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52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling, August 22, 2007
Henning Mankell introduced me to the wonders of Scandinavian crime writing, and led me to Karin Fossum, who is even better at it than our venerable Swedish friend. She's a little bit different in approach though: Mankell, who we all know, sticks, in his Wallander books at least, to the police procedural style. Perhaps that's his weakness. Fossum takes some elements of the procedural and mixes them with psychological drama.
For comfort she holds on to a common central character or two; Inspector Sejer is the reassurring anchor-man and his junior, Jacob Skarre, the device through which we learn how clever Sejer is. It all works beautifully.
Often in her books (and 'Black Seconds' is no exception), there is an 'oddity', an outcast in society on whom suspicion naturally falls. Perhaps this method of revealing society's simplistic reactions is overused in her novels, but it is effective, and usually quite creepy.
Here, a middle-aged outcast of childlike intellect is involved in the disapppearance of a child. Fossum once again manages the clever trick of fooling us into believing that what seems obvious isn't. Actually it is.
What's really clever is the way the second plot revolves around the first. In fact it's the second plot (about a teenager who crashes his car) is really the most interesting part of the novel. It throws up all kinds of questions about ideal and actual morality. Nothing is clear cut (another theme of Fossum's).
The way these two strands are pulled together is beautifully done in the author's unpretentious but stylish hand. In a way, not much happens, but the way it happens is absolutely compelling. In just a few well-chosen words, Karin Fossum creates a world you care about, people you can see and feel, and an atmosphere you can touch. I don't know anybody who does this kind of thing better.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Konrad Sejer and Jacob Skarre, please!, May 25, 2008
Creepy is an understatement when talking about Karin Fossum's detective series featuring Inspector Konrad Sejer and his colleague Jacob Skarre. In "Black Seconds," readers get a glimpse into a dark world not too many authors can create as powerful and troubling as Fossum. From the beginning of the series in "Don't Look Back" until now in "Black Seconds," Fossum knows how to create a believable and realistic sketch of her characters and their aging lives. As evidence, Konrad Sejer is not the same man we have seen in "Don't Look Back" or even in "The Indian Bride." He is more vulnerable, in private and in public life. Behind closed doors, we see his beloved dog Kollberg struggle with the aging process. He can hardly walk anymore, or find his cozy surroundings comfortable. Late one night, while Sejer comes home from work, he sits in his favorite chair by the window and stares across the room at his dog, who walks in circles a few times until he collapses on the floor. His hind legs hit the floor first, then his paws, and finally his heavy head falls in front of him. It is too difficult for Sejer to look his dog in the eyes. At work, Sejer deals with a case that he finds most puzzling to date. As he interviews Emil Mork and his mother, Elsa, Sejer discovers how rewarding and debilitating his line of work really is. At one point in the novel when Sejer questions Elsa about her son's anger management problems, Sejer is seen as weak and scared for the first time. He sees Kollberg in her story, I think, and takes her confession personally. The end of the story is Fossum at her best with the writings of nature and the human condition. Wonderful and haunting at the same time. I look forward to more Inspector Sejer and Skarre mysteries and hope we get a better look at Skarre's personality and private life. I really like these characters and pray we get more cases soon. T.B. Grant
5/25/08
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Enjoyable, June 27, 2008
Characters that are real, not forced or overdrawn. Plot development that is believable and deceiving, with a style that smoothly involves the reader mentally, laying clues that may be clues or not, always with unexpected plot finishes that are satisfying. Read one of her books and you immediately want to start another. A detective mystery writer of the highest order.
If you haven't read any Fossum I would recommend starting with The Indian Bride. The British TimesOnline named her one of the 50 greatest crime writers. If you like anything in this genre you will love this author.
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