He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum
This is the third time I’ve read a second book in a series this month! And just like the other two (My Soul to Take and The Absent One) this one does not disappoint.
In a remote woodland town in Northern Norway a woman is horribly murdered. A teen, who is a resident at the local boy’s home, sees a man at the scene of the murder. That man, Errki, is a known problem in the area: things always go wrong around him, people die around him. Errki has very recently escaped from an asylum where he was committed because he was deemed to be a threat to himself and others. He is, naturally, the number one suspect in the woman’s murder. Inspector Sejer is headed to the crime scene when he is called to another. A man has robbed a bank in town and taken a hostage. After viewing the security footage someone recognizes the hostage. It is Errki.
I think the reason I like Fossum’s books so much is because they are simple yet complex. Simple, because there is a crime that takes place in the first couple of chapters (in this case two: the murder and the robbery/hostage taking); complex, because it takes a lot of footwork to unravel what has happened and why.
If you are a fan of good old fashioned whodunnits these are definitely for you.
