The Snowman - Jo Nesbø

This was actually Jo Nesbø's novel which I wanted to read very much, but I had to start from The Redbreast. Last night I finished this book, which turned out had everything I had hoped for. I like reading about serial murders, and even though the characters in this book said that there had been no such thing in Norwegia, if you read the Harry Hole series in order, you would find such case in 'The Devil's Star'.

The police didn't aware that a serial killer had been haunting Norwegia for years, because so far the bodies were missing; so what they had was missing person cases. Our hero, Inspector Harry Hole, happened to receive a letter which made him think that something horrible had happened to the missing women. Together with his new partner, Katrine Bratt, Harry tried to solve the puzzles [by now I believe that it's bad luck to be partnered with Harry Hole] which led them to wrong suspects four times.

It was exciting to read when the writer unmasked the Snowman (the killer) and realized that he had been in the previous book [The Redeemer] as a harmless character. The Snowman for me is the best book in this series -- so far.

The Redeemer - Jo Nesbø

In my opinion, The Redeemer was not as good as previous books. Or it's because I choose serial murder over hitman. The story was about a hitman who went to Oslo and killed a Salvation Army officer. The hitman planned the killing in details, but it turned out that he killed the wrong man. [Never learn who the target is from a photograph!] As a professional, he determined to finish the job, even if it meant he had to live like a beggar in Oslo. The story got interesting because the hitman's face could change that even Beate Lønn, who never forgot a face, could not recognize him.

Our hero, Inspector Harry Hole, believed that the only way to stop the hitman was to know who had hired him in the first place. The plots seemed boring at first, but near the ending it got exciting. Another sad event happened when Harry Hole lost a partner again. I myself liked Halvorsen, who I thought was diligent and never complained.