Eva's Eye

Inspector Sejer Mystery, Book 1

By: Karin Fossum

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Eva Magnus and her daughter are out walking by the river when a man's body floats to the water's surface. Eva goes to call the police, but when she reaches the phone she dials another number altogether.

The police find the body anyway. Inspector Sejer and his team quickly determine that the man, Egil, died in a violent attack. But Egil has been missing for months, and the trail to his killer is cold. It's as puzzling as another unsolved case on Sejer's desk: the murder of a prostitute, found dead just before Egil went missing. Sejer sets to work piecing together these two impossible cases. It's not long before he realizes that they aren't as separate as they previously seemed.

©1995 Karin Fossum English translation copyright 2012 by James Anderson (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[I]t's more than a worthy introduction to one of Norway's leading cops for newcomers and a treasure for fans." ( Kirkus)

skilled writing brings you into the case

well done psychological thriller is worth reading and should be added to your list of Nordic noir novelists

An unusual mystery

The narrator earns 5 stars. The author only 4 :-) If right handed
person were trying to live her life as a person who is left handed. left hand, this might describe how quietly wrong the star of our little drama comes across. It quickly grows fascinating. I did feel mired down, briefly, at a scene that threatened to grow grim but I FF'D through it and it was fine.
so, low on violence, high on listening pleasure, fine characters.
OH, I did not understand the last short bit of The End. Have fun. A very good book.

Great mystery/thriller!

Really loved this story, and eventhough I was listening to it, felt as if I was watching it in a movie version. Wonder if this was actually made into a movie, or TV series!? It brought out all the emotions as watching a really great thriller would. Excellent writing, interesting characters, fascinating story line, as well as narration.

Very little of Sejer, a whole lot of Eva

For a the first Inspector Sejer novel, this book is very light on him, instead choosing to focus on Eva - a silly girl that makes dumb decisions that you don't really care about. If you are looking for a mystery from the point of view of the inspector, look elsewhere. Additionally, the performance is not very good, as the book is difficult to enjoy with the male narrator doing a horrendous job of any female part.

Character and Plot Never is Fully Formed

What would have made Eva's Eye better?

Stronger characters and plot. I never felt it got any deeper or developed as the story progressed.