The Snowman

A Harry Hole Novel

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is now streaming on Netflix • Inspector Harry Hole tracks a Norwegian serial killer in this “fiendishly complex and terrifically entertaining” (The New York Times Book Review) installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

"Maddeningly addictive.” —Vanity Fair

One night, after the first snowfall of the year, a boy named Jonas wakes up and discovers that his mother has disappeared. Only one trace of her remains: a pink scarf, his Christmas gift to her, now worn by the snowman that inexplicably appeared in their yard earlier that day. Inspector Harry Hole suspects a link between the missing woman and a suspicious letter he’s received. The case deepens when a pattern emerges: over the past decade, eleven women have vanished—all on the day of the first snow. But this is a killer who makes his own rules ... and he’ll break his pattern just to keep the game interesting, as he draws Harry ever closer into his twisted web. With brilliantly realized characters and hair-raising suspense, international bestselling author Jo Nesbø presents his most chilling case yet—one that will test Harry Hole to the very limits of his sanity.

Reseñas de la Crítica

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

“With Henning Mankell having written his last Wallander novel and Stieg Larsson no longer with us, I have had to make the decision on whom to confer the title of best current Nordic writer of crime fiction. After finishing Jo Nesbø’s The Snowman, I hesitate no longer . . . This is crime writing of the highest order, in which the characters are as strong as the story, where an atmosphere of evil permeates, and the tension begins in the first chapter and never lets up.” —Times (UK)

“The Snowman is a superb thriller—smart, stylish, beautifully paced and meticulously plotted . . . Nesbø is such an insightful portraitist that Hole and all the secondary characters are convincing at just about every bloody turn . . . The psychological aspects of the novel are on a par with Ruth Rendell’s inspector Wexford mysteries. Ultimately, though, what sets Nesbø apart is his ability to keep the pages turning with such intellectual dexterity.” —Newsday

“Every now and then, a truly exceptional crime novel comes along, something so gripping that it recalls classics such as The Silence of the Lambs. Jo Nesbø has pulled it off with The Snowman . . . [which] establishes him as a writer of rare ingenuity and total confidence.” —Sunday Times (UK)

“Irresistibly addictive . . . This is reading as you experienced it in childhood, without any gap between eye and mind, but with the added pleasures that adult plots and adult characters can bring . . . It is Nesbø’s plots—brilliantly conceived, carefully worked out, and complicatedly satisfying—that finally make [his books] unputdownable.” —Slate

“Nesbø is being hailed as the next Stieg Larsson or Henning Mankell . . . Apt comparisons, but they don’t go far enough. This is simply the best detective novel this reviewer has read in years . . . Nesbø’s latest thriller reads like a symphony, from the thundering first chords that pull the reader into a magical world through the delicately enticing development in which motifs and story strands are woven together leading to a pounding, furious conclusion.” —Library Journal (starred)

“Erica Jong meets Stephen King meets, yes, Stieg Larsson in this superb thriller.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

Remarkable mystery, excellent reader.

There are so many good things about this novel. The story has several great twists, a remarkable detective, well written, great character development. It reminded of Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs.

the series has grown long in the tooth

Having now read through the next book in the series, The Leopard, which actually references some of the more bizarre psychological insights of this book, I am thinking that perhaps four book was enough.
Incidentally, does anyone else out there wonder what Jo Nesbo's is really saying about his attitude to women, well, actually toward me too...exactly why are women always getting mutilated, men with power doing the mutilation, and Harry Hole so self destructive that he even winds up with his body being eroded from one book to the next?

Love this Book!!

This is my first Jo Nesbo book, but I am already researching which one to start on next. I loved this thrilling book so much that I started calling friends and family before I was even half way through telling them to please get started on this book immediately. I noticed that Robin Sachs continues as the narrator for other Jo Nesbo audible books. That really pleases me because Mr. Sachs did a great job keeping the book exciting with his excellent reading. The characters are really interesting, and the book is full of twists and turns. I haven't felt this way since I was reading the Stieg Larsson books. And by the way, I will never look at a Snowman the same ever again.

Wild about Harry!

What did you like best about this story?

I love the central character, a guy with loads of integrity and loads of flaws.

What about Robin Sachs’s performance did you like?

Robin Sachs is one of the best readers I've heard. He never goes into cartoon-land in defining each character, yet manages to carve out a completely distinct sound for each with subtle shifts in pitch and class-oriented accents from the UK. The women never sound drag-queen silly, and I'm not at all bothered by the cockney-sounding gangsters or the Welsh-accented CSI country lad. It gives me a cultural equivalent that I can relate to to help me understand who these people are in Norwegian society.

Any additional comments?

While some of the stories in this series go a bit over the top with really lurid finales, the storytelling is just terrific and keeps me on the edge all the way through. I wish the full series was available on audio. Totally addicted now, can't wait for the next one!

Gripping Mystery

Would you try another book from Jo Nesbo and/or Robin Sachs?

I would listen to another Jo Nesbo and/or Robin Sachs book.

Any additional comments?

My only negative feeling is that the book was very, very bloody. I almost put it aside because of the violence, which seemed excessive.