THE SNOWMAN BY JO NESBØ, RANDOM HOUSE, $32.95.
“Guaranteed cooler than Stieg Larsson,” says the cover sticker. Who could resist? Nesbø is Norway’s gun crime writer and with this – his fifth novel to be translated into English – he has broken big, proving there’s life in the old serial-killer genre yet.
Distinguishing this one is the wonderfully laconic detective Harry Hole and a macabre plot in which women disappear during the first fall of snow each year. The only clue linking each case is the appearance of a large snowman with black stone eyes.
It’s a chiller in every sense, with a fair bit of social comment thrown in, as it becomes clear that many of these women shared the same deep secret. The Snowman is one of those books which creeps you out, but keeps you reading at the same time.
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