I Can See in the Dark - Hardcover

Fossum, Karin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1471355381 ISBN 13: 9781471355387

Publisher: Windsor, 2013

Synopsis

Riktor doesn't like the way the policeman storms into his home without even knocking. He doesn't like the arrogant way he walks around the house, taking note of its contents. The policeman doesn't bother to explain why he's there, and Riktor is too afraid to ask. He knows he's guilty of a terrible crime and he's sure the policeman has found him out.

But when the policeman finally does confront him, Riktor freezes. The man is arresting him for something totally unexpected. Riktor doesn't have a clear conscience, but the crime he's being accused of is one he certainly didn't commit. Can he clear his name without further incriminating himself?

This is a gripping, mind-bending stand-alone novel from "a truly great writer" (Jo Nesbo).

About this title

Review:

"Fossum vividly unpacks the mind of a troubled individual in this haunting psychological thriller written from the perspective of a sadistic nurse. Riktor is a fortysomething loner who readily confesses to having an "evil little devil" lurking within his placid exterior. When not working at a nursing home and abusing patients, he sits alone in a park coldly observing others while inwardly longing for affection. One day he reaches out to a fellow lost soul. Inevitably, things go wrong and the police come knocking. To his shock, Riktor is ¬arrested for a different transgression, a murder that he didn't actually commit, forcing him to prove his innocence without revealing his guilt. The author refuses to cast blame for Riktor's mental disorder on either society or his upbringing, presenting his squirmy delusions matter-of-factly while still managing to elicit a measure of compassion. VERDICT In this slim stand-alone, Fossum takes a chilling departure from her popular series featuring Norwegian police inspector Konrad Sejer. The results are a compelling--if unsettling--character study for fans of disturbing psychological suspense."--Library Journal

"Riktor, the narrator of this first-rate novel of suspense from Fossum (Broken), works in a nursing home in a small Norwegian town. In almost affectless prose, he describes his circumscribed life, both at the hospital and in his local park, where he observes Miranda, a wheelchair-bound girl; Miranda's mother; teenage lovers Eddie and Janne; and town drunk Arnfinn. One day, he watches a cross-country skier fall through the ice of a nearby lake, then thrash around helplessly before sinking to his death. Riktor is filled with scorn and a quiet rage, which eventually grows to the point where he begins to abuse his elderly patients. The initially predictable plot takes an unexpected turn after Riktor is arrested for the death of Nelly Friis, one of his patients. "What a wasteland this world is," the unlikable Riktor muses at

"Fossum descends deep into the alienated mind of Riktor to create an exquisitely Poe-ish novel of psychological suspense."--More magazine

"Fossum vividly unpacks the mind of a troubled individual in this haunting psychological thriller written from the perspective of a sadistic nurse. Riktor is a fortysomething loner who readily confesses to having an "evil little devil" lurking within his placid exterior. When not working at a nursing home and abusing patients, he sits alone in a park coldly observing others while inwardly longing for affection. One day he reaches out to a fellow lost soul. Inevitably, things go wrong and the police come knocking. To his shock, Riktor is ¬arrested for a different transgression, a murder that he didn't actually commit, forcing him to prove his innocence without revealing his guilt. The author refuses to cast blame for Riktor's mental disorder on either society or his upbringing, presenting his squirmy delusions matter-of-factly while still managing to elicit a measure of compassion. VERDICT In this slim stand-alone, Fossum takes a chilling departure from her popular series featuring Norwegian police inspector Konrad Sejer. The results are a compelling--if unsettling--character study for fans of disturbing psychological suspense."--Library Journal

"Riktor, the narrator of this first-rate novel of suspense from Fossum (Broken), works in a nursing home in a small Norwegian town. In almost affectless prose, he describes his circumscribed life, both at the hospital and in his local park, where he observes Miranda, a wheelchair-bound girl; Miranda's mother; teenage lovers Eddie and Janne; and town drunk Arnfinn. One day, he watches a cross-country skier fall through the ice of a nearby lake, then thrash around helplessly before sinking to his death. Riktor is filled with scorn and a quiet rage, which eventually grows to the point where he begins to abuse his elderly patients. The initially predictable plot takes an unexpected turn af

