Makes the Translation Better Than Most Foreign Titles

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	• Don't Look Back Karin Fossum Harvest Books, 2005 - 324 pages average customer review:based on 23 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Thoughtful Suspense Novel

It's a small village in Norway, and perhaps its most accomplished and beautiful high school girl is found dead. On close inspection of the days and weeks immediately preceding the tragedy, Inspector Sejer discovers that the victim's personality changed in a way quite noticeable to her family and friends. What happened to make her behavior change so much, and who knows but isn't telling?

Fossum has created a simple yet compelling tale about real human weakness leading to horrible consequences. Perhaps, the author suggests, murder lurks very closely under the consciousness of some individuals--and one accident or tragedy can bring a violent personality to the surface. It is difficult to critique Ms. Fossum's writing style, as the excellent translation by Felicity David makes such analysis unimportant. The characters are quite real, although Inspector Sejer is very very similar to Morse, Wallander, and several other Inspectors an avid police-procedural reader knows well and loves. Also, Sejer's multitalented junior partner reminds me vividly of Sgt. Lewis.

Nevertheless, this is a very engaging and thoughtful suspense novel that explores deep family-oriented themes. One of my biggest criticisms of murder-mystery novels is the fact that so many authors fail to describe a credible motive and background to make the criminal's actions believable. Such is not the case for Don't Look Back. This is a solid, well paced mystery, and most readers will be glad more Inspector Sejer mysteries are being translated into English for our grateful consumption.

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norway/ interesting

interesting look at small town life in norway. karin fossum has done a fine job of creating a real feel for the scenery, personalities, problems of everyday people in this region. book was best when dealing with the 'outsider' characters, who live life quite separated from their neighbors. can't wait to read her other novels. jack,charlevoix,mi.

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Makes the Translation Better Than Most Foreign Titles

I was delightfully surprised to find that this novel translated so well to English. Often this is not the case as many nuances of writing style and description do not always make the transition into another language unharmed. I would complement both Karin Fossum for her beautifully descripive writing and the translator for a superb job. The characters are well developed and engaging. And while I found the ending satisfactory, there is some lack of suspense. I'm not exactly sure why. Although I didn't guess the ending in advance, I was also not immensely surprised somehow. Still a good read. I would recommend.

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page turner

I read many detective series and I enjoyed this book immensely. I am going to order the other Fossum books that are available.

Enjoyable But Flawed

l'll give this book 4 stars because it's a good Police procedural with lots of interesting and well-drawn characterizations, a nice atmosphere, and a good mystery to boot. The last paragraph is quite chilling and quite unnecessary in my opinion. l guess l've become sick and tired of endings with a twist.
The flaw? SPOILER! Why in heaven's name would young Annie get into the car - which she rarely if ever did - and go to a secluded place with a man she knows is violent, a killer as well, and someone she's been trying to avoid?

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reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5

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