The Snowman

Jo Nesbø, a Norwegian author, began the Harry Hole mystery series in 1997 with Flaggermusmannen, translated into English in 2012 as The Bat. Although popular in Norway, Nesbø’s novels were not translated into English until the fifth book in the series, Marekors, was published in English in 2005 as The Devil’s Star. This book, and the third book in the series, The Redbreast, remain the most popular in the series.

The Snowman, the seventh book in the series, follows detective Harry Hole as he hunts his first serial killer in his home country of Norway. Harry’s cases often take him far afield, to Australia, Thailand, and Hong Kong among other places, as he solves mysteries involving Norwegian citizens abroad. Nesbø is one of Norway’s most famous Nordic noir authors, and his detective, Harry Hole, has become iconic. Harry’s unusual approach to investigation, complicated personal history, and struggles with relationships and addiction make him a complex character who fulfills many of the conventions of the Nordic noir genre.

Nordic noir is a subgenre of the mystery genre and comprises work from the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Most often, Nordic noir novels are police procedurals that focus on the details and day-to-day work of solving a crime by professional investigator. Nesbø’s series hews close to this trope with Harry Hole, who is an investigator with Oslo’s police department. This is not always the case, as Stieg Larssen’s amateur detectives, journalist Mikael Blomkvist and hacker Lisbeth Salander, demonstrate. Although the detectives in Nordic noir are usually police investigators, the novels in this genre are concerned with their detectives’ personal lives, as well as professional. Deep character development and exploration of the characters’ personal histories and emotional lives are characteristic of the genre. Nordic noir mysteries are generally moody, dark, and gritty, and are often graphic and violent. Social criticism is also a feature, and many of them delve into the corruption and immorality that lies under the façade of government, policing, the media, and even family life.

Although the genre can be traced back to the Martin Beck novels, written in the 1960s by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, Nordic noir came to the attention of a wider global audience during the 1990s. Peter Høeg was one of the first Nordic noir authors to be translated into English with his novel, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, published in English in 1993. Swedish author Henning Mankell, often considered “the father of Nordic noir,” wrote the Kurt Wallander books in the 1990s, which have spawned television and movie adaptations, as well as spin-offs that delve into Wallander’s early years as a detective.

Many who were not already fans of the mystery genre became aware of Nordic noir when Stieg Larssen burst onto the mainstream publishing scene with his Millenium trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. These books and their American movie adaptations brought Nordic noir further into the public eye, and after Larssen’s death, the series was continued by authors David Lagercrantz and Karin Smirnoff. Other well-known authors in the Nordic noir genre include Swedish author Camilla Läckberg, Danish writer Sara Blædel, and Swedish husband-wife writing team Lars Kepler.