"One of the standouts of the Nordic thriller boom takes a breather from her Inspector Sejer novels in a compact, moody character study about a twisted male nurse who's finally arrested--albeit for the wrong crime. The clipped flatness of translated Norwegian is well suited to the banally evil Riktor, whose turn toward the light makes you almost believe in moral growth." --"Vulture"

"Fossum descends deep into the alienated mind of Riktor to create an exquisitely Poe-ish novel of psychological suspense." --"More Magazine"

"Fossum vividly unpacks the mind of a troubled individual in this haunting psychological thriller...In this slim stand-alone, Fossum takes a chilling departure from her popular series featuring Norwegian police inspector Konrad Sejer. The results are a compelling--if unsettling--character study for fans of disturbing psychological suspense." --"Library Journal"

"[A] first-rate novel of suspense...[A] bleak but clever and compelling standalone." --"Publishers Weekly", STARRED"In the tradition of Patricia Highsmith and Iain Banks, Fossum creates a creepily realistic sociopath, rolling his story out in a spare Scandinavian style that lends the book a classic horror feel...It's not light reading to climb inside of a sociopath's brain, but readers who can handle the darkest tales will be rewarded by Fossum's streamlined, thoughtfully constructed story." --"Booklist""Haunting, twisted, and oddly redemptive." --"Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine "

"The great Norwegian crime novelist Karin Fossum has a special gift for voices. She's come up with a humdinger in the first-person narrator of "I Can See in the Dark."..It's wrenching." --"Washington Post"
"One of the standouts of the Nordic thriller boom." --"Vulture"
"The queen of Norwegian crime fiction, the prolific and brilliant Fossum has riddled the quaint countryside north of Oslo with imagined crimes...In Fossum's literary thrillers, the crime is almost incidental to a deeper moral crisis: Her killers aren't madmen but ordinary people driven to monstrous acts." --"Men's Journal"
"Fossum descends deep into the alienated mind of Riktor to create an exquisitely Poe-ish novel of psychological suspense." --"More Magazine"

"Fossum vividly unpacks the mind of a troubled individual in this haunting psychological thriller...In this slim stand-alone, Fossum takes a chilling departure from her popular series featuring Norwegian police inspector Konrad Sejer. The results are a compelling--if unsettling--character study for fans of disturbing psychological suspense." --"Library Journal"

"[A] first-rate novel of suspense...[A] bleak but clever and compelling standalone." --"Publishers Weekly," STARRED"In the tradition of Patricia Highsmith and Iain Banks, Fossum creates a creepily realistic sociopath, rolling his story out in a spare Scandinavian style that lends the book a classic horror feel...It's not light reading to climb inside of a sociopath's brain, but readers who can handle the darkest tales will be rewarded by Fossum's streamlined, thoughtfully constructed story." --"Booklist""Haunting, twisted, and oddly redemptive." --"Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine "
The great Norwegian crime novelist Karin Fossum has a special gift for voices. She s come up with a humdinger in the first-person narrator of "I Can See in the Dark" It s wrenching. "Washington Post"
"One of the standouts of the Nordic thriller boom." "Vulture"
The queen of Norwegian crime fiction, the prolific and brilliant Fossum has riddled the quaint countryside north of Oslo with imagined crimes In Fossum s literary thrillers, the crime is almost incidental to a deeper moral crisis: Her killers aren t madmen but ordinary people driven to monstrous acts. "Men s Journal"
"Fossum descends deep into the alienated mind of Riktor to create an exquisitely Poe-ish novel of psychological suspense." "More Magazine"

