He Who Fears The Wolf is the third Sejer crime novel from Karin Fossum, and it's actually my favourite.
The previous one, Don't Look Back was a great all around novel, and while this has the police investigation, it also has characters that make huge arcs and become unforgettable.
Errki is a loner - a psychotic schizophrenic no one can reach - who escapes from a local institution. Wandering the roads and hiding out in an abandoned cabin in the woods, local legend has it that he is evil, cursed with magic spells. Kannick is a fat little teenager who lives at a troubled boys home. When Kannick wanders off playing cowboys and indians in the woods, he comes across the homestead of old Halides Horn - struck dead with a hoe - and sees Errki hiding nearby. It must have been creepy Errki who killed her, he tells the local police.
Morgan is a high strung, first time bank robber who catches the eye of Inspector Sejer on the street. Before he can do anything, Morgan has robbed the bank and taken a hostage. So begins a police lockdown of the area, forcing Morgan to abandon the car for a hike into the hills - with his hostage Errki along at gunpoint. They form an unlikely pair of misfits, scared and running out of options as they await the police in the abandoned cabin.
Errki seemed so unlikeable that along with everyone else in the story I didn't want to be around him. Slowly, this character transforms the more you read of his story, and by the end I was heartbroken at his fate. Morgan too, starts off irritatingly self centered, and the more they bond over their circumstances, the more you care for them. A sign of excellent writing.
Sejer and Skarre provide the investigation, finally wandering the hills themselves to discover what happened to the men. There is even a love interest for the widowed Sejer, if he can open his eyes and heart to accept it. An all around excellent novel with unforgettable characters.
Again, what is with the covers? Nothing to do with the story inside. With so many choices, it would be nice if the cover matched the contents a little more.
My other reviews for Karin Fossum:
The Whisperer (Inspector Sejer #13)
The Drowned Boy (Inspector Sejer #11)
The Caller (Inspector Sejer #10)
Bad Intentions (Inspector Sejer #9)
The Water's Edge (Inspector Sejer #8)
The Murder of Harriet Krohn (Inspector Sejer #7)
Black Seconds (Inspector Sejer #6)
The Indian Bride (Inspector Sejer #5)
When The Devil Holds The Candle (Inspector Sejer #4)
Don't Look Back (Inspector Sejer #2)
In The Darkness (Inspector Sejer #1)
1997 / Tradeback / 241 pages
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