TheDrown Boy by Karin Fossum
(Norwegian) is a murder mystery, #11 in the Inspector Sejer series). The story
opens with a couple finding their 16-month-old child drown in the pond in front
of their house. The death is presented as an accident, but Inspector Sejer
suspects otherwise. The child, who has Down syndrome, is found to have soapy
water in his lungs, so he did not drown in the pond. The young parents are
suspects. The true story is a mystery.
The parents Carmen and Nicolai are
very young. Carmen is resilient. Her father Marian Zita calls her strong. Nicolai
is depressed and withdrawn. Much of the book explores their private thoughts.
Whatever happens, Carmen is optimistic and forward-looking, while Nicolai is
stuck in the past and can not let go of the death.
After the discovery of the soapy
water, Inspector Sejer has no additional evidence, but he manages to continue nursing
his intuition. In the end, the mystery is revealed by serendipity.
The translation is odd. I think the
translator was British as there are several UK words (bum). However, the target
audience is the US (50 meters is translated to 165 feet, and the emergency
number is 911). I found the US translation odd, as the setting is Norway.
This a psychological mystery told from
the point of view of the parents and the Inspector, as much a character study as
a mystery. Dark and brooding.
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