The Snowman by Jo Nesbø, Don Bartlett (Translator)

I have said more than once here that I enjoy crime novels. When I have a ton of work to get through and I am expected to be able to pull off the work load of 5 people in the meagre 24 hours a day I get, this is the place I like to climb into and vegetate. After all, my first introduction to reading that I can remember was children's crime fiction (although that is because I can't remember what Noddy had to deal with).


Women are going missing.. The stats in Norway are higher than in any other neighbouring country. Something is up, and it is up to Harry Hole to find out what is going on and prevent more deaths.

First off, let's just ignore the ugliest cover I have seen since the neon yellow Maze Runner cover. What is supposed to be happening here? Some woman being hijacked by a crowd after some public speaking event? Oh, and let's just ignore the "The next Stieg Larsson" sticker too. That is bull shit. Yes, Nesbo does the tangents, but... this isn't to that scale of character and plot development.

The Snowman was a fun read for a crime novel. I must admit that I figured out (Guessed? because really it was just a guess) who 'dunnit' really early on, which both made me feel very accomplished and yet also a bit 'ripped off' simultaneously.

I would not recommend picking this one up for the writing. I don't know if things are lost in translation, or whether some parts just read in a disjointed way. For example, I would turn the page, and then have to page back to make sure that I hadn't turned two by accident. In other words, in some places I found an issue with the flow, the continuity. I also won't go into the detail of "sparks flying from her eyes" (paraphrased). Cliche or cartoon?

The characters were pretty much everything that I have read in other crime novels before. I suppose the writer a reader picks up first gets off more lucky on this note. I have done the alcoholic cop so many times before I can't even count. I suppose I can see that a homicide detective might find a bottle a good way to silence the wolves, so perhaps it is a convenient character flaw, but that to me is all it seemed - a convenient character flaw, something intended to make me to sit there thinking (while reading) "No, you idiot, back out of the bar and leave the booze alone!" I am also yet to find a detective who is able to have a stable relationship. Surely that would be an original spin by now? Are we still living in the days of Airwolf, The A-Team and every other 80s tv show hero who was destined to be single? I want to read a crime novel about a family man. I initially thought woman, but then I figured that would buy into a whole other set of stereotypes. Let the bloke get married and have to juggle kiddie sport and crime. Just for a change. And not just so that we can sit there wondering when the family is going to be targeted. Let him have to deal with compartmentalisation for a change,

But having said all that, which sounds incredibly negative, if you are just after a fairly good plot, with some twists and turns along the way, this is definitely a decent book. It ticks all the boxes one wants from a typical crime novel: wacky bad guy who is out to kill loads, detective with a lot on the line, interesting supporting characters (who fit many molds, but I won't go into that here) who have an impact on the plot, and some interesting angles. I did think the plot was a bit predictable. I mean.... ok, I won't say. It is a spoiler. But it did give me a some enjoyable, mindless reading which I was exactly in the mood for. I gave this 3 stars. It was good for a crime novel. I will probably read more of them in the future. If this is anything to go on, then they will fit the crime novel mold to a tee.