BOOK REVIEW - The Leopard, by Jo Nesbo

Firstly, I’m going to start of with the book’s description (as can be found on Amazon):

Soon the first snow will come

A young boy wakes to find his mother missing. Outside, he sees her favourite scarf – wrapped around the neck of a snowman.

And then he will appear again

Detective Harry Hole soon discovers that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years.

And when the snow is gone…

When a second woman disappears, Harry’s worst suspicion is confirmed: a serial killer is operating on his home turf.

…he will have taken someone else.

REVIEW, AND MY OVERALL OPINION:

WOW. What else can be said about The Snowman? This was the first full-length Harry Hole novel of Nesbo’s that I have read. And boy, was I not disappointed. Right from the outset, I was hooked, and this continued throughout the entirety of the novel. It took me a while to read, but that isn’t because it’s a long novel (reaching over 500 of your wood’s finest pages), but instead was because I was reading a non-fiction reference book alongside The Snowman.

The thing that I loved about this book, aside from the fact I was heavily influenced by the book turning into a movie (which I am still yet to see), was its concept. The motif of the snowman being created every time the murderer kills someone struck me as incredibly unique and creative. In addition, as I made my way through the novel, I fell in love with Nesbo’s prose - he is able to construct a well knit and poetic book that kept me guessing and kept me reading.

Harry Hole is oddly likeable, and towards the end of the novel I read the final few pages quicker than I ever have done - I wanted to know what happened so badly. The finale of the novel was satisfying, especially after I had invested as much time in the novel as I did.

Now, all I have to do is watch the film and see how they compare.

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