'The Snowman' Inspirations

Recently I read 'The Snowman' by Jo Nesbo and it gave me some ideas and inspiration for our own film. The genre is considered crime fiction as the main focus is on the detective, Harry Hole rather than the serial killer as he tries to solve the murders. However the book does contain some psychological elements and also contains horror aspects, which would be useful for us to consider.
The book is set in Norway, 2004 but contains flashbacks to give the reader hints about the killer, who is only revealed towards the ending, after a series of misleading red herrings. Harry Hole is investigating the recent murders of women in Oslo and as he begins to look for a link between cases, he realises each woman is married with children and a snowman appearing at each murder scene.
As he looks back through previous cases going back years, he knows he is on the case of Norway's first serial killer. The fact that most of the victims vanish after the first snowfall of winter is also intriguing to Hole and he discovers more women who have disappeared or murdered in a similar fashion.
The team suspect that paternity issues might be a motive for the murders and they realise all of the victims' children have different fathers to who they think. Gradually they get closer to the real killer...


The reason this book inspired me was the different paths it led the reader down, only for them to realise it was a dead end and have to go back to the start to try and work out who the killer is. In a trailer, we probably wouldn't be able to show that as well but I like the idea that the killer wouldn't be obvious to add a bit of mystery. I also like the idea of something deliberately being left at the murder scene, just to toy with the police and show that they are actually in control.
Another thing I liked was the link between cases as I feel there needs to be a motive for the murders, especially with a serial killer. In our trailer, we are hoping to use the idea of homelessness as a motive, with our serial killer murdering a number of homeless teenagers, set in London.