Snømannen discussion

just bought this -looks good so here goes

you will enjoy it , brilliant book!!

Just finished reading it. found it to be super good. you should also read nememesis about harry hole. it is a series. I have a sony reader but only 2 of the series are available in USA I believe there are 4 books in the series

Marcia wrote: "Just finished reading it. found it to be super good. you should also read nememesis about harry hole. it is a series. I have a sony reader but only 2 of the series are available in USA I belie..."

Pleased you enjoyed it , there are at least 6 books in the series so plenty for you to enjoy

Just finished reading The Snowman. Definately the best of the Harry Hole series I've read. I was clutching the book so hard by the end my hands went numb! The tale twisted this way - and I thought, Ha, I know where this is going, the killer is... - and then it twisted off again leaving my nonplussed and baffled again. In a strange way I rather like it when a mystery lets you think you know, and then Bazoom! It proves you wrong with a perfectly logical, infinately possible, other ending. 10 out of 5!

Agree!I thoroughly enjoyed. Just finished it. My review is on my page. Anyone else dreading winter? I will be scrutinizing any Snowman I happen across from the first fall onwards!

Among the best crime novels I´ve ever read, if not the best

ANOTHER SWEDISH MYSTERY NOVEL BY ARNE DAHL MISTERIOSO JUST GOT IT WILL GIVE REVIEW AFTER I READ IT BUT BOOK RATED EQUAL TO SNOWMAN

I am reading out of order but I don't care. I love the darkness and careful crafting of these stories. And Harry Hole.

I have enjoyed this too, as well as some of his other novels. Along with Mankell's Wallander series though, they are pretty violent - like there's never just ONE murder! This doesn't reflect the normal situation in either Sweden or Norway. [And no, neither does the real life outrage of a month ago.]
I must admit to preferring Arnaldur Indridason's Icelandic series, however. They really are a much more realistic representation of the culture they're set in, and of the Icelandic murder rate (between 1 and 4 murders a year, which is why there are only single murders in the books)

Tell you some, I read Arnaldur Indridason "Jar City" and from that I could only gather that in Iceland there is lots of rain and they endure they same miseries as the Continent, but no traces of Icelanding culture or flavor whatsoever. Good crime novel though


Carolyn wrote: "I have enjoyed this too, as well as some of his other novels. Along with Mankell's Wallander series though, they are pretty violent - like there's never just ONE murder! This doesn't reflect the ..."

Wonder what did they want to say in the last para .. about the mold.. were they looking at Hole and implying he has some fungal disease?

Really enjoyed this book. Listened to it on CD while commuting to work. Didn't want to leave my car!

I really liked The Snowman and love Jo Nesbo, but I thought The Devil's Star was better.

Thanks for the recommendation, Ellen, I'll see if my local library can get their hands on it for me.

In what way was The Devil's Star better ? I wish I had known previosuly that it might be better to read them in order :-<

I've been reading a lot of Swedish thrillers. Nothing has been more exciting than Roslund & Hellstrom's Three Seconds.

totally agree! It got me hooked from the beginning and that's after I finished "The Snowman" and thought it couldn't get any better than that! I enjoyed both books tremendously. Have you read any other Roslund & Hellstroms' books?

I don't think you have to read them in order necessarily (although there is some progression in a relationship that Harry Hole has). I would still recommend that you read all of Nesbo's books you can get your hands on. But I liked the mystery in Devil's Star better and the way Harry Hole handled it.

Roslund and Hellstrom's Three Seconds was excellent, but it took me a while to get into it because I wasn't sure who I was supposed to be rooting for. I haven't read any more of their books, but I'd like to.

???!!! wrote: "totally agree! It got me hooked from the beginning and that's after I finished "The Snowman" and thought it couldn't get any better than that! I enjoyed both books tremendously. Have you read an..."

Funny you should ask. Although this isn't a genre that I read a lot of, I've read two other Roslund & Hellstorm books and they were all very different. I just finished Cell 8 (comes out in January) - I liked it, but it was much quieter than Three Seconds. It is an exploration about the death penalty & is set in both USA and Sweden. I also read an older book - The Vault -- which I didn't like at all & was about the sex trade in Sweden.

