The Murder of Harriet Krohn is the seventh Inspector Sejer novel from Karin Fossum. A bit of a diversion from her previous novels, this is narrated by the killer and Inspector Sejer waits 237 pages - save a brief visit on page 187 - to make an official entrance.
Charlo is a widower, estranged from Julie, his seventeen year old daughter. He spent their family life addicted to gambling until his wife passed away from Leukaemia. Desperate to make amends, he has a plan to rob an elderly lady in her home one winter night. When she fights back, he kills her. With his new found money he is able to pay off his gambling debts and win back the friendship and trust of his daughter by indulging her passion and buying her a horse.
We listen to him make the plans and carry them out, his elation at being free of debt, married with guilt and nervous tension as he wonders when he will be found out. Julie is cautious but enjoys tending her horse, as Charlo works in the stables. Eventually, Sejer contacts him, and through slow interrogation, the story of the crime emerges.
This was very well written, full of rounded characters, but I found it a little dull. Sorry Karin. For me the interest is in the how and why, the twists that make up a mystery. To hear him plot and step by step carry it out, then step by step be caught was not that interesting. There is no mystery, only his worried suspicious mood, and inevitable incarceration. Pretty straight forward, and not such a pleasant read to spend time with someone who is nervous and tense, followed by an interrogation which tears his world apart. Sejer is again a great character, methodically searching for the truth - he hasn't had a single unsolved murder in his whole career. I would rather have heard about what he went through to his final suspicions rather than spend time at the stables with Charlo.
An interesting concept, but not a book I would recommend.
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)
Black Seconds (Inspector Sejer #6)
The Indian Bride (Inspector Sejer #5)
When The Devil Holds The Candle (Inspector Sejer #4)
He Who Fears The Wolf (Inspector Sejer #3)
Don't Look Back (Inspector Sejer #2)
In The Darkness (Inspector Sejer #1)
2004 / Tradeback / 297 pages
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