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The Snowman: A Harry Hole Thriller, Book 7
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
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The Snowman: A Harry Hole Thriller, Book 7
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Summary
Now a major film starring Michael Fassbender.
36 million books sold worldwide.
The first snow will come
A young boy wakes to find his mother missing. Their house is empty but outside in the garden he sees his mother's favourite scarf – wrapped around the neck of a snowman.
And then he will appear again
As Harry Hole and his team begin their investigation they discover 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 it seems that Harry's worst suspicions are confirmed: for the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his home turf.
...he will have taken someone else.
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What listeners love about The Snowman: A Harry Hole Thriller, Book 7
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Wilma
- 06-12-10
Nailbiting from start to finish
I hadn't read anything by Jo Nesbo before. What a find! The story keeps you guessing all the way through, some parts were too scary to listen to in the dark. Excellent narration by Sean Barrett brings the story alive. Best audiobook so far.
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28 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 02-03-11
Brilliant!
Whether you think Jo Nesbo is the next Stieg Larsson or not (and I came to this book via the Millennium Trilogy and the Wallander books by Henning Mankell), it's a brilliant book. I haven't finished it yet, so, although I have a suspicion as to who the murderer might be, I don't know if I'm right yet! I am writing this at work (hope ICT system isn't being monitored just now!), which has forced me to put the i-Pod down...otherwise difficult to do. I must also take issue with those who complain about the use of regional English accents. Regional accents (despite anything French people will tell you) do exist in other languages and, frankly, well chosen (as these are) and well executed (as these are) regional accents are a help, especially when dealing with a number of characters with names that are foreign and, therefore, less familiar and easy to distinguish (and I speak as a Modern Languages Teacher, however pompous that may sound). Full marks to Jo Nesbo, Sean Barrett and let's have more of them!
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mandy
- 07-02-11
AMAZING
The comparisons to the Millennium trilogy should not stop you buying this audio book.
This is a chilling listen that will have you going to the next bus stop to walk home just so you can listen a little more and keep you listening well into the night.
I dare you to figure out the Killer before Harry Hole does and if you can I will buy you a drink!
Best thriller/crime novel of recent times and in my opinion leaves the Millennium trilogy in the dust this is so much better. Delighted I took a leap of faith on this one and can't wait to read/listen to more from this engaging writer.
Hope you enjoy it just as much as I have.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Wibbo
- 05-04-11
An excellent listen
This was a genuinely scary story! The book is well-written and impeccably narrated by Sean Barrett who's one of my favourite readers. Try it - you won't be disappointed.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Patricia A. Thompson
- 10-10-10
A Chilling Tale
Having enjoyed the Millenium Trilogy I thought I would venture into another book by a Swedish author. I found this compared favourably and from the opening pages, it became a compelling and gripping tale. The Swedish names rolled effortlessly off the narrator's tongue and I do find them a stumbling block when reading the books myself. The lead detective's name presented no such problems though, being a pretty ordinary 'Harry Hole'. There are some truly scary bits in the book which would definitely suit being heard on a cold and dark night. Lots of plot twists and turns which keep the listener guessing. Thoroughly enjoyable and I'd like to hear more from Jo Nesbo.beta inappVoteInfo
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Mr sd smith
- 17-04-11
Interesting
My second Nesbo book, so I was expecting quite a good listen. Took a little of getting into, but was soon turning pages. Stick with it, and visit his other books.
Not the originality of Stig Larrsen, a bit similar to Ian Rankin. worth a listen, I was a little disapointed at the ending too big a leap of imagination I felt.
Enjoy
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 27-05-11
Don't be put off...
The issue that faced me was they stated 'The Next Stieg Larsson' which immediatly raises the expectation to unrealistic levels, after a slow start the book turned into a great listen but it will never live up to Stieg Larsson Trilogy.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Diggory
- 02-08-15
Ending overly signposted for my liking
Performance excellent but I was disappointed with the pacing and the big reveal.
As the best mystery writers do, Nesbo leaves little markers along the way which a reader can use to form predictions, which differ from those the detective is following. The principle excitement of this genre is derived not from the detective working his way through numerous inevitable red herrings - we have a suspect in hour 2 of 14, probably not the solution he's after- but in piecing together evidence ourselves; pitting our wits against both detective and author to see if we can decipher the correct combination of clues before the countdown of the narrative eventually reveals it to us.
The two big 'unknowns' in this novel are too heavily hinted at; the dark places of its epistemology too frequently swept over by the searchlight of authorial knowingness; meaning that the majority of the audiobook is defunct.
In all, a mystery without much mystery, redeemed in part by an entertaining, if predictable cast of misanthropic Scandiwegians and a good reading performance.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Sally
- 03-10-10
Interesting but not my favourite
I listened to this as I was looking for something I would love as much as I loved the Stieg Larsson trilogy. It was a good listen, although I found it jumped around a bit. I had worked out 'whodunnit' fairly early on, but I enjoyed adding to the evidence as the book went on. Not as good as the Larsson trilogy though!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- CAL
- 31-07-11
Reading 1, Writing 0
Positive first: Sean Barrett's reading of this tale is superb, which is all the more remarkable as he must have baulked at much of the writing, and the plot will probably carry even a reluctant reader (like me) to the end.
The most wondrous thing, however, is why this author allegedly received accolades for his writing. The surfeit of similes and metaphors which nearly all just miss (the minute-hand of a clock "goose-stepping"), the pretentious language (nothing has a smell, everything has an aroma, people don't chew, they masticate) all reminded me of teenagers writing to impress. The book does not have a structure so much as an event pile-up, and the characters are two-dimensional, tired, predictable cardboard cut-outs. I started wincing with embarrassment and finished laughing out loud - it's all you can do if you don't want to cry.
If you read solely for plot, enjoy a gruesome tale, and don't mind excruciatingly poor writing, buy this book. If, however, you expect professional writing, stay clear of all books of this author.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lia
- 27-06-14
Gripping - Practically a horror novel
Certainly a gripping, can't-put-it-down, finish-it-in-the-wee-hours book, but it's also almost a horror story. One more gruesome killing of a terrified woman, one more child with evil seething around him, and one more bout of Harry's horrific lapses into booze, and I'd have to put this one down as horror rather than mystery or crime. But the character development, the plotting, the pacing and the building of tension are all absolutely professional and highly impressive.
On the down side, there are a few unnecessary clichés: the relatively incompetent and sexist underling male cop who looks askance at the new and more competent female cop. Has that one not been done enough yet? (Mind you, maybe it was still somewhat fresh back when the novel was originally penned!) And Harry's battle with booze. I am so tired of cops and detectives with a drinking problem. The only thing different about Harry's drinking is that it's horrible to read about - that one scene where he's already drunk and then goes home, opens a bottle of hard stuff and starts just draining it practically made me ill.
But these are quibbles, really. I'll be reading more about Harry soon, I'm sure, since I've pretty much exhausted P. D. James, John le Carré and Stieg Larsson.
On the unbelievability index, it rates about a 7 out of 10, especially toward the end, wehere things get a tad out of control, but that's about par for the course in cop/thriller/whodunnits, so no surprises there.
Sean Barraett outstanding with the delivery of the story
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Erika Salzeck
- 22-11-10
Brrrrr...
Chillingly intricate plot plus superlative narration by Sean Barrett make this a thoroughly gripping listen. It the Audible equivalent of a "can't put it down" I loved it and was sorry when it ended. The anti hero is an attractive and fallible character who becomes an unwitting protaganist in his own case. Smashing stuff!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 18-11-10
Wonderful Norwegian serial killer thriller.
The usual suspects: a flawed policeman, a devilishly clever serial killer and more twists and turns than you could shake a stick at. The setting is Oslo, the writing is superb, the story gripping, and the narration by Sean Barrett is excellent. If you enjoy the Wallander books, set in neighbouring Sweden you will probably love this too.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Marcie
- 02-03-11
Twirling whirling plot twists
Jo Nesbo rides the waves created by poor dead Steig Larsson. Norway is not Sweden, but close enough for the publishers to hope that the magic of one trilogy will stick to another set of crime novels. Nesbo writes improbable and convoluted plot twists I cannot help but think are meant to appeal to the throngs of jaded thriller junkies who need a constant stream of fiction in their lives but can no longer be surprised to a straight forward good read. Harry Hole (pronounced Huy-youler, not HOLE) is a drunk and I cannot fathom why his girlfriend Raquel puts up with him excepting underneath her competence she must be just as damaged as he is. Why does the murderer compulsively build snow people at every scene? Perhaps a more appropriate question is why would I care? One thing I will say is that with a Nesbo book it is impossible to figure out prior to the end of the novel who done it. Because there is such a mesmerizing array of twirling red herrings so as to confuse even the most seasoned fiction reader. There is a disjointed quality to Nesbo's narrative that keeps one reading until the end, but ultimately when you finish the last page and finally know who did what to whom, you can only snort to yourself, turn off the itty bitty book light and punch your bed mate in the kidneys until they scootch over to their side of the bed. I enjoyed the Larsson books but will definitely give the rest of the Nesbo books a miss.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tracy
- 30-09-12
pleasantly surprised
never really been a fan of this type of story (thriller/whodunnit/airport-ish novel) - I decided to try it out because I had read some good reviews of the author. I went into it with low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised = this was a good "read" - the pace was great, it was easy to engage with the characters, characters were believable & the details were gruesome without being too gratuitous. I worked out the bad guy a fair way before the end, but this in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
I imagine if you like murder mystery/thrillers with a bit of "smart" then you will enjoy this.
The narrator did a fantastic job, and I was really pleased with my purchase.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lynne
- 16-11-11
Who is the Snowman? and who is Oleg's father? ...
Fantastic story I felt the cold when reading it - the suspense at times was excruciating
had to turn off iPod and calm down, never ever dull can highly recommend. Narrators voice is very good and not grating. All in all a great read (listen)
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cath
- 31-10-11
Chilling in more ways than one!
As always the Nesbo/Barrett combination is riveting. Barrett's dulcet tones belie the Nesboian terror, which manages to chill the listener to the bone. The Snowman is a haunting narrative with the gritty protagonist, Harry Hole, who you can't help but admire.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lesley
- 05-10-11
Fabulous
As I have written 2 disparaging reviews in a row I thought I'd better write a positive one. This is a beautifully crafted, story with credible characters. A good rip-along yarn.
The narrator was a joy to listen to and he certainly made the book most exciting. Mr Barrett gave a performance so skilful that I didn't notice it... I was ' living in the story' rather than being told a story. I wish there were more readers like this.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dallas
- 15-09-11
The Snowman
Fantastic!!!!!
I loved the book and I usually dont read murder mysteries....got the chills more than once and its really a great story very well narrated and it keeps you on edge
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Chantal Noordeloos
- 24-08-21
Interesting but a little long winded
I liked the story on the whole, it was a mix of original ideas and terrible cliches. Though in all honesty it was mostly cliches. The writing isn’t bad, and I enjoyed the dialogues. It did feel a bit too much like a book of a thousand endings and I even found myself getting a bit bored of some of the plot lines. I wish they had left out the Katrina story. It just slowed the plot down.
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