Reviews with content warning for Violence - Schneemann

As a thriller, it's not all bad - I genuinely didn't know who the killer would be until I had a third of the book left. The plot itself was quite clever, although there were maybe too many red herrings - with culprits being found who ended up not being the right person, etc.

What really ruined the book for me was the misogyny, and despite the theme (the serial killer only kills women, for a very specific reason) it was not the only reason for it. There's just now redeemable character there. The women are either victims (of the serial killer), or props. They are always somewhat mysterious, sexy, and every interaction between them and the main character involves some sort of sexual tension - mostly on the part of the hero, Harry Hole, as what the female characters think... we just don't know. It became so much that it was kind of gross - every time a female character appears, there's a neat paragraph on the male's character's dick, her legs, what he would do to her.

I read very few male authors - in fact, I try and avoid them unless I am sure that I won't be absolutely disgusted when I read them, but I craved a thriller like I do every time come late December. This reminded me exactly just why I normally stick to female writers.

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acesnsk8s's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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alylentz's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Read this for a class--really long, the translation can make it a little clunky at times.

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nila's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A young boy and his father is preparing dinner while waiting for their mother to come home. While waiting, the boy looks outside the window to see a snowman. But there is something that strikes him as odd about the snowman. It is standing the wrong way. Facing the house with that smile on its face...

Once again, detective Harry Hole faces a difficult case when he recieves anynomous letters signed by "Snømannen". After some investigation, Hole finds connections to old cases with women disappearing on the first day of snow. Soon, Harry Hole has a serialkiller on his hands and the tracks leads him back in time and to the city of Bergen.

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For those who decide to read this book and isn't particularly fond of scary things... DO NOT read it during the winter-time... I did and had to give up. Instead I read it during my summer holiday and when I had finished it, at 2am, I was to mortified to get out of bed and turn off the lights...

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