The Snowman by Jo Nesbø

 

The Snowman

by Jo Nesbø

Another procedural thriller/mystery/suspense novel, in the vein of Tana French's In the Woods, The Snowman follows a grizzled detective as he searches for a serial killer whose hallmark is a snowman left at every crime scene.

I admit I picked up this book because the protagonist's name is Harry Hole, and I'm a five-year-old in my head and found that name to be hilarious. It turned out to be a pretty good book. I wouldn't say it was a gripping tale, but it was interesting and had enough twists to keep me reading.

Like Into the Woods, I knew who the killer in The Snowman was almost immediately, but I did not make the connection between the killer and the beginning of the book. The reason for the murders stemmed from that opening scene and it was fun learning about that at the end of the book.

I have to say I am not a real fan of detective-type stories. They always seem to follow the same trope of the alcoholic detective who can't find love, or whatever. Whose whole existence is solving crimes. That said, the twists in the book were good, especially the sidekick twist and the red herrings. The snowman element was interesting, but a little overdone in the end scenes involving it. It seemed farfetched.I don't know that I would read another Harry Hole novel, but I'm not upset to have read this one.

I'm going to give The Snowman 3.5 stars.