The Snowman

March 28, 2011
In this chilling installment in Nesbø's Insp. Harry Hole crime series (The Devil's Star, etc.), a snowman left in the front yard of Birte Becker's Oslo house is the only clue to the woman's disappearance. When Sylvia Ottersen disappears from her farmhouse soon afterward, the snowman the killer leaves behind has a gruesome addition: Sylvia's severed head. Harry, aided by Katrine Bratt, a brash new member of his team with secrets of her own, combs through past missing person cases, looking for other victims of the killer now dubbed the Snowman. Several months earlier, Harry received an anonymous letter referring to both snowmen and the Australian serial killer he'd pursued early in his career. What appeared random and bizarre then now takes on new meaning as Harry realizes the killer is taunting him. Nesbø breathes new life into the serial killer subgenre, giving it a Norwegian twist and never losing his laconic hero in the process. 150,000 first printing; 6-city author tour.

Robin Sachs's cool, supple voice perfectly reflects the arctic environs of Scandinavia in winter, the setting for Nesb¿'s chilling new mystery. Inspector Harry Hole is the only Norwegian policeman ever to apprehend a serial killer, and now he's been assigned the case of the Snowman. Someone is brutally murdering women, and the only obvious connection between them is the presence of a snowman at the scene of each crime. Sachs's narration transitions smoothly from the gruff voice of the unpredictable Hole to the softer voices of the various female victims and their family members and the sarcastic banter of Hole's colleagues. The combination of a compelling performance and a gripping mystery is most satisfying. K.O. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine