The Snowman

A Harry Hole Novel

By: Jo Nesbø, Don Bartlett

Narrated by: Robin Sachs

Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Internationally acclaimed crime writer Jo Nesbø’s antihero police investigator, Harry Hole, is back: in a bone-chilling thriller that will take Hole to the brink of insanity.

Oslo in November. The first snow of the season has fallen. A boy named Jonas wakes in the night to find his mother gone. Out his window, in the cold moonlight, he sees the snowman that inexplicably appeared in the yard earlier in the day. Around its neck is his mother’s pink scarf.

Hole suspects a link between a menacing letter he’s received and the disappearance of Jonas’s mother - and of perhaps a dozen other women, all of whom went missing on the day of a first snowfall. As his investigation deepens, something else emerges: he is becoming a pawn in an increasingly terrifying game whose rules are devised - and constantly revised - by the killer.

Fiercely suspenseful, its characters brilliantly realized, its atmosphere permeated with evil, The Snowman is the electrifying work of one of the best crime writers of our time.

©2011 Jo Nesbo (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Jo Nesbø is my new favorite thriller writer and Harry Hole my new hero.” (Michael Connelly)

Be Warned, You're In For the Whole Series

Full disclosure: I LOVE detective stories. I read a lot of them. And this is one of the best I've ever read. It was shockingly good. Now I'm going back and reading EVERYTHING I can find by Jo Nesbo. It's taken over my wish list. Other books are getting pushed aside just so I can read more about Detective Harry Hole. Other detective stories aren't as interesting anymore, other characters not as vivid and real and other killers not as inventive or enthralling. Really, these books will ruin other books for you. So, fair warning.

I didn't know until half way through the book that it's part of a series. So you do not need to read any of the others first. It picks up with Harry Hole, a depressed, middle aged detective who is trying to kick a drinking habit. Then he picks up something weird, Norway has more missing mothers, per capita, than it should. He does more examining and finds only one of two things can be true: either he's completely off his rocker or Norway has one of the most successful serial killers in modern history, has for years, and hasn't even known it. Well, obviously, it's the second. So he's on the case.

Here's the secret of Jo Nesbo's success: he decided that there is nothing new under the sun. Cliches are there for a reason and he can't find a new killer, a totally new story (no one can, it's a fact of literature) so instead of being clever for clever's sake he decided to take typical characters and do them BETTER than they've ever been done before, make them more real than they ever have been before. And he succeeds. This book, these people, none of of it should be as good as it is. Yet somehow, it feels completely fresh, completely new and wonderful.

On top of that, this book is one of the slickest I've ever read. He genuinely fakes you out multiple times with fake killers, twists you actually didn't expect and an ending that will knock you off your feet. Just when you think you know what's going on, you realize you don't. Just when the characters make sense to you, they do something so startling that you'll audibly gasp. This book gets into your mind and doesn't let go.

Or maybe it's the narrator. Robin Sachs was born do to these books. He understands Nesbo's dark, noire, deliberate pace so well it's like he wrote the thing. His tone matches the subject matter perfectly and you'll love the sadness and terror he brings to the material.

This is better than a whole new story that no one has ever told; it's the type of story you've loved for YEARS finally told as well as it ever can be.

Excelllent WHODUNIT

My guess is that the peoples of scandinavian countries either have a lot of time on their hands or are just essentially deep thinkers. This book is a fine example. Well written, and well read, I thought I had it scoped out but it surely took twists and turns I never anticipated. I found it riveting and often found myself at a destination, killing time to find a good place to stop listening.
Even though murder mysteries are not my primary favorite genre, I will be looking for Jo Nesbo again and will pickup whatever he writes.
In short: excellent in every way.

Quite a thriller

I have never read Jo Nesbo before and was intrigued when another review had compared him to Steig Larson. That got my attention. I found that it did have things in common; the intensity, the unbelievable dark side of psychopaths, a familiar writing style. What it didn't have in common was a compelling and very unique hero or heroine like Salander. The story was well put together. The narration good.I found something missing in not being able to get involved with the characters. Harry Hole was the lead but I felt no connection or depth to his character. I didn't give it five stars because it did nothing for me to raise it out of the genre of generally good crime fiction. Lisbeth Salander took the Millinium Series over the top.

Nesbo's Best So Far

What made the experience of listening to The Snowman the most enjoyable?

Like a mobius strip, the plot has infinite twists, doubling back on itself. Even though it was by no means hidden who "the Snowman" was from the start, there were enough highly visual and inventive twists to keep the reader absorbed.

What about Robin Sachs’s performance did you like?

With the popular Scandinavian mystery writers (Larsson, Mankell, Nesbo, etc.) it can be a challenge both to pronounce proper names and place names convincingly and at the same time not confuse the mostly anglophone reader. This narrator got it just right.

Decent but not a stand out

Purchased after seeing the trailer for the movie based on this book. While the book is by no means bad, and the writing is actually very good, the story dragged on and was frankly kind of boring. Once the final act twists and action start rolling it improves, but the author failed to really build the suspense he was going for throughout.

I have a feeling this will be a better movie than book.

fun

I did not see the end coming this is such a creepy book and is a slow burn

Somewhat confusing, but overall a good listen.

Due to the jumping around in time and some of the Norwegian names and places, the book was somewhat confusing, but eventually it became more clear.

Harry Hole is a fallen but intriguing hero.

Robin Sachs does an excellent job of expressing the variety of characters that Jo Nesto has written.

If your a fan of crime fiction...........

If you could sum up The Snowman in three words, what would they be?

Great Story,Narration, Drama! ( Sorry, that's four)

What did you like best about this story?

Harry Hole is a great protagonist. Human failings with a driven sense of determination.

Have you listened to any of Robin Sachs’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Robin's voice is a good match for this gritty story. Same with The Leopard.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Normally I listen while doing household chores. I found myself just sitting and listening with this one.

Any additional comments?

I started with The Leopard and soon got hooked. Went back one book in the series ( The Snowman) and was pleased but since I already heard the sequel, it took a bit of the drama out of the book. I am starting at the beginning with The Bat and moving forward. Good story and good narration. If you like a crime mystery and and are not put off by some graphic detail this is a good listen.

Thrilling!

This was an amazing book! It kept me on my toes the whole time. Great listen!