On the first snowfall of the year, Jonas' mother has disappeared leaving no trace of where she went. Except there's a snowman wearing her new pink scarf in their yard. A snowman that he nor his dad built, and which is strangely facing inside the house, not the yard. As the snow continues to fall in and around Oslo, Norway, other women will also disappear; not just women, but women who are mothers with secrets. As the body count rises, more snowmen will make appearances at crime scenes. Can lead detective Harry Hole figure it out before the killer comes for him?

In a word: WOW. This was an intense story with so many layers of details and mystery and twists and turns. Some of the details aren't important or are false leads. At times this book was just downright frightening, as scary as any horror book, maybe scarier. I don't think I've ever been scared by a police detective story before. There are several points where the police think that the crimes were solved, only to find out that no they aren't. With the Snowman on the prowl, no person is safe and every person is a suspect. The writing is top-notch in this book because you never know where the story is going to take you next.

Harry Hole is the main character, a divorced man who regularly has sex with his ex-wife, or police partner and who often turns up to work late and drunk. The story is told primarily from his third person limited point of view, though it occasionally switches to the point of view of a secondary character for a short period of time, like a chapter or less. The setting is the winter in Oslo, Norway. The characters do occasionally travel around to other cities in Norway but never leave the country. The plot moves along at a good, fast clip; you won't be bored reading this. You also won't want to look away. There are some adult themes spread throughout this book. There are some descriptive sex scenes starting in the first chapter and continuing throughout the book. There are some characters using alcohol fairly frequently but no substance use. And there are some graphic descriptions of violence throughout the book. Those who scare easily may want to find a different book; if you live for books like this, then this is the book for you! I am giving this book five stars for being thoroughly satisfying.