by Headhunters
They ate in silence, broken only by Mommy’s tiny questions about how school had been and Jonas’s brief, vague answers. Jonas knew that detailed answers could evoke unpleasant questions from Dad about what they were learning—or not learning—at the “excuse of a school.” Or quick-fire interrogation about someone Jonas mentioned he had been playing with, about what his parents did and where they were from. Questions that Jonas could never answer to his father’s satisfaction.
When Jonas was in bed, on the floor below he heard his father say good-bye to his mother, a door close and the car start up outside and fade into the distance. They were alone again. His mother switched on the TV. He thought about something she had asked. Why Jonas hardly ever brought his friends home to play anymore. He hadn’t known what to answer; he hadn’t wanted her to be sad. But now he became sad instead. He chewed the inside of his cheek, feeling the bittersweet pain extend into his ears, and stared at the metal tubes of the wind chime hanging from the ceiling. He got out of bed and shuffled over to the window.
The snow in the yard reflected enough light for him to make out the snowman down below. It looked alone. Someone should have given it a cap and scarf. And maybe a broomstick to hold. At that moment the moon slid from behind a cloud. The black row of teeth came into view. And the eyes. Jonas automatically sucked in his breath and recoiled two steps. The pebble-eyes were gleaming. And they were not staring into the house. They were looking up. Up here. Jonas drew the curtains and crept back into bed.
Jo Nesbø
THE SNOWMAN
The first snow of the season has fallen in Oslo. A young boy wakes in the night to find his mother gone and a snowman in the yard with her scarf around its neck. Harry Hole is investigating—and fast becoming a pawn in a terrifying game devised by the killer.
“Every now and then, a truly exceptional crime novel comes along, something so gripping that it recalls classics such as The Silence of the Lambs. Jo Nesbø has pulled it off with The Snowman.”
—THE SUNDAY TIMES, UK
Available in hardcover and eBook from Knopf
Please visit JoNesbo.com
Next from
Jo Nesbø
THE LEOPARD
Two young women are found dead in Oslo, drowned in their own blood. The crime scenes offer no clues, media coverage is fast reaching fever pitch, the police are running out of options. There is only one man who can help them, but Harry Hole doesn’t want to be found …
“Jo Nesbø is my new favorite thriller writer and Harry Hole my new hero.”
—MICHAEL CONNELLY
Available December 2011 from Knopf
Please visit JoNesbo.com
