As mentioned in my review of Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (which can be found here); I am a big lover of the foreign horror genre. One of my favourite authors within this genre is Jo Nesbo and his Harry Hole series. Even though this is the fifth book in the series, it was the first one I read, and has remained my favourite for many years, so I thought I would give it a review and explain why it is so much better than all the others.
Author: Jo Nesbo (translated by Don Bartlett)
Publisher: Vintage Books
Release Date: 19th August 2010
Genre: Crime, Horror, Thriller, Nordic Noir
Summary:
As the first snow falls in Oslo, Norway; a serial killer is on the loose leaving a snowman in the snow for all to see. The killings seem random and unprovoked, but are they? Is there some connection to these pointless murders? Harry Hole, a workaholic (and slightly alcoholic) policeman, is however on the case after receiving a threatening letter from the so called, Snowman. Pushing himself to the limit to catch his horrendous and evil murderer, it is obvious that Harry cannot trust anyone.
Review:
Jo Nesbo is a bit like marmite; you either love him or you hate him. I, unlike marmite, love him. If not for his ability to create complex and clever storylines but for his sheer imagination and unbelievabley gory writing style. I love gore and horror filled stories so this aspect was a big hit for me! I may have read the book some years ago but there is one particularly haunting scene in the book which has stuck with me made me partially scared of snowmen and going into woods...disgusting...
