When the Devil Holds the Candle

The undisputed queen of psychological horror, Norwegian author Karin Fossum takes an up-close view of three deaths in this novel in which Evil touches Inspector Konrad Sejer's own family. Andreas Winther, a handsome 18-year-old of little motivation and less morality, is cruising with his friend Zipp Skorpe when they decide to taunt a small brown boy. The boy is Sejer's adopted grandson Mattheus, a Somali immigrant trying to fit into Norwegian society. Their arrogance and their attitude of being above the rules of society ensure from the outset that they will never be characters with whom the reader will identify as author Fossum deals with broader, more important issues and themes. Bored, Andreas and Zipp then decide to rob a young woman pushing a baby stroller, and later on to rob a house in which an old woman lives alone. It gives nothing away to say that the baby ends up dead, and Andreas ends up missing--and eventually dead. An acquaintance named Robert, taunted by his girlfriend Anita, who is flirting with one of Robert's friends, is driven to distraction, shoots at the friend, and kills Anita. Each of these deaths is examined in minute detail from the perspective of the killer (and in one case, the victim), and the question of responsibility and the extent to which the killer intended to kill--and whether that is relevant--are considered from many angles. For each of the three deaths, there are mitigating factors. Robert, Anita's killer, is regarded by the police as "a good person," suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to protect his relationship. Irma Funder, the 60-year-old woman whom Andreas intended to rob, finds herself caring for Andreas for many days after he is injured in her house--and even going to the police for help--but she is unable or unwilling to be specific about what has happened and what she wants the police to do. As for the baby, his death could be crib death, the result of the fall that took place during the robbery, or the mother's "fault" for letting go of the carriage. As Fossum pursues her themes and illustrates them vividly through her carefully drawn characters, the book becomes a powerful investigation of evil and its ability to seize and control lives. No one, however terrible his/her crime, is completely evil here, but, as Fossum shows, the justice system can only deal with issues that are black and white. When "justice" eventually resolves each of these cases, few readers will be surprised by the resolution. By turns exciting and thoughtful, dramatic and contemplative, When the Devil Holds the Candle is a fine novel dealing with important themes in new ways. n Mary Whipple

The undisputed queen of psychological horror, Norwegian author Karin Fossum takes an up-close view of three deaths in this novel in which Evil touches Inspector Konrad Sejer's own family. Andreas Winther, a handsome 18-year-old of little motivation and less morality, is cruising with his friend Zipp Skorpe when they decide to taunt a small brown boy. The boy is Sejer's adopted grandson Mattheus, a Somali immigrant trying to fit into Norwegian society. Their arrogance and their attitude of being above the rules of society ensure from the outset that they will never be characters with whom the reader will identify as author Fossum deals with broader, more important issues and themes. Bored, Andreas and Zipp then decide to rob a young woman pushing a baby stroller, and later on to rob a house in which an old woman lives alone. It gives nothing away to say that the baby ends up dead, and Andreas ends up missing--and eventually dead. An acquaintance named Robert, taunted by his girlfriend Anita, who is flirting with one of Robert's friends, is driven to distraction, shoots at the friend, and kills Anita. Each of these deaths is examined in minute detail from the perspective of the killer (and in one case, the victim), and the question of responsibility and the extent to which the killer intended to kill--and whether that is relevant--are considered from many angles. For each of the three deaths, there are mitigating factors. Robert, Anita's killer, is regarded by the police as "a good person." Irma Funder, the 60-year-old woman whom Andreas intended to rob, finds herself caring for Andreas. As for the baby, his death could be crib death, or any number of other circumstances. As Fossum pursues her themes and illustrates them vividly through her carefully drawn characters, the book becomes a powerful investigation of evil and its ability to seize and control lives. No one, however terrible his/her crime, is completely evil here, but, as Fossum shows, the justice system can only deal with issues that are black and white. When "justice" eventually resolves each of these cases, few readers will be surprised by the resolution. By turns exciting and thoughtful, dramatic and contemplative, When the Devil Holds the Candle is a fine novel dealing with important themes in new ways. n Mary Whipple

The other reviewers have described this book exceedingly well, but I just wanted to add that I hope all mystery lovers will consider reading this book! I have read several of Fossum's books and plan to read all I can find that are in English. I loved the surprise ending in this one!

Following a set of characters whose paths cross one fateful day, Norwegian author Karin Fossum explores the dark places in the mind, the small moments when lives implode on a whim, a happenstance, a bad decision. More psychological suspense than police procedural, this latest Inspector Konrad Sejer outing cedes center stage to several pathetic and dangerous characters. The most sinister of these is the old woman who opens the book, Irma Funder. Irma comes to the police with a rambling story about a missing, ill husband. " `I know where he is,'" she says, confusing handsome young detective Jacob Skarre completely. The book then moves back in time to follow two inseparable boys of 18, Andreas and Zipp, who ride around town looking for easy prey to mug for beer money. The first is a young woman with a stroller. Andreas snatches her purse all right, but the stroller gets away and the baby falls out. Shaken by this, Andreas lets slip a secret, then concerned to cover up any perceived weakness and cap the day with something bigger to remember, he spies doddering old Irma Funder and determines to rob her. And that's the last his family and friends see of Andreas. As reserved, empathetic Sejer and his intuitive assistant Skarre look for Andreas and interview another sad young man who killed his girlfriend at a party, the narrative flows from one viewpoint to another, taking the reader where the police cannot go, into the minds of the characters. These are not pretty places. Compelling, relentless, but ever calm, understanding and sympathetic, Fossum's quiet, complex tale packs a punch. Even Sejer's life, while uplifted by the advent of the unpredictable Sara, teeters on uncertainty. Exquisitely organized, this is a subtle, disturbing tale. --Portsmouth Herald

Considered Norway's "Queen of Crime" for good reason, Fossum's latest thriller is a striking indictment of youthful self-indulgence and the private torments of a broken mind on a collision course with happenstance. Two characters dominate the beginning of the novel, Andreas and Zipp, avid for action, their anti-social behavior fueling drinking bouts, their victims the helpless and unsuspecting. Andreas is tall, handsome, clearly the leader of the pair; Zipp, the moody sidekick, is compact, tense, constantly proving his manhood. Their petty crime spree is spontaneous, entertainment of the moment regardless of the consequences. A more peripheral character, at least at first, Irma Funder is a recluse, shirking social contacts and beset with the paranoia that preys on her sanity, "the hideous, evil person you become when the devil holds the candle." Through Fossum's masterful plotting, these characters are destined to clash, their futures entwined, Inspector Sejer and his favorite assistant, Jacob Skarre, coming late to a complex series of events, miscalculations and blunders turned deadly. Sejer is enjoying a new lease on life since the untimely death of his beloved wife; the energetic, unpredictable Sara now brightens his days, as does his daughter's newly adopted son, Matteus. The inimitable Skarre lends his intuition to the mix, the two men working through an improbable tangle of seemingly unrelated crimes and a fated meeting with unexpected violence. When Andreas goes missing, there is no trace, in spite of Skarre's careful investigation of the circumstances. Meanwhile, an old woman lurks in the shadows, unable to communicate either her knowledge or her fears. The air of menace builds, the characters lunging toward a terrible conclusion that confounds all but the most cynical observer, a stunning exploration of arrogance, beauty, ugliness, loneliness, social isolation and a need for acceptance. Fossum's prose is a brilliant vehicle for the foibles of humanity, her characters well defined, imbued with a sense of immediacy, a blend of personalities, needs and subtle yearnings, all juxtaposed in a plot that is utterly satisfying. Nothing is simple, people driven to commit acts of brutality, to feel shame, grief, contrition and a more aberrant rationalization for continuing the destruction of the delicate fabric of society. As she has done in previous novels, Fossum reveals her imperfect characters from their inner dialogs, reshaping the horizon as viewed from broken and distorted perceptions. Such people are vulnerable to this author's agile scrutiny, the frailties and flaws common to all of humankind, familiar shadowy places that most of us hide successfully. This novel is vibrant, impossible to put aside, the story precipitously plummeting toward the unknown, a random assemblage of characters tumbling together through events none can control, even the determined and noble Inspector Sejer. Luan Gaines/ 2006.