14.12.10

Book Review: The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

First of all I am excited as I have hit my target of reading 100 books this year!!! Fan fare etc etc! I hope that you are all okay and  getting ready for Christmas, I'm sorry it's been a little quiet on here of late, we have had a lot of colds (man flu for Mr S) in the Scribbles household but we are all on the mend now and feeling much more festive! 

Here's the idea behind The Snowman which unfortunately is not of the Raymond Briggs variety:

A young man wakes to find his mother missing. Their house is empty but outside in the garden he sees his mother's favourite scarf- wrapped around the neck of a snowman.
As Harry Hole and his team begin their investigation they discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years.
When a second woman disappears it seems that Harry's worst suspicions are confirmed: for the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his home turf.
I'm not sure if I had too high an expectation of this book as I didn't think it was great. i wanted to read something really gripping where I wouldn't be able to stop turning the pages but this failed to deliver.
I liked the feel of the book which I found to be very similar to Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell but I didn't feel as though the story ever reached any kind of momentum.
The descriptions of the murders were chilling and I will never look at a snowman in the same way again but the investigation surrounding the murder cases was a little boring in parts.
I did quite like the character of Harry Hole so I may return to this series in the future; I have heard more positive reviews of The Redeemer so that might be one to try.
Have any of you read The Snowman? If you have any good crime/thriller recommendations then do please let me know as I can't seem to find a good one!

7 comments:

verity said...

Ooh - well done - that is a great target to reach :)

Hope you are all fully recovered in time for the festive season.

Nadia said...

Congrats on reaching your target!! YAY! That is awesome!

And wow, that book sounds like something I'd want to read, but would creep me out at the same time. Great post!

Take care!

Dot said...

Verity- I am indeed, made my first batch of mince pies so I am fully in the festive spirit!

Nadia- Thank you! I was hoping it would be a little scarier!

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Dot,

Have not read this one yet, although I do own a copy.

We can't like everything we read, but so long as there were some positive aspects, then nothing has been wasted.

I can't believe you have read 100 books, well done!!!

I read much more slowly, but find that I only have a few 'me minutes' in the day, to curl up with a book.

Makes my blog look a bit sparse, but I like to visit other blogs and chat.

Dot said...

fiction-books- I really wanted to enjoy this one but as you say it doesn't always happen!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on reading 100 books! I enjoyed The Snowman, but agree that it wasn't perfect. I struggle to find thrillers I enjoy too. They often end up predictible or too far fetched for me. My favourites are books by Sophie Hannah or Out by Natsuo Kirino (but that is very dark/graphic) I hope you find some good ones soon :-)

Dot said...

farmlanebooks- I really enjoy Sophie Hannah too, thanks for the other recommendation, I have just got some Tess Gerritsen books from the library due to Simon at Savidge Read's glowing reports!

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