"Fossum vividly unpacks the mind of a troubled individual in this haunting psychological thriller...In this slim stand-alone, Fossum takes a chilling departure from her popular series featuring Norwegian police inspector Konrad Sejer. The results are a compelling if unsettling character study for fans of disturbing psychological suspense." "Library Journal"

"[A] first-rate novel of suspense...[A] bleak but clever and compelling standalone." "Publishers Weekly," STARRED"In the tradition of Patricia Highsmith and Iain Banks, Fossum creates a creepily realistic sociopath, rolling his story out in a spare Scandinavian style that lends the book a classic horror feel...It s not light reading to climb inside of a sociopath s brain, but readers who can handle the darkest tales will be rewarded by Fossum s streamlined, thoughtfully constructed story." "Booklist""Haunting, twisted, and oddly redemptive." "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine "
"

The great Norwegian crime novelist Karin Fossum has a special gift for voices. She s come up with a humdinger in the first-person narrator of "I Can See in the Dark" It s wrenching. "Washington Post" "One of the standouts of the Nordic thriller boom." "Vulture" The queen of Norwegian crime fiction, the prolific and brilliant Fossum has riddled the quaint countryside north of Oslo with imagined crimes In Fossum s literary thrillers, the crime is almost incidental to a deeper moral crisis: Her killers aren t madmen but ordinary people driven to monstrous acts. "Men s Journal" "Fossum descends deep into the alienated mind of Riktor to create an exquisitely Poe-ish novel of psychological suspense." "More Magazine"

"Fossum vividly unpacks the mind of a troubled individual in this haunting psychological thriller...In this slim stand-alone, Fossum takes a chilling departure from her popular series featuring Norwegian police inspector Konrad Sejer. The results are a compelling if unsettling character study for fans of disturbing psychological suspense." "Library Journal"

"[A] first-rate novel of suspense...[A] bleak but clever and compelling standalone." "Publishers Weekly," STARRED

"In the tradition of Patricia Highsmith and Iain Banks, Fossum creates a creepily realistic sociopath, rolling his story out in a spare Scandinavian style that lends the book a classic horror feel...It s not light reading to climb inside of a sociopath s brain, but readers who can handle the darkest tales will be rewarded by Fossum s streamlined, thoughtfully constructed story." "Booklist"

"Haunting, twisted, and oddly redemptive." "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine ""

"The great Norwegian crime novelist Karin Fossum has a special gift for voices. She's come up with a humdinger in the first-person narrator of I Can See in the Dark...It's wrenching." --Washington Post

"One of the standouts of the Nordic thriller boom." --Vulture

"The queen of Norwegian crime fiction, the prolific and brilliant Fossum has riddled the quaint countryside north of Oslo with imagined crimes...In Fossum's literary thrillers, the crime is almost incidental to a deeper moral crisis: Her killers aren't madmen but ordinary people driven to monstrous acts." --Men's Journal

"Fossum descends deep into the alienated mind of Riktor to create an exquisitely Poe-ish novel of psychological suspense." --More Magazine

"Fossum vividly unpacks the mind of a troubled individual in this haunting psychological thriller...In this slim stand-alone, Fossum takes a chilling departure from her popular series featuring Norwegian police inspector Konrad Sejer. The results are a compelling--if unsettling--character study for fans of disturbing psychological suspense." --Library Journal

"[A] first-rate novel of suspense...[A] bleak but clever and compelling standalone." --Publishers Weekly, STARRED

"In the tradition of Patricia Highsmith and Iain Banks, Fossum creates a creepily realistic sociopath, rolling his story out in a spare Scandinavian style that lends the book a classic horror feel...It's not light reading to climb inside of a sociopath's brain, but readers who can handle the darkest tales will be rewarded by Fossum's streamlined, thoughtfully constructed story." --Booklist

"Haunting, twisted, and oddly redemptive." --Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Book Description:

A brilliant stand-alone crime novel from Norway's queen of crime

About this edition

• Publisher: Windsor
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1471355381
• ISBN 13: 9781471355387
• Binding: Hardcover