I started reading the Harry Hole series because I had been recommended this book by so many thriller/mystery lovers and I’m glad I finally managed to read it.

If you’re up for convoluted plot and the thrill of the chase between the investigators and the slippery killer, then The Snowman might be what you’re looking for. It has that spooky, wintry vibe and the murders are gory and disturbing. Enough to keep you on the edge of the seat but not to the point of getting nightmares over the vivid imagery described (I hope).

I guess I had higher expectations on this one, especially since I had enjoyed the previous books in the series, but I thought that the description of the psychology of the killer was overdone. It was almost too obvious to me who the killer was, and while that didn’t really matter to me, the long-winded details of the reason behind the killings got a little repetitive – we really didn’t need the extra pages. Didn’t help that the ‘justification’ given was unpalatable. Plus, I thought the book needed to come with trigger warnings – abuse/assault, addiction, violence etc. Not that these were absent in his earlier books, but they weren’t as extreme as what was pictured in The Snowman.

I could have forgiven the verbose passages and the repetition, but some of the actions taken by Harry and his new partner, Katrine were questionable to me. In real life, that probably wouldn’t have happened but without the unrealistic development, the story probably wouldn’t have worked the way it did in the end. The plot in this one made me question Harry’s relationship with Rakel too. At this point, I’m only rooting for Rakel’s son, Oleg. He seems to be the only character that’s likeable to me, other than Ståle Aune, the in-house psychologist who consults on the psyche of murderers.

However, despite these few points, I would still recommend this book. It was hard to put down and the case was as exciting as the previous ones.