“In the beginning was darkness” is the fourth book about Eddie Feber, the detective I have to stop thinking of as “the new guy”. (It’s been a while since Fossum took early retirement from its classic detective Konrad Sejer.) We also get to know Ruben Kornell in this book, a red-haired curly top of a seventeen-year-old. Ruben is thin and frail, and quick-witted. Sometimes a bit in the most agile team for their own good. He is up front, a real dandelion child. Both vibrant and fragile, a young body with a young soul, and with a head you feel you have to be careful about blowing, for fear that it will all just fly away: A crime forewarned It’s clear that Fossum likes it new person she has invented. The old lady Ruben lives with likes him too. That is why she has taken Ruben under her wing and allows him to move in, in exchange for him mowing the lawn and doing small chores. In the evening, they sit together and watch true-crime on TV. POPULAR: Karin Fossum is one of Norway’s most widely read crime writers. She poses here with the Riverton award, one of several she has received. Fossum made his debut in 1974 with poems. Photo: Audun Braastad / NTB Even Eddie Feber likes Ruben, this strange seventeen-year-old who one day appears at the police station to report a crime that has not yet been committed. He has overheard something, in an old disused village house, the morning after a party. Ruben can tell that he wakes up to two men sitting and talking, two men he has never seen before. He does not hear what they say, but can distinguish certain words. Possibly they are planning something, something ominous. Eddie is responsive and doubtful. He has to admit that this is a bit thin to go to the police chamber with, and absolutely no basis for ordering a full call-out. Hear Ola Hegdal about Fossum’s latest in “Open Book: The Critics”: And when the first murder occurs, Eddie Feber has to start thinking. Has he been deceived by the vulnerable and shy seventeen-year-old? Are the two mysterious men just a diversion? Because it becomes obvious to most people in the police chamber that one of the prime suspects in this case must necessarily be Ruben Kornell. The spirit above the waters Karin Fossum has made it her specialty to free dive into disturbed minds. This time she makes it a little easier for both herself and the reader. The narrative mainly alternates between investigator Feber and suspect Ruben Kornell. These two are much nicer acquaintances than some of the more deprived types we have met in Fossum’s previous books. In addition, she takes a surprising step here: to introduce a third indeterminate voice in the book, right from the start. It hovers over the waters, observes it all from a distance and philosophizes a little about the conditions of people and the course of life. Who is this? Some kind of local nature spirit? Or is it Fossum himself who hovers around and looks at his creation? Gradually it becomes clear to us that this is actually some kind of ghost that has not yet found its rest. Could this floating consciousness have a connection with the case at hand? I have always perceived the Fossumian universe as typically one-sided. Whether it should be seen as an expression of a personal spiritual awakening or of the new spirituality in society, or whether it is just a clever story-telling trick, I shall not try to guess. At least in the narrative it works excellently. Good start and finish So how is this story going? I think the opening is imaginative, empathetic and appropriately creepy. Then it dabbles a bit in the middle, with the investigation and some dramatic events, if not always as believable. In return, it is a fully satisfying ending. So for everyone who is disappointed with the royal house, I can reassure you that there is nothing ailing in the criminal monarchy. As of today, Karin Fossum is our undisputed queen of crime, and she shows no signs of abdicating. news reviews Photo: Cappelen Damm Title: “In the beginning there was darkness” Author: Karin Fossum Genre: Crime Number of pages: 286 Published: 19 September 2024 Publisher: Cappelen Damm Hi! My name is Ola Hegdal, and I read and review books for news. Preferably crime and suspense literature, or non-fiction. Feel free to read my review of “The Anomaly” by Hervé Le Tellier, “Raging Light” by Nikolaj Frobenius or “A perfect mother” by Alex Dahl. Published 25/09/2024, at 21.53
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“In the beginning it was dark” by Karin Fossum – Reviews and recommendations
