In the Darkness

An Inspector Sejer Novel

By: Karin Fossum, James Anderson - translator

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Eva is walking by the river one afternoon when a body floats to the surface of the icy water. She tells her daughter to wait patiently while she calls the police, but when she reaches the phone box Eva dials another number altogether.

The dead man, Egil, has been missing for months, and it doesn't take long for Inspector Sejer and his team to establish that he was the victim of a very violent killer. But the trail has gone cold. It's as puzzling as another unsolved case on Sejer's desk: the murder of a prostitute who was found dead just before Egil went missing.

While Sejer is trying to piece together the fragments of a seemingly impossible case, Eva gets a phone call late one night. A stranger speaks and then swiftly hangs up. Eva looks out into the darkness and listens. All is quiet.

Gripping and thought-provoking, In the Darkness is Karin Fossum's first novel featuring the iconic Inspector Sejer. The prizewinning series has been published around the world to great acclaim.

Critic reviews

This is a tightly-written, carefully plotted story with amazing depths which is likely to remain with you long after you close the book

The latest offering from the “Norwegian queen of crime” is a novel of mighty power. In The Darkness, the first Inspector Sejer novel, is intricately crafted with undeniable pedigree. (Ruth Dugdall)

In the Darkness had me hooked from the start. Fossum’s writing is insightful and descriptive without being showy. There are no tricks or cliff hangers, just confident storytelling, refreshingly free from sudden bursts of implausibility. Her characters feel like real people, living in a real world, where money is tight and motivations are murky. (Julie Corbin)

It is Karin Fossum’s wry observations of human frailty and the warmth with which she portrays even her flawed characters - that make this book such a pleasure to read. It’s rare for me to find a book that I love so much I can’t put it down, but this was one of them. (Penny Hancock)

Complex, subtle and satisfying mystery

Where does In the Darkness rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is high quality detective fiction. Karin Fossum is one of Sandinavia's finest mystery writers.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot is complex and the characters are fully rounded people who evolve throughout. What makes the listening experience so engaging is how the characters interact, often in unexpected ways.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I can't say it made me laugh or cry (pretty extreme reactions) but it certainly fascinated me, raising my expectations and suspense.

Any additional comments?

I plan to continue reading Karin Fossum

Another goodie from Karin

Where does In the Darkness rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have listened to about 3 books by this author and always enjoy them. I like the characters very much and the reader was very good. Always a good mystery and believable characters

Disappointing

Would you try another book from Karin Fossum and/or David Rintoul?

Probably not.

If you’ve listened to books by Karin Fossum before, how does this one compare?

This was my first

What didn’t you like about David Rintoul’s performance?

I found the his style irritating. I enjoy his screen performances but constant stress on on the penultimate word in the sentence was annoying.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from In the Darkness?

Not sure

Any additional comments?

On the whole .... disappointing.