A truly eerie, fascinating tale where the mind of the criminal is explored as fully as that of the victim and where the tables can so easily turn with extraordinary results. Highly regarded in her native Norway and, although a series featuring Inspector Sejer, of which this is the third, it does not rely on place for atmosphere as Donna Leon or Ian Rankin do, just on extraordinarily good character development. Highly recommended.
Comparison: Barbara Vine, Stephen King, Stephen Booth.
Similar this month: Ruth Rendell, Lynda La Plante.
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
| Recommendations: |
Pulling a handbag from a pushchair handle, two teenage trouble-makers, Zipp and Andreas, unwittingly commit murder when the baby inside is thrown to the ground. Unaware of what has happened, the pair move on to their next target. Having followed home Irma, an elderly lady who lives nearby, Andreas enters her house armed, with his trusty flick-knife. Zipp waits nervously outside, but his friend never reappears. He will never see him alive again. Fossum toys with the roles of victim and killer and pens the inner monologue of her characters to chilling effect. There are no red herrings in this narrative as the crime is played out on the page, but it is the mental processes behind the murderer's sinister act that are the real pieces of this puzzle. Gradually, they fall into place as Irma and Andreas talk to each other.
We are forced to question the familiar stereotypes: people are not always what they seem and it is not always bad people who do bad things. While the reader knows the truth of this crime, the police remain flummoxed.
There is no reason for Sejer and his colleague Skarre to see a connection between the infant's death and the reported disappearance of a town trouble-maker. With Zipp too frightened to come forward, the police must wait for the evidence to present itself before they can begin to comprehend the unsettling nature of the case on their hands.
When The Devil Holds The Candle features in the following genres: Crime and Mystery, eBooks of the Month, Fiction, Recommendations
When The Devil Holds The Candle is available in Paperback
When The Devil Holds The Candle was written by Karin Fossum and published by Vintage
When The Devil Holds The Candle has 368 pages
Yes it is part of The Inspector Sejer Series series
£8.99
