The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

by:  Jo Nesbo
published by:  Knopf
publish date:  May 10, 2011

The night the first snow falls a young boy wakes to find his mother gone. He walks through the silent house, but finds only wet footprints on the stairs. In the garden looms a solitary figure: a snowman bathed in cold moonlight, its black eyes glaring up at the bedroom windows. Round its neck is his mother's pink scarf. Inspector Harry Hole is convinced there is a link between the disappearance and a menacing letter he received some months earlier. As Harry and his team delve into unsolved case files, they discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years. When a second woman disappears Harry's suspicions are confirmed: he is a pawn in a deadly game. For the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his turf, a killer who will drive him to the brink of insanity.

I'm a big fan of Jo Nesbo.  So I wasn't surprised that this was another excellent mystery by him.  If you're a fan if murder mysteries, police procedurals, that type of book, Jo Nesbo won't disappoint.  All of his books take place in Norway which makes for an interesting backdrop.  After 4 books I feel like I know Oslo and I've never been there.

I do have one small complaint about this book in comparison to his other books.  I felt like the ending was overly long.  It could have been a nice tidy ending, but I felt like it kept dragging out and dragging out.   I listened to the audiobook and I think if I had read the actual book I probably would have skimmed the last 30-40 pages or so.

Despite that, Harry Hole (and his unfortunate name) is one of my favorite characters.  I can't wait to read more about him and his constant struggle with sobriety.  I find this aspect of his character to be very well written and compelling.  I always find myself crestfallen when he takes the next drink or cheering him on when he doesn't.