Review: The Snowman

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
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Full disclosure: This is my first Nesbø book, and I've read that this book stands on its own. So no, I haven't read any of its predecessors on the Harry Hole series.

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I genuinely tried to really love this book simply because many of my fellow readers sang praises to it. But it was a difficult tread from start to finish. Maybe I expected too much. For a 500-page crime/thriller, it lacked the suspense I was expecting. It only became remotely exciting towards the last part--when the confrontation happened. The only other thing I loved about this is how Nesbø built the character of the serial killer--thorough and definite. In the end, there is absolutely no doubt surrounding the killer's insanity.

Unfortunately, this great character development did not extend to the other characters. I understand that this is book part of the Harry Hole series. Naturally, Harry's character development might be progressive, and made apparent gradually throughout the series. But I had to consider the fact that this book is the 7th in his series, I would expect that he'd be a bit better at his job. Hole is often referred to as the "best" detective in Oslo--and yet, he had to wrongfully accuse anyone and everyone around him until there's none left to accuse but the obvious killer. I figured out the killer throughout a third of the book, but Nesbø had his best detective flounder and blunder around. He pointed at every direction and at every possible suspect, and wasted time pursuing, and going through numerous mundane trivia to support Harry's stupid and senseless accusations. It all just felt so dragging and frustrating.

Another point of irritation for me is how Nesbø made out the female characters as pieces of meat whose purpose is only to seduce the powerful male characters and have illicit sex with men. His female characters are vapid cheaters, and do not develop into strong and complex characters. It feels so depressing being female in this world Nesbø created. It drips shamelessly of misogyny. Definitely not a Nesbø fan considering this aspect.

I won't be permanently blacklisting Nesbø yet on my to-read list. He's a great writer, but I need a smart crime novel with a good narrative pace and has progressive characters (both male and female).

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