- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Jun 8 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0151010919
- ISBN-13: 978-0151010912
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.7 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 522 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #844,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In Fossum's impressive psychological police procedural, her second to be published in the U.S. to feature Insp. Konrad Sejer (after 2004's Don't Look Back), a troubled youngster claims to have seen escaped mental patient Errki Johrma, a schizophrenic rumored to have left a string of corpses in his wake, in the vicinity of a brutal murder. Sejer himself becomes a crucial witness to another crime—a daylight bank robbery that turns into a hostage situation. Blaming himself for not acting on his suspicions of the man who held up the bank, Sejer races to prevent further bloodshed. The gripping plot takes another sharp turn when the possible killer—Johrma—is identified as the robber's captive. Fossum succeeds in evoking sympathy for all her characters while maintaining the conventions of the fair-play whodunit. Her detective's shy, slow courtship of the psychiatrist responsible for Johrma's care is patiently and convincingly integrated into the plot. Fossum's harrowing journey inside Johrma's warped mind elevates this above the pack and bodes well for future efforts. (July 6)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"A superb writer of psychological suspense" (New York Times )
"Fossum raises interesting questions throughout...That she doesn''t pretend to have all the answers only adds to the force of her story." (Wall Street Journal )
"Easily one of the best new imports the genre has to offer" (Baltimore Sun )
In Fossum's impressive psychological police procedural, her second to be published in the U.S. to feature Insp. Konrad Sejer (after 2004's Don't Look Back), a troubled youngster claims to have seen escaped mental patient Errki Johrma, a schizophrenic rumored to have left a string of corpses in his wake, in the vicinity of a brutal murder. Sejer himself becomes a crucial witness to another crime—a daylight bank robbery that turns into a hostage situation. Blaming himself for not acting on his suspicions of the man who held up the bank, Sejer races to prevent further bloodshed. The gripping plot takes another sharp turn when the possible killer—Johrma—is identified as the robber's captive. Fossum succeeds in evoking sympathy for all her characters while maintaining the conventions of the fair-play whodunit. Her detective's shy, slow courtship of the psychiatrist responsible for Johrma's care is patiently and convincingly integrated into the plot. Fossum's harrowing journey inside Johrma's warped mind elevates this above the pack and bodes well for future efforts. (July 6) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (Publishers Weekly )
"A superb writer of psychological suspense" (New York Times-Marilyn Stasio )
"Fossum raises interesting questions throughout...That she doesn''t pretend to have all the answers only adds to the force of her story." (Wall Street Journal )
"Easily one of the best new imports the genre has to offer" (Baltimore Sun )
In Fossum's impressive psychological police procedural, her second to be published in the U.S. to feature Insp. Konrad Sejer (after 2004's Don't Look Back), a troubled youngster claims to have seen escaped mental patient Errki Johrma, a schizophrenic rumored to have left a string of corpses in his wake, in the vicinity of a brutal murder. Sejer himself becomes a crucial witness to another crime—a daylight bank robbery that turns into a hostage situation. Blaming himself for not acting on his suspicions of the man who held up the bank, Sejer races to prevent further bloodshed. The gripping plot takes another sharp turn when the possible killer—Johrma—is identified as the robber's captive. Fossum succeeds in evoking sympathy for all her characters while maintaining the conventions of the fair-play whodunit. Her detective's shy, slow courtship of the psychiatrist responsible for Johrma's care is patiently and convincingly integrated into the plot. Fossum's harrowing journey inside Johrma's warped mind elevates this above the pack and bodes well for future efforts. (July 6) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (Publishers Weekly )
"A superb writer of psychological suspense" (New York Times-Marilyn Stasio )
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
`He who fears the wolf shouldn't go into the forest.',
By J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: He Who Fears the Wolf (Paperback)
