Blackout

For recovering alcoholic and Oslo detective Harry Hole, waking up with a pounding headache isn't that unusual. But waking up to a headache, no memory of the night before, and the discovery that his ex-girlfriend -- who he had spent the previous night with -- has been murdered is slightly out of the ordinary. Can Harry clear his name and track down a ruthless bank robber terrorizing the streets of Oslo?

Nemesis is the second book in Jo Nesbø's series to be published in English. Also be sure to follow Harry Hole in his other adventures in The Snowman and The Leopard. HM

Brrrrrrrr!

For those who maybe aren't ready for winter or don't even want to hear the word, "snow," this book might make you feel a little bit better about Michigan weather. In The Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland, travel writer and translator Barbara Sjoholm journeys from her home in Washington to the arctic circle -- in December. Just a reminder here: the winter solstice usually occurs around December 20th, marking the shortest day of the year. In the far north, that means that for weeks before and after the solstice, the sun never actually rises. Sjoholm recounts her adventures in this perpetual twilight, including a trip to the original Ice Hotel, a visit to Santa's Village, an ill-conceived dog-sledding excursion, and an outdoor film festival where the movies are projected onto a giant sheet of ice. Along the way, she slowly comes to realize that the untouched north is full of vibrant and sometimes irreconcilable stories. HM