RaveCrime Fiction Lover\"The Kingdom is a masterpiece that will hit the mark for crime fiction lovers, and also for readers who don’t swear by any genre... There is intrigue in every direction, as Nesbo recreates each facet of life in a small Norwegian village ... While you read The Kingdom, you’ll sense a deeper current carrying you ... Yet at the same time, Nesbo’s storytelling keeps a whole series of events and characters frothing at the surface, dipping into humour one page and tragedy the next. It all feels immediate and real, so when Roy’s logic gets a little twisted you’ll roll with it because you’ll buy into him, and the rest of the people in Os for that matter. The deeply engaging, skilful storytelling of The Kingdom reminded me of The Little Friend by Donna Tartt.
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Karin Fossum, Trans. by Kari Dickson
MixedCrime Fiction Lover... while we have seen whodunnits and whydunnits before, now Karin Fossum brings us the whattheydun ... As usual, Norwegian author Fossum has created a fascinating and troubled central character. From the very beginning, you are taken right into Ragna’s mind as she explains every thought and feeling she experiences ... Though it’s told in the third person, you’ll soon feel very close to Ragna. You’ll sympathise with her fully, and if you live alone like she does you might even identify with some of her thought patterns ... The question is, have you mellowed enough for this novel? It’ll involve you emotionally in Ragna’s struggle, but even so this book is about 100 pages too long. Elements of repetition are understandable, and they help you and Sejer build up a picture of Ragna’s mental state, but the story’s own build-up is too extended. The writing is excellent, the character is fascinating, and her unravelling is spellbinding when it is eventually revealed. Mental health is a key topic in the headlines at the moment and few authors understand the topic as well as Karin Fossum. However, The Whisperer is definitely a slow burner. If you’re new to Sejer, start with an earlier novel in the series, or perhaps with book one, In the Darkness.
