HellFire by Karin Fossum (Norwegian) is another
(#12) Inspector Sejer mystery. Similar to the other books in this series, it includes
psychotic killers, selfish people, children in jeopardy, desperate
lives, dysfunctional
mother-son relationships, and Inspector Sejer as
a pillar of strength and tranquility.
These books are not for the faint of heart. The story opens with the murder of
a mother and her young son, by (presumably) a twenty-one-year-old son of
another single mother. Both sons are excessively dependent on their indulgent
mothers.
As usual, Inspector Sejer solves the
mystery more by luck than intelligence or deduction. Sejer seems to represent a
tolerant, forgiving society, otherwise populated with flawed, unhappy people.
Sejer’s initial investigation undercovers
two clues: a size fourteen boot print, and a suspicious red car. With these
clues, he is confident he can locate the killer and hopes finding the killer will
reveal the motive. Patiently he explores the life of the murdered mother and
child. Interspersed with his investigation is the life of the other mother and
son. While the reader knows the identity of the murderer from the beginning,
the motivation is a mystery until the end.
A psychological mystery with plenty of
surprises and sympathetic treatment of all characters who are all flawed, but
none evil.
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