The Snowman By Jo Nesbo

This the first book by Jo Nesbo that I have read. In fact, reading this has been a break away from the genres that I usually turn to; I rarely read crime novels. What drew me to the book was how Nesbo was described as the next ‘Steig Larsson’. I didn’t find this to be the case at all.

Nesbo is a fantastic writer. His story grabs you at the very beginning and it truly does not let go – it’s scary. The plot is also slowly built up; different threads and possibilities are woven into the story, some of which you may realise straightaway are relevant, others take a little more time before you see why they were there.

All of the characters are well drawn too. Although Harry Hole, the policeman who is the main character, is a divorced, alcoholic, he does not read like a cliché. The struggles he has with the case, himself and his ex-wife were well thought out and you do not need to have read the other books in the Harry Hole series to appreciate this one.

The country of Norway is also featured as a central character in the book; often a bleak and dark country gives the reader a good explanation as to how murderers could come about.

An excellent read. Will make me look at snowmen in a whole new light, but I would recommend anyone to read this book - even those like me who never normally read this genre. As a result I have ordered the next Nebo book ‘The Leopard’ which I hear is also a good read.