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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
незважаючи на присутність прізвища інспектора в назві серії, в самому романі інспектор з'являється занадто рідко, щоб склалося відчуття хоч якогось розслідування. не детектив, а так, історія з мінімальним детективним обрамленням.
Degelijk boek, degelijk verhaal, en meer valt er niet over te zeggen. Het las wel vlot, maar voor een thriller is ie niet echt bijzonder spannend, en er is wel degelijk een clou maar 't is maar een kleintje. Ik vond het ook vreemd dat de fantastisch getalenteerde doch erg menselijke politieman precies maar aan een serieus onderzoek begon op het moment dat het lijk gevonden werd, en niet op het moment dat de man verdwenen was en zijn auto teruggevonden werd bedekt onder de bloedsporen (geen spoiler, dit is het begin van het verhaal). Enkele personages worden wel goed uitgewerkt, maar nergens greep het me bijzonder aan, en dat komt waarschijnlijk door de wat stroeve vertaling.
Wat me in het begin van het boek erg stoorde was de overdaad aan droge details. Wat interesseert het me dat een compleet onbelangrijk nevenpersonage als boekenwijzer een oude busdienstregeling gebruikt, dat de inspecteur een computer van het merk Compaq op zijn bureau heeft staan, dat een ander onbelangrijk nevenpersonage armen heeft als geïmpregneerd hout? Het verhaal is gelukkig toch erg vlot leesbaar, zonder meer.
Wat me in het begin van het boek erg stoorde was de overdaad aan droge details. Wat interesseert het me dat een compleet onbelangrijk nevenpersonage als boekenwijzer een oude busdienstregeling gebruikt, dat de inspecteur een computer van het merk Compaq op zijn bureau heeft staan, dat een ander onbelangrijk nevenpersonage armen heeft als geïmpregneerd hout? Het verhaal is gelukkig toch erg vlot leesbaar, zonder meer.
Equal parts crime mystery and morality tale, Eva's Eye begins (after a brief scene which is contextualized later, but is disappointingly insignificant) with a woman named Eva and her young daughter discovering a body floating in the river. Eva tells her daughter she will call the police to report it, but doesn't. From the beginning, it's clear that Eva has some connection to the murder of the man, as well as a prostitute murdered just two days before the man disappeared. The police detective, Sejer, a lonely widower who stars in the series that follows this debut, finds it odd that Eva keeps showing up in his investigation. Slowly, he puts the pieces together, but the middle portion of the book is Eva's story.
I didn't find Eva to be a very sympathetic character, although I think she is meant to be one. Sejer is likeable, however, and while I'm not overly anxious to read the next book in the series, I'm not opposed to reading more.
I didn't find Eva to be a very sympathetic character, although I think she is meant to be one. Sejer is likeable, however, and while I'm not overly anxious to read the next book in the series, I'm not opposed to reading more.
First book in the Inspector Sejer series. Unlike most crime/police series the cop didn’t seem like the main character. I don’t know if all of the books are written this way or not. Most of the story was from Eva’s point of view. Told in both present and past tense. The shifts in time moved easily and made sense in how the book unfolded.
Eva and her daughter Emma find a dead body wash ashore. Right from the start you know something isn’t quite right. Eva’s personality bothered me. She seemed introverted, plain, and broody, but also creative, caring for her family, and struggling financially. As the book goes on though she really doesn’t seem to be this person. Did I see her incorrectly at first, did she really change over time based on circumstances in her life, or was it poor writing?
I figured out part of the twist midway through, though I didn’t guess how everything would end. It seemed like a pretty abrupt ending but it tied up the story without leaving loose ends. I wonder if the new case Sejer got at the end is the story for book two. I will continue reading the series, though not immediately.
Eva and her daughter Emma find a dead body wash ashore. Right from the start you know something isn’t quite right. Eva’s personality bothered me. She seemed introverted, plain, and broody, but also creative, caring for her family, and struggling financially. As the book goes on though she really doesn’t seem to be this person. Did I see her incorrectly at first, did she really change over time based on circumstances in her life, or was it poor writing?
I figured out part of the twist midway through, though I didn’t guess how everything would end. It seemed like a pretty abrupt ending but it tied up the story without leaving loose ends. I wonder if the new case Sejer got at the end is the story for book two. I will continue reading the series, though not immediately.
Probably closer to one and a half stars...
This was not very gripping, not gonna lie. And it wasn't helped along by the misogyny, unreflected negative views on sex work, and fatphobia (unabashedly fatshaming a child, really?)
This was not very gripping, not gonna lie. And it wasn't helped along by the misogyny, unreflected negative views on sex work, and fatphobia (unabashedly fatshaming a child, really?)
mysterious
This book is the introduction to the successful Inspector Sejer psychological suspense series. Often referred to as the Norwegian Queen of Crime, Karin Fossum began this series in 1995 and there are currently eleven titles. Inspector Sejer is an astute, kind, but lonely widower who has lost his wife to cancer. The protagonist is a sympathetic single mother who also cares for an elderly father. She is an artist who creates abstract designs that are widely open to interpretation. This is the gift of the author. Is the protagonist good, bad, or somewhere in-between; it is wide open for interpretation. While it begins with the rather traditional format of a detective piecing together clues, Fossum changes the point of view completely midway and this throws the story into a steady increase in tension until the conclusion. The language is mildly awkward at times perhaps due to translation into English, but nevertheless, this is a solid suspense novel for readers who like novels about ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary situations. Great for fans of Ruth Rendell and Barbara Vine.
It's delightful to see snippets of Norwegian culture integrated in this suspenseful read. The small town atmosphere is reminiscent of an earlier era in the U.S. Perhaps that aspect of the book is also a bit dated in Norway, given that the book was first released in 1995, but very nice to see, for example, that a 6-year-old child can walk home alone from a sleepover. Fossum succeeds in making Inspector Sejer a very likeable character, eliciting sympathy and respect from the reader. The (adult) parent-child relationship dialogue between Eva and her Dad are a treat. The gradual unfolding of the reader's understanding of the two murders makes the book a page-turner.
medium-paced
An interesting mystery from another Norwegian author. I liked the stark, straight forward writing style and the nice twist near the end of the story. I think Inspector Sejer has the potential to be a great protagonist for a long running series. Cannot wait to read more from Karin Fossum.