Martin Scorsese works on building 'The Snowman'
By Adnan Tezer Nov 23, 2011, 20:31 GMT


Martin Scorsese will direct the big screen adaptation of Norwegian author Jo Nesbo's bestseller "The Snowman" for Working Title Films.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matthew Michael Carnahan will write the script.

Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce for Working Title Films.

"The Snowman" is the seventh book in Nesbo's popular Harry Hole series.

The film centers on Norwegian detective Harry Hole as he investigates a string of recent murders of women in Oslo. He finds out that each victim is a married mother and a snowman is found at every murder scene.

Scorsese's 3D family film "Hugo" opens this week.

Love Harry Hole... reading the books our of order which makes the sub plots kinda odd, but I will cope, Harry is such and anti hero alcoholic drug addict and can be self centered however you love him even more for it.

One of the best crime novels I have read for a long time. i really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the rest of her books.

Den wrote: "One of the best crime novels I have read for a long time. i really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the rest of her books."

His books.

Gauri wrote: "Wonder what did they want to say in the last para .. about the mold.. were they looking at Hole and implying he has some fungal disease?"

The "mold" sidebar distracted me as well. Who was the handyman? What did that imply?

Richard wrote: "Den wrote: "One of the best crime novels I have read for a long time. i really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the rest of her books."

His books."

I actually knew that but somehow when I started typing it didn't register. Note to self: check what I type

JO NESBO

Harry Hole books:
THE BATMAN
THE COCKROACHES (both not trans into English)

The Redbreast
The Devil’s Star
Nemesis
The Redeemer
The Snowman
The Leopard 
Phantom 15/3/2012..

Not HH:
The White Hotel   No English available
Headhunters (stand alone). Film 12 April 2012

This was the first Jo for me and I found it riveting and nail bitingly scary to the last word. I have now become a Harry Hole groupie!

Carole wrote: "This was the first Jo for me and I found it riveting and nail bitingly scary to the last word. I have now become a Harry Hole groupie!"

Ah, wait till you read the next two......

Alan wrote: "In what way was The Devil's Star better ? I wish I had known previosuly that it might be better to read them in order :-"

I thought The Snowman was kind of contrived. It was never clear why the killer used the snowman signature, for instance. But I think it was mainly that I liked Harry Hole's story in The Devil's Star better. There wasn't a lot going on with him personally in The Snowman.

Ellen wrote: "Alan wrote: "In what way was The Devil's Star better ? I wish I had known previosuly that it might be better to read them in order :-"

I thought The Snowman was kind of contrived. It was never cle..."


*CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS*

He used the snowman because when he was a kid he made a snowman outside the house of man who his mom was having an affair with. When he climbed on top, he had a view into the house and saw the man with his mom. He then realized, because of the lack of nipples, that this man was his biological father, not the one who died years before and was married to his mom. The fact that his mom lied to both him and her husband infuriated him. Thats why he sometimes put women on top of the snowmen too, because thats how he was sitting when he made his discovery. Putting the snowman outside a house, to him, recreates what he experienced when he was a little boy.

And by the way, im sure that you could enjoy this book if you read it first, but it will be so much better if you read the series in order. Its not like the other books are bad, I gave them all 5 stars.

Arjun wrote: "Ellen wrote: "Alan wrote: "In what way was The Devil's Star better ? I wish I had known previosuly that it might be better to read them in order :-"

I thought The Snowman was kind of contrived. It..."

Absolutely well explained.
IMO all character driven SERIES should be read as written, in order to follow and appreciate the development of the personalities involved and how past events influence current situations.

Jo Nesbø is norwegian, not swedish. He is the best. Heia Norge.

Kari wrote: "Jo Nesbø is norwegian, not swedish. He is the best. Heia Norge."

Your comments Swedish / Norwegian confused me until I did a search and now I see why....curious why people start talking about authors / books from other Scandinavian countries under such a discussion topic myself......

The landlord said he had no clue about the mold man. The mold man also said something to Harry about turning the board around on the wall. It must be a foreshadow for the next in the series. I was surprised he didn't pull down the wall to see.

I loved this book!
I'm an avid mystery/thriller/suspense fan, so sometimes I'm a little jaded. So, when I find a book that gets me involved I'm really happy. I am looking forward to more Jo Nesbo novels.

Marcia wrote: "ANOTHER SWEDISH MYSTERY NOVEL BY ARNE DAHL MISTERIOSO JUST GOT IT WILL GIVE REVIEW AFTER I READ IT BUT BOOK RATED EQUAL TO SNOWMAN"

Jo Nesbo is Norwegian, not Swedish.

Maxine wrote: "Marcia wrote: "ANOTHER SWEDISH MYSTERY NOVEL BY ARNE DAHL MISTERIOSO JUST GOT IT WILL GIVE REVIEW AFTER I READ IT BUT BOOK RATED EQUAL TO SNOWMAN"

Jo Nesbo is Norwegian, not Swedish."


This should be posted under what are you reading.
Why this need to compare every Scandinavian writer to each other.
They are all due their own merit and writing many years .... Very successfully too.

IDK about "contrived" as much as inconsistent.

The killer acts more like a comic book super villain than as serial killer. (potential spoiler) he is defined by his physical "deformity" - smooth upfront like a snowman, frozen limbs -- he gives clues to help the hero catch him, and intentionally leaves his calling card (Snowman) behind him.

Serial killers, do not leave clues and do not try to get caught.

Believability is never the goal of a mystery thriller, but consistency of tone is an objective. The tone of the book is gritty urban thriller, but we're given pulpy comic-book villain. It doesn't quite match and is ultimately more distracting than satisfying.

This was my first Jo Nesbo novel. I loved it. I found myself on the edge of my seat. I wanted to scream at Harry a couple of times to wake up and smell the coffee, then I was screaming at him to Hurry. This book made me want to go back read all the novels by Jo Nesbo.

Having read Nesbo since his books appeared in English translation, this was and remains my least favorite yet it has consistently raised more attention to even big movie making discussions, etc.... IMO the early books were the best reads ....but I am waiting for the pre ordered new book even so because I need to find out what happens to HH next in his road of destruction.....being in awe how much he has already been able to bear emotionally and physically.

This is one of the best mysteries I've ever read. Really scary too! I love all his stuff, but this was the best so far.

Sharon wrote: "Having read Nesbo since his books appeared in English translation, this was and remains my least favorite yet it has consistently raised more attention to even big movie making discussions, etc......."

Its has a lot of movie-friendly elements, i.e. elaborate contraption to kill Rakel, heroic handcuff throw, on-screen lie-detector test with sleazy talk-show host...all made right for the screen.

It is a pity, that Nesbo often makes remarks about previous cases, I read Leopard first and then I knew who the murderer in Snowman is all the time, I could not finish this book...my fault...but I think I would not like this one anyway. Redeemer and Nemesis were the best best for me...more old fashioned detektive work...these new ones are more like action movies...

Julie wrote: "I loved this book!
I'm an avid mystery/thriller/suspense fan, so sometimes I'm a little jaded. So, when I find a book that gets me involved I'm really happy. I am looking forward to more Jo Nesbo ..."

Absolutely! I read so many of these types of novels that when I find one that is compelling and down right mysterious I'm hooked! :)

What other books you have read that you think it is as good?

I recently read Blood Harvest by Bolton...down right creepy! I enjoyed his book so much I'm going to check and see if be has any others. I'd like to space them out tho. I also enjoy the way Lisa Jackson writes. One of her books I found so suspenseful I had to write to her and tell her how good it was. Ill check the name of it...

Couldn't agree with you more! I discovered Bolton last year and almost instantly caught up with all of her books. One of my favorite authors. I also enjoyed Jackson but only read her Love You More. Any other favorite of yours?

Erps, I meant Lisa Gardner, not Jackson. Luckily you knew just who I meant. :) All of her books are my favs. I really enjoy the way she writes and she also has two different series going but I would suggest starting with the beginning and moving forward. Just like with Nesbo's books if you start in the middle you may figure out story lines ahead of time and that always sucks. Unfortunately I found Gardner while on vacation and picked up her newest release in the airport. I was hooked at that point but out of order!!!