The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Meaty, intricate, full of twists and twisted too - Jo Nesbo's new book, The Snowman, goes on my "Dark Favorites" shelf.

Harry is a familiar character-that brilliant, slouchy, melancholy detective with the kind of insight that solves crimes and the kind of personality that rubs the brass the wrong way. In this novel, he's helplessly drawn back into an affair with his ex-lover Rakel, who’s living with a genial, handsome doctor lacking all of Harry’s negative qualities. At the same time, Harry’s involved in a disturbing investigation, a series of murders that seem to be linked by a snowman at or near the scene of the crime. Harry is Norway’s only investigator trained by the FBI in serial killer hunting, and at first his coworkers think he’s like the man holding a hammer who sees only nails. However, as the bodies pile up, Harry is both vindicated and horrified, especially since every time he thinks he understands what’s going on, someone dies to prove him wrong.

The book has some flashbacks whose significance is a little confusing at first—especially if you skim over chapter headings and don’t notice that they’re supposed to take place a good twenty years before the main plot line. But all the pieces eventually come together, and the writing and characterization is good enough that it’s well worth being in the dark for a while. Nesbo does a great job of seeing the crime scenes through Harry’s eyes—he doesn’t salaciously dwell on the gore, but notes it and moves on.

Nesbo’s writing has been translated from the Norwegian, and has received the Glass Key Award for best Nordic crime novel. Previous Harry Hole books are The Devil’s Star, Nemesis, and The Redbreast.