The Snowman

This Block Buster of a book has now been made into a well anticipated Block Buster movie being released in to the cinemas on the 13th October. I am, to say the least, extremely excited but also relieved that it is Autumn and not a winter night in December. Whoa what a shudder that just created! I knew before I see the film I had to read the book first as it intensifies the visual effects so much more.
The first fall of snow caused more than a little curiosity in Jonas because he knew he hadn't built a snowman in their yard and if he had it would be turned to look out onto the road not at his house. It unsettled the child but in the night when he looked his mother was gone and the pink scarf he had bought her was now round the neck of the snowman.
Inspector Harry Hole doesn't really play well with others, in fact there were times when he seemed to achieve better and with greater clarity the more he drank. So when a second Snowman appears followed by the disappearance of another woman off his patch in Oslo followed by a letter addressed for him from the creep claiming responsibility it is game on.  A game of cat and mouse begins but which is which is another matter.
Harry is put in charge of the investigation and Norway's first serial killer forms a relationship with this first Police Inspector to hunt a serial killer down. The gruesome reality soon begins to surface and with more digging the regularity of mothers going missing in the surrounding area over the past years soon forms a pattern with the coming and going of the snow.
This does become quite a complex story so full on concentration is really needed. Then just to keep you on your toes you have to cull all the red herrings. What you are left with is one hell of a story that made me look out of my bedroom window at the end of August, just to be on the safe side before I got in bed. Harry partners up with Katrine Bratt newly arrived from out of town. She has quite a mystery about her that I thought I wouldn't crack. Talk about a plot, well obviously I won't but read for yourself it really is a beauty. This novel can be read as part of the series of Harry Hole books or as a stand alone. Just enjoy and pray for a warm winter.
I was more than happy to see the translation from Norwegian to English had been undertaken by Don Bartlett as I knew that the voice I would hear would be Jo Nesbo.
I wish to thank the publisher for an invite to read and review this book which I have done honestly.