Chief Inspector Konrad Sejer and his team are called into investigate the murder of Halldis Horn, an elderly woman who lives alone in the woods near a small village. It seems that the chief suspect is Errki Johrma, a loner who is probably psychotic and has recently escaped from a mental institution. Many people fear Errki because bad things seem to happen around him, including the death of his mother. The only witness is Kannick Snelligen, a twelve year old boy with problems of his own and who lives at a nearby home for delinquents.While police are seeking Errki for questioning, a nearby bank is robbed and a hostage is taken. The police need to track down the robber and his hostage. The two cases become linked as it becomes clear that Errki is the hostage. Errki and his kidnapper, Morten Garpe (Morgan), form a temporary but meaningful bond. This bond which is tested when Kannick Snellingen joins them, but by then Errki's story has been slowly revealed and it is hard not to feel sorry for him rather than afraid of him. This story is more about Errki than Sejer, but Sejer's painstaking information-gathering is critical to solving the case and also in understanding how prejudice and disadvantage can play their own role. The ending is tragic, but probably inevitable. In this case, at least, the disadvantaged do not triumph. Although `He Who Fears the Wolf' is the third book in the Inspector Konrad Sejer series, it is first one I've read. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I'll certainly be looking to read some more. As far as I can find out, the first book in the series has not yet been translated into English. Jennifer Cameron-Smith
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Six Degrees of Separation,
By C. Robert Broerse "Buchlieber - Canada" (Niagara Region) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: He Who Fears the Wolf (Paperback)
Another excellent mystery from Karin Fossum. I highly recommend this read. As the other critic has noted, the emphasis is less on Inspector Sejer and his detective work and more focused on three other disturbed characters: a young boy, a bank robber and an escaped mental patient.Fossum evokes atmosphere - from the opening, to the woods, to the cabin where the story climaxes, this is a claustrophobic world where destinies and coincidences connect and collect. The characters are fully-fleshed, real and sympathetic. The mental patient speaks proverbs, the young boy has been abandoned with a weakness for sweets and enjoys archery while the bank robber is trying to pay off a debt. Sejer begins to become aware of his loneliness. The setting is summer in Norway and the heat claws at them all, enhancing the need for relief and release. As I wrote for Don't Look Back, Fossum is not run-of-the-mill, she offers a genuine, literary touch to the mystery novel. An excellent read. I almost wish it was longer so I could spend more time with the characters, learning more about them.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Too Much Coincidence, Not Enough Sejer,
By
This review is from: He Who Fears the Wolf: An Inspector Sejer Mystery (Paperback)
The latest Inspector Sejer novel to appear in English is just as suspenseful and moody as Don't Look Back, and yet isn't as strong. One reason for this is the relative absence of Det. Inspector Sejer and his junior partner, Skarre. The other reason is the the story is built upon the concordance of three disturbed minds and series of coincidences. It's a testament to Fossum's skill as a writer (not to mention Felicity David's translation) that the book is as gripping as it is.The story starts off with the escape from an psychiatric asylum of Errki, a strange young man haunted by inner demons. He disappears into sparsely populated woods and is next seen at an old widow's farmstead, around the time of her murder. The woman's body and Errki's presence at the scene is reported to the local police by Kannick, a fat youth on walkabout from a nearby home for troublesome boys, who was also there. Since Errki has a history of being at the scenes of fatal accidents, he is the primary suspect for the killing. The following morning, a bank is robbed in town, and the robber and hostage disappear. Much of the book is spent on the strange relationship between the robber and his hostage, who coincidentally turns out to be Errki (this is revealed right away to the reader). The gunman is kind of dim, and a bit of an amateur, and as they hike through the woods to escape the police dragnet, he grows increasingly pathetic. Meanwhile, Sejer and Skarre are running down leads on the widow's killing and working the bank robbery case, but they don't get nearly as many pages as might be desired-and are relegated to supporting cast status. When they are around, they're great, as Sejer struggles with his own widower status and a potential romantic interest emerges. It's a little hard to critique the book further without revealing some of the further coincidences and how vital they are to the plot, so I'll leave it by noting that while Don't Look Back always felt real, this book requires much more suspension of disbelief. It's shame that Fossum decided to dovetail all the plotlines, although it's too her credit that it works as well as it does. I'll look forward to the next two Sejer books: When The Devil Holds the Candle, and Beloved Poona.
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