Hellfire by Karin Fossum

I recently read Karin Fossum's Inspector Sejer novels back to back - there is always the hope that the next one will exceed your favourite, with the trepidation it may let you down. I'm happy to say I found Hellfire (number 12 in the series) to be up there with her best mysteries, one of my favourite Sejer novels.

Hellfire introduces three interwoven stories. Inspector Sejer is called in when the murdered bodies of a mother and child are found in a remote camper by a nearby farmer. Another mother named Thomasine, nicknamed 'Mass', has daily troubles dealing with her grown son, a wilful man who has certain mental abilities but is unable to care for himself or deal with the outside world. Mass is dealt another blow when she is diagnosed with cancer, with only weeks or months to prepare her son for life on his own. The third story follows Bonnie, one of Fossum's best characters to date. With little to no money she is raising her son on her own, working as a home helper to seniors and the housebound. Some of her clients are dears but several more take advantage, berate her, and she is asked to perform duties well above what she was hired for. Through it all, she keeps her head up and tries her very best for the clients and her son. What she doesn't know is there is a surprise inheritance coming for her which will change everything.

But, this is a Karin Fossum novel - more a tragedy than a mystery. Early on we find out that the bodies in the camper Sejer is investigating are that of Bonnie and her son. Fossum has a knack of attaching the reader emotionally to her characters, and then pulling the rug like that. I liked Bonnie so much I had to put the book down for a bit. She worked too hard and didn't deserve that fate.

Slowly these three stories converge towards a very surprising ending - I was actually shocked enough to put the book down in surprise - with an audible "what?!" She can really pull it out of a hat.

Kudos for Fossum for pulling off several great twists. Sejer is brought back in fine form, along with his dog Frank and assistant Skarre (he of the golden locks.) No matter how disparate the clues, or the half truths told, he is comforted by the thought they always solve the case. This novel jumps back and forth between years as the timelines come together. It's complex and well written, keeping the revelation of family secrets under wraps, only exposing them at the right moment.

Hellfire is a fine compliment to the series.

My other reviews for Karin Fossum:

I Can See In The Dark

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)