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97th out of 103 books
—
189 voters
The Caller (Inspector Konrad Sejer #10)
by
Karin Fossum
One mild summer evening Lily and her husband are enjoying a meal while their baby daughter sleeps peacefully in her pram beneath a maple tree. But when Lily steps outside she is paralysed with terror. The child is bathed in blood.
Inspector Sejer is called to the hospital to meet the family. Mercifully, the baby is unharmed, but her parents are deeply shaken, and Sejer spen...more
Inspector Sejer is called to the hospital to meet the family. Mercifully, the baby is unharmed, but her parents are deeply shaken, and Sejer spen...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
July 7th 2011
by Harvill Secker
(first published 2009)
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[This review contains spoilers]
The main character in this book is Johnny Beskow, a teenager with a moped and a mother. His mother leaves a lot to be desired. She is an alcoholic with no real interest in her son, who is left to fend for himself a great deal. He does have a grandfather, whom he visits regularly and tries to look after. His mother has an interest in the old man too – how much money he might leave her when he dies.
Johnny, having little life of his own, decides to make an impact on...more
The main character in this book is Johnny Beskow, a teenager with a moped and a mother. His mother leaves a lot to be desired. She is an alcoholic with no real interest in her son, who is left to fend for himself a great deal. He does have a grandfather, whom he visits regularly and tries to look after. His mother has an interest in the old man too – how much money he might leave her when he dies.
Johnny, having little life of his own, decides to make an impact on...more
I don't think it is the book, or I should say, the writing, that merits one star. Karin Fossum is who she is - she writes offbeat quiet books about oddballs with compassion and yadayadayada ... I think I am just done with the oddball genre. Halfway through this book I found myself flipping to get back to the parts about Sejer and Skarre, the 2 detectives, who are delightful characters. I just couldn't take any more mopey pov from the nut case(s)(there's always more than just the one). I realized...more
Both Karin Fossum and Barbara Vine have that gift of creating characters who leap off the page and into full realization from the first time they appear. Their ability to build empathy for their most troubled creations which makes their novels especially rich and affecting.
In "The Caller" someone is playing cruel pranks in the neighborhood. These tricks are of the sort that undermine the victims' basic sense of safety and trust in the world, no one is hurt, but their lives will never be the same...more
In "The Caller" someone is playing cruel pranks in the neighborhood. These tricks are of the sort that undermine the victims' basic sense of safety and trust in the world, no one is hurt, but their lives will never be the same...more
Norway's Karin Fossum is one of my most favorite authors. She writes about things that interest me, and she writes in a way that is close to perfect for my taste. I do not care much about plot, and do not need fast action. Ms. Fossum writes about Little Things That Are Important In Life, and she writes about them beautifully.
"The Caller" is another lