The Snowman

seventh entry in his Harry Hole series. Plot In 1980 a
married woman has illicit sex with a lover while her
adolescent son waits in a car outside; their lovemaking is
disturbed when they think somebody is looking at them from
outside the window which turns out to have been only a
tall snowman. Twenty-four years later Norwegian police
inspector Harry Hole investigates a string of murders of
women around Oslo. His FBI training leads him to search
for links between the cases and he finds two of them—each
victim is a married mother and a snowman appears at every
murder scene. Looking through cold cases Hole realises
that he is tracking Norways earliest known serial killer.
Most of the victims vanished after the first snowfall of
winter and snowmen were found near each scene. Further
digging leads Hole and his team including newcomer Katrine
Bratt to suspect that paternity issues with the children
of the victims may be a motive for the murders. They
discover that all of the victims children have different
biological fathers from the men they believe to be their
father. Following DNA testing results lead the
investigation down a few wrong turns and several suspects
are eliminated from the inquiry. Within a short time Hole
and Bratt are romantically drawn together although Hole
does not pursue her overture. Hole sees her as a kindred
spirit and a brilliant dedicated detective in her own
right. However suspicion falls on Bratt being the killer
after she attempts to frame one of the prime suspects.
Hole chases her across Norway and catches up with her at a
previously discovered murder site. She is apprehended and
committed to a psychiatric unit. Holes superiors concerned
that Bratts arrest for the murders will damage their
reputation suggest putting Hole forward as a scapegoat for
the press. Harrys superior Gunnar Hagen intervenes and
offers himself as scapegoat in Harrys stead. When another
victim is discovered Hole realises that the killer is
still at large. Due to a random thought triggered by a
chance comment he makes a vital connection that ultimately
leads him to the identity of the true perpetrator. His
success in finally apprehending the killer obviates any
need for a scapegoat and Bratt following further mental
stability checks returns to her post in Bergen.