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bart_gunn's review against another edition
4.0
The comparison to Stieg Larsson's novels are easy to make, as most formal reviews of this book do. It is long, but easy to read. Plenty of twists and turns and good all round entertainment. Not sure I'd rush to read another one of the Harry Hole books as I can imagine them all being fairly formulaic. A good holiday read.
zuamean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
chelseatm's review
3.0
3.5
I enjoyed this thriller and enjoyed the popcorn enjoyment it gave me. While at first I found the snowman motif a bit silly, I found nesbo actually provided a very convincing reason for its presence.
The middle lagged a little but picked up a lot in the end. I enjoyed it a lot but could have done without the odd red herring.
I enjoyed this thriller and enjoyed the popcorn enjoyment it gave me. While at first I found the snowman motif a bit silly, I found nesbo actually provided a very convincing reason for its presence.
The middle lagged a little but picked up a lot in the end. I enjoyed it a lot but could have done without the odd red herring.
hmarleena's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
book_concierge's review
3.0
Audiobook read by Robin Sachs
Oslo police detective Harry Hole is being taunted by a murderer. At the time of the first snowfall, “The Snowman” snatches two women in quick succession. One woman is found quickly, the other disappears without a trace. The only clue seems to be the snow figures the killer leaves behind. Harry recognizes a pattern to these and previous murders which points to a serial killer. His superiors aren’t so sure – “serial killers are in America, not Norway.” But Harry’s instincts are correct. A new female detective seems to have some interesting insights and thoughts and begins to help Harry. The problem is that they soon have multiple suspects and their supervisors, the public and the media are clamoring for a quick arrest.
This is the seventh book in the Harry Hole series, although it is the first book by Nesbo that I’ve read. I didn’t feel that I was missing anything by reading out of order. I like how Nesbo has given us a complex anti-hero in Harry. He’s an alcoholic struggling to remain sober. He’s also a commitment-phobic man regretting that he let a woman (and her son who worships Harry) go. He cannot shake the feeling that he is somehow a player in this macabre game the Snowman is playing, though he questions whether this is his ego getting out of hand.
What I wasn’t so keen about were the many plot twists. Giving us so many suspects didn’t really help; I knew the first “snowman” couldn’t possibly be the killer because I still had half the book to read. I had guessed the culprit about 2/3 of the way through, and before the killer was revealed. It seemed as if Nesbo was padding the story to make the book longer.
Still, Nesbo has crafted a well-written mystery / suspense thriller. It definitely held my attention and it was a relatively fast read. The ending scenes were a little unrealistic, but tension-packed, and I flew through them. Robin Sachs does a credible job with the audio performance. He has enough skill as a voice artist to differentiate the characters, and reads at a good pace for a thriller.
Oslo police detective Harry Hole is being taunted by a murderer. At the time of the first snowfall, “The Snowman” snatches two women in quick succession. One woman is found quickly, the other disappears without a trace. The only clue seems to be the snow figures the killer leaves behind. Harry recognizes a pattern to these and previous murders which points to a serial killer. His superiors aren’t so sure – “serial killers are in America, not Norway.” But Harry’s instincts are correct. A new female detective seems to have some interesting insights and thoughts and begins to help Harry. The problem is that they soon have multiple suspects and their supervisors, the public and the media are clamoring for a quick arrest.
This is the seventh book in the Harry Hole series, although it is the first book by Nesbo that I’ve read. I didn’t feel that I was missing anything by reading out of order. I like how Nesbo has given us a complex anti-hero in Harry. He’s an alcoholic struggling to remain sober. He’s also a commitment-phobic man regretting that he let a woman (and her son who worships Harry) go. He cannot shake the feeling that he is somehow a player in this macabre game the Snowman is playing, though he questions whether this is his ego getting out of hand.
What I wasn’t so keen about were the many plot twists. Giving us so many suspects didn’t really help; I knew the first “snowman” couldn’t possibly be the killer because I still had half the book to read. I had guessed the culprit about 2/3 of the way through, and before the killer was revealed. It seemed as if Nesbo was padding the story to make the book longer.
Still, Nesbo has crafted a well-written mystery / suspense thriller. It definitely held my attention and it was a relatively fast read. The ending scenes were a little unrealistic, but tension-packed, and I flew through them. Robin Sachs does a credible job with the audio performance. He has enough skill as a voice artist to differentiate the characters, and reads at a good pace for a thriller.
lydiaer1107's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sbaudett's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Even tho the mystery itself isn't that bad, I couldn't get over the misogynistic affirmations spread throughout the book. I understand when the point is a certain characterization of the bad guy or if you have a book with strong character development, but this is not the case. Women here only exists to fuck or be fucked, when they're not killed.
losthermind's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0