The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Internationally acclaimed crime writer Jo Nesbø’s antihero police investigator, Harry Hole, is back: in a bone-chilling thriller that will take Hole to the brink of insanity.

Oslo in November. The first snow of the season has fallen. A boy named Jonas wakes in the night to find his mother gone. Out his window, in the cold moonlight, he sees the snowman that inexplicably appeared in the yard earlier in the day. Around its neck is his mother’s pink scarf.

Hole suspects a link between a menacing letter he’s received and the disappearance of Jonas’s mother—and of perhaps a dozen other women, all of whom went missing on the day of a first snowfall. As his investigation deepens, something else emerges: he is becoming a pawn in an increasingly terrifying game whose rules are devised—and constantly revised—by the killer.

Fiercely suspenseful, its characters brilliantly realized, its atmosphere permeated with evil, The Snowman is the electrifying work of one of the best crime writers of our time."

My Thoughts:

This is hands down one of the creepier thrillers that I've read so far this year!  I first heard about this book thanks to the Read or Dead podcast which is a new favorite of mine.  I've had Jo Nesbo's books on my radar but this podcast gave me the push to finally give this author a try.  It also helped that there is a movie coming out based off of this book (and you know that I need to read the book first).  I'm so glad that I finally gave this author a try because this book was intense!  It was the perfect way for me to begin my R.I.P. reading challenge.  This book was darker and way more chilling than I expected it to be.  It begins with this creepy, straight out of a horror movie feel type prologue that basically set the tone for the entire book.  I felt like it was non-stop tension from the very beginning page until the very last page of the book.  You've got to enjoy a great read like that!  

Harry Hole is a great main character to read about.  As this is the 1st book that I've read in this series, it means I started smack dab in the middle of it.  I found that it didn't matter in the slightest.  I love a flawed main character which describes Harry perfectly.  I liked the way that this author put out red herrings to keep the reader guessing until the very end.  I would think that I had the mystery all figured out, and then the book would take an unexpected turn which would have my re-thinking everything.  I never was able to figure out what was going on until the very end.  I don't think that this book is for everyone as it was very gruesome at times.  It was dark and brutal at times as well.  But it was also oh so good!  I'm so, so curious to see the movie now as you never know exactly what to expect when a book is turned into a movie.  I hope it is just as good as the book!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and am eager to read more in this series.  I've already got the first book on my shelves so I will probably start at the beginning to see how it all began sometime soon.  This book was filled with suspense and tension which is exactly how I like my thrillers to be.  I found it hard to put down even when I was thoroughly creeped out by it.  I feel like this was the perfect way to start of my R.I.P. reading challenge as I couldn't have picked a darker thriller than this book.  I would recommend this book to other readers but with the warning that it can be graphic at times.  Fans of mysteries and thrillers should check this author out!  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A terrifying thriller that kept me up way too late reading!

Disclosure:  I checked this book out from my local library thanks to the Read or Dead podcast mentioning it.