Karin Fossum

Black Seconds by Karin Fossum is the 6th installment in the Inspector Sejer series. Set in Norway, this outstanding police procedural deals with the tragic disappearance of a little girl. She set off on her bike to the local store and simply vanished. After days of searching, first her bike turns up and then, in a highly visual spot, her body was found.

The author’s accurate and sensitive writing and the slow step-by-step investigation felt extremely realistic. Although it is quite obvious to the reader who the perpetrator is from the early pages, we experience the frustration the police feel as they try to figure out what happened. Fossum often writes about crimes that aren’t open and shut cases and allows the reader to see all sides of the situation. Sejer’s empathetic and detailed handling of the suspects allows him to peel back the layers and get to the real truth of what happened.

I found Black Seconds to be an engaging read, the author digs a little deeper into the origins of the crime and allows us access to the thought process of not only the police and the mother of the missing child, but all other characters as well. I am looking forward to reading more of Karin Fossum books that feature Inspector Sejer as I find him, with his calm and refined manner, to be very charming.… (more)

A mother and child well liked and respected in the community are found dead in an old caravan on a farm.
The reader is then introduced to another mother and son. It is soon clear who the murderer is, to the reader. The big reveal is the reasons behind his actions and the connection between the two families. I was a little disappointed in this book as the Norwegian setting didn't come across very strongly and I thought the story somewhat depressing. I also didn't feel engaged by the police character, he came across as flat to me. Perhaps if you had read the previous 11 books in the series.… (more)

A couple hiking comes across the partially clothed body of a young boy. After alerting the police the male hiker takes photos of the dead boy on his phone. The team of Inspector Sejer and his sidekick Jacob Skarre begin a thorough investigation. No clear answers are found before another boy disappears….

As mentioned on another review,I enjoy Fossum’s series because they are pure police procedurals; detailed investigations without all the guns and thriller bits. The detectives’ investigations are a puzzle to be enjoyed, their two-step-forward-one-step-back thinking process is more realistic and certainly refreshing.… (more)