Cheryl R. (Spuddie) - , reviewed on 7/26/2007 + 412 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

First in the Inspector Seijer series set in Norway. Actually, it's the second in series, but the first one hasn't been translated to the English yet. The book opens with a scene featuring a six-year-old girl getting into a van with a strange man. You're thinking--oh no! A serial killer after kids! But a few pages later, the girl is safely home, and Inspector Seijer is investigating the death of a fifteen-year-old in the same village, found peacefully dead on the shore of a small lake. Full of unexpected twists and turns, the only thing predictable about this Scandinavian police procedural is the taciturn nature of the main character. Do Scandinavian detectives have any personality aside from stodgy, quiet and prone to melancholia? I've been reading a number of different series set in Iceland, Sweden and Norway and the main characters seem to have the same personality!

Don't get me wrong--I actually enjoyed this book a lot! I just felt that somehow the real feelings of Konrad Seijer didn't come through very well on the page. We were told how he was feeling, but it didn't show if you know what I mean. I did figure the mystery out ahead of the reveal, despite a couple of tricky red herrings. I've got the next in series by this author on my TBR and will definitely read more, but not when I'm looking for a light, lively read.

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