The Snowman, by Jo Nesbo, is the fifth "Harry Hole mystery" to be translated into English, and the third I have read.

Hole is sort of a Norwegian John Rebus, i.e. he's an alcoholic know it all with "authority issues." He's also the only Norwegian policeman to have solved a "serial killer" murder, in Australia (presumably this was solved in the first book in the series, which has yet to be translated into English). The problem is that since that case, he's got a bit like Joe McCarthy (who saw Reds everywhere), and as a result, he's itching to turn every murder into another serial killer case, much to the irritation of his superiors.

This time, however, he gets his wish, as 12 wives and mothers go missing over a 12 year period. How does Hole know it's a serial killer? Well it happens on the first snow day of the season, with the same damn snowman built outside the houses of the missing.

The book genuinely isn't bad. If you've not read many mysteries, you might not guess the killer (or the plot twists that regularly occur). The only problem is that the mystery novel is a staple of my reading, so I guessed most of the twists long before they became unravelled.

So in short think twice about this book if you've plenty of experience with how these books work.

The other recommendation I'd give with the "Hole Series" is to start as close to the beginning as you can. Those books are better I think, and don't make reference to murders that Hole solved in previous books in the series.