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Don't Look Back
  
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Don't Look Back [Audio CD]

Karin Fossum (Author), David Rintoul (Narrator)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Audio, CD, October 2004 --   -- --

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From Publishers Weekly

In Fossum's moody and subtle U.S. debut, the fifth in her Inspector Sejer series, the popular Norwegian mystery writer displays her mastery of psychological suspense. Richly drawn characters reveal much about Norwegian society, though the setting, a picturesque valley town northwest of Oslo, isn't distinctive. A little girl disappears from her middle-class neighborhood, then returns home unharmed. Meanwhile, the search party discovers the nude corpse of a teenager, Annie Holland, and Fossum seamlessly shifts the story to a murder investigation, using several points of view to create red herrings that add to the suspense. Both girls lived in the same claustrophobic community where the residents claim to know one another but, naturally, don't really. With few clues and no witnesses, seasoned Inspector Konrad Sejer and his eager young assistant Jacob Skarre must uncover the hidden relationships and secrets they hope will lead to the killer of the well-liked, talented Annie. When they learn that the victim's behavior changed suddenly eight months earlier after a child she babysat died by accident, the plot shifts course again and drives to a stunning conclusion and ominous final scene. With the intuitive, introspective Sejer, a widower who lives alone with his dog and still grieves for his late wife, Fossum has created a fine character whom readers will want to get to know better.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Insularity, or the loss of it, is at the heart of the Scandinavian crime novel. In Henning Mankel's Kurt Wallander series, it is the opening of Sweden's borders and the collapse of insular homogeneity that breeds hatred and murder. In this nicely nuanced, first English translation of celebrated Norwegian author Fossum's work, insularity turns upon itself, as the residents of a small village where everyone knows too much about everyone else are torn asunder by the murder of a much-loved 15-year-old girl. Inspector Sejer, an aging, secretive cop still grieving for his late wife, accepts the distasteful job of cajoling secrets from the tight-lipped townspeople. Fossum expertly evokes the palpable tension beneath the surface of a seemingly idyllic community, as the characters' various psychological ticks are probed delicately but with devastating effect by the determined investigator. A disturbing ending, fraught with ambiguity, leaves the reader as unsettled as the shell-shocked villagers. Add another memorable series to the growing list of superb European procedurals. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book - excellent writer!, Jun 8 2011
By 
This review is from: Don't Look Back (Paperback)
Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum is a solid 4 star read. I so enjoyed the complexities and shades of gray of this thriller/ mystery. This is Karin Fossum's first book that was translated into English -and what a wonderful read!

In this story we are introduced to Skarre and Sejer, the two Norwegian Detectives who make up the police duo of Karin Fossum's thriller/ mysteries. I so enjoy her writing. It's so refreshing compared to many North American thriller/ mysteries. The police are not corrupt, men are not busy chasing women, nor going to bed with every skirt in sight, and they have no need of swearing - at least in the two Karin Fossum's that I have read. Right there, Karin Fossum has it on many a thriller/ mystery written in North America.

I enjoyed the many aspects of so many lives that were investigated in the course of this mystery. Karin Fossum is great at developing psychological portraits of many of the characters, and giving us an understanding of why people do what they do. Things are not neccesarily black and white - and I appreciate that, as that is what life is so often like.

The story starts out with a missing six year old, Ragnhild......... and from there the body of 15 year old Annie is found dead beside a lake. Who did what, and why -and what are the ramifications and reasoning - if any - behind these events? Well, I do not want to give away the plot -but suffice it to say that Karin Fossum has become on of my favourite new thriller/ mystery writers. The story is mulitfaceted and the ending most thought provoking.

Karin Fossum gives such wonderful psychological insight into her character's - I think she is now one of my favourite authors. I highly recommend her
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars my first Fossum; not my last, Nov 22 2010
By 
Lyn Alexander "a writer" (New Brunswick, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
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This review is from: Don't Look Back (Paperback)
This is a wonderful little story ~ "little" because its topic is small, personal, close. Not a crime story per se, not about criminals but about ordinary folk who fall tragically out of line from the ordinary. Even Inspector Sejer seems quite ordinary with his mild case of exzema and his quiet mourning of a dead wife.

As a crime novel this lacks heavy drama and graphic violence. I appreciated that. I prefer subtlety to crass action. Even the beating toward the end is minimised for effect rather than drawn out for drama. As a people story it flows with characters who pull you along. The opening chapter and the last two pages are as understated, and as hair-raising and deeply ironic as anything I have ever read.

Fossum's writing style, even in translation, comes across as thoughtful and spare. The only shortcoming that bothered me were the repeated and repeated background facts of the dead girl's personality, character, and the circumstances around her mysterious death. Three times okay -- four times, five times, six times = too much. A small criticism.

I appreciated the easy read, and Fossum's fine perception of the human condition.

I've already ordered other titles by Karin Fossum.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing mystery novel, Dec 5 2009
By 
C. Robert Broerse "Buchlieber - Canada" (Niagara Region) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Don't Look Back (Paperback)
I'm not the biggest fan of mystery novels. I tried reading 'Silence of the Grave' by the Icelandic writer Indridason and found it dull and contrived. Fossum is anything but.

From the first page, I was immediately drawn into Fossum's world. Her characterization is excellent, her ability to convey tension, wonder, worry, innocence, melancholy as well as paint a scene are way above average. Don't Look Back offers the pace of a mystery novel with the characterization of solid literature, making this read incredibly satisfying.

I don't want to give away too many of the details but the novel begins with a young child getting into a stranger's van. From there it simply flows into a story both believable and engrossing. Sejer and Skarre are fascinating characters to follow, their conversations reflective as they are human and consumed with their longing to solve the case but also equally concerned by their experiences, by the people they interact with. They are not grim characters, suffering from alcoholism nor are they the typical detectives who drink and are angry at the world (another reason why I can't stomach most mysteries is the cardboard cut-out main characters - the disgruntled detective is derivative).

Again I'm new to reading mysteries but the things that bother me about run-of-the-mill bestseller novels isn't here in Fossum. This is an intelligent book but also entertaining. Highly recommended.
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