderer was 173 pages before the end. But did this stop me from feeling as if I were on a wild ride from start to finish? No way! Nesbo is very good at creating suspense, and I love the persona of his detective, Inspector Harry Hole.

Nesbo writes the kind of book that leads me to go back and re-read parts, because I race through much too fast to find out what will happen so I can get my heart out of my throat.

Harry Hole is a forty-year-old inspector with the crime squad of the Oslo show more Police Headquarters. Other officers regard Harry as “a self-willed, arrogant, argumentative, unstable alcoholic.” He himself agrees he has a “difficult temperament” and is a lone wolf. We, the readers, however, know Harry to be more than that: not only does he have exceptional powers of analysis and intuition, but he is a thoughtful, good, and passionate man in the grip of boundless fears and obsessions against which he must constantly struggle. He is not only addicted to alcohol, but to the thrill that comes when he gets close to solving a murder case:

"Harry could feel the adrenaline rush, the trembling that always came when he got first scent of the brute. And after the rush came to Great Obsession. Which was everything at once: love and intoxication, blindness and clear-sightedness, meaning and madness. …it helped him, drove him, fueled the job he was appointed to perform.”

He has a moral decency that most of his colleagues don’t acknowledge, focused as they are on Harry’s tendency to plunge into the abyss from time to time. And he blames himself and takes it hard when a murder is committed; he feels it could have been prevented if only he had been better at doing his job.

Currently, Hole is struggling to accept the new relationship of his ex-girlfriend Rakel, who is seeing a doctor, Mathias Lund-Helgesen, a friendly man who seems to be the polar opposite of Harry. Rakel’s son Oleg still thinks of Harry as his “dad” so Rakel encourages Harry to do activities with him. Harry has a gentle affection for Oleg that adds a very warm and touching element to the story. But seeing Oleg just keeps Rakel in Harry’s life and makes it more difficult for him to get over her.

At work, Harry is investigating a spate of missing women. There is always a rather frightening looking snowman left at the scene of the [presumed] crime. His team includes a new (and attractive) officer, Katrine Bratt, who was previously at the Bergen Police HQ; a repulsive sexist who is however a good police officer, Magnus Skarre; and the quirky but talented Bjorn Holm from the Forensics Unit. Harry chases down one possibility after another with no luck. The bodies keep piling up, and Harry himself is in extreme danger.

Evaluation: This author is so good! Opening one of his books is like strapping into a roller coaster and starting that long climb up the steep hill. And then whoosh – off you go racing up and down in the flimsy cars that toss you about, and you want to close your eyes but you can’t because you might miss something, and you’re very scared but you’re loving every minute of it!

And for those of you who are into psychological explorations, Harry Hole has enough existential angst for the biggest fans of depth and gravitas in a mystery. Questions about life and death? Harry is pondering them all the time, just before succumbing to the bottle after a particularly unappealing answer.... But when he's not morose and gloomy, he's occasionally warm, often sexy, and always intellectually exciting. Can't help lovin' that man. show less

I just finished reading this the night before the movie adaptation premiered on HBO and I am soooo glad I read it first. I dont think I would have understood the film without it. Honestly, they should have turned this into a limited series. There was just so much detail and characterization and just plot that the movie epically failed to put forth. Such a shame. This was the first Harry Hole novel I've read. It won't be the last.I really liked Nesbo's way of dropping bread crumbs to the discovery of the killer. Not my usual type of read but glad I took a chance.

I will never look at a snowman the same way after reading this terrific, suspenseful mystery/thriller. Oslo detective Harry Hole is on the hunt for a serial killer that, chillingly, leaves a snowman in the yard of their victims. The book starts with a deliciously creepy opening scene and the tension increases from there with several misdirections and red herrings, and builds into an almost unbearably intense climax. It is flawlessly written,and Harry Hole is a fascinating character. Nesbo delivers the goods and honestly, you cannot ask for more out of a thriller than what The Snowman provides.
I have been reading the Harry Hole series of mysteries in order. Redbreast and Nemesis were very solid, the Devil's Star was great, and the show more Redeemer was very good. The Snowman is the best yet. show less

Harry Hole hasn't been in favor at the police department for a while and so he is presented a case of a missing woman to investigate. His team's efforts become tangled when her body is found, and further investigation shows that there is a serial killer who always leaves a snowman at the scene.

The writing is crisp, the story captivating.

Usually I don't like books with serial killers but this story was riveting - well-written with great characters. I may have to investigate others in the series.

Confession: I have a soft spot for Scandinavian crime fiction. I've enjoyed every author I've read (thus far) in this subgenre. I don't know why, as the crimes tend to be gruesome and I'm conflicted about excessive brutality in fiction.

This is my second book by Jo Nesbo and it won't be my last. (The first was Nesbo's MacBeth, which I thoroughly enjoyed.) It's the first one I've read in the well-regarded Harry Hole series set in Oslo, Norway. As is typical in most crime novels, the series centers on a maverick cop with unusual investigative methods, alcoholic tendencies, and few friends.

Inspector Harry Hole is tracking a brutal serial killer. The killer is targeting women, decapitating them, and making their heads part of a macabre show more snowman. (Makes me hesitant to make a snowman!) At the same time, Hole is dealing with his ex's newly-announced engagement, mourning the death of a former colleague, and training a quick-witted (but possibly disturbed) young female investigator.

As Harry soon realizes, similar killings have happened each year on the day of the first snowfall. Just as importantly, the killings seemed designed to grab Harry's attention; the detective is the only investigator on the Oslo force to have caught a serial killer before. Harry suspects (though his superiors are skeptical) that the killer wants to force the infamous detective to play in his deadly game. Then the killer starts changing the rules.

As I noted, the violence in The Snowman is gruesome.

I'm conflicted on this point.
Elsewhere, I've written about whether descriptions of violence in fiction is dehumanizing and voyeuristic. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2674797519

For me, it helps when the victims have been developed as characters before their murder. So we read about their fears, their indiscretions, and, at one point, an attempt to flee their killer. This is either voyeuristic (a common complaint in the negative reviews of this book) or humanizing. At least they aren't seen exclusively as victims and only after their degrading deaths. I'm ambivalent, though, as to whether this is wishful thinking on my part.

Really what made the violence bearable to me was Harry. He's a man who is "afraid of his own humanity,"--to quote his old boss--but at points it surfaces. Then we see a hurt, vulnerable man who loves fiercely and longs for deep relationships. He has connected with his ex's teen son Oleg, who reminds him, I think, of himself at that age; his ex's engagement to another man threatens the tentative relationship between Harry and Oleg.

In one heart-wrenching scene, Harry awakens the young son of a missing/presumed dead woman. The boy calls out for his mommy. Nesbo writes,

Harry was completely unprepared for his own reaction. Perhaps it was because he was thinking of Oleg. Or perhaps because he was thinking of himself when once, as a boy, he woke up, thinking she (his mother) was still alive, and charged into his parents' bedroom in Oppsal and saw the double bed with the duvet removed from one side.
Harry was unable to stem the flow of tears that suddenly welled up in his eyes, filling them until Jonas' face blurred before him, and they ran down his cheeks, leaving hot trails before finding grooves that led them to the corners of his mouth and Harry became aware of his own salty taste. pg. 268

It's passages like this that balance out the horrific nature of the crimes. For some people, it may not be enough. Well developed characters. Great plot twists. Enough red herrings for a fish fry. I recommend it to fans of crime fiction. Because of my conflicted response to the violence, I'm giving it 3.5 stars. show less