The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

What is it about that cold Nordic weather that brings out the icy violence in the imaginations of its writers? If you like those chilling Scandinavian crime stories from Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, and Hakan Nesser -- Jo Nesbo is another writer to add to your list.

In The Snowman, a young boy wakes on the first snowfall of the year to find his mother gone and an eerie snowman in the yard. It seems to be a typical missing persons case until Detective Harry Hole receives an anonymous letter signed by "the snowman". Soon Hole and his colleague, the beautiful Katrine Bratt, discover a pattern of murders that goes back years.

What Hole doesn't know is that he's been targeted from the beginning by a killer with a personal vendetta. As Hole rushes to try to solve the case before the next snow falls, he must battle his PR-minded superiors, untrustworthy colleagues, and his own addiction to alcohol.

The Snowman is one of those good, old-fashioned thriller/mysteries with a flawed, but likable hero, interesting side characters, plenty of plot twists, and a deliciously evil villain. If you're in the mood for a creepy read - you're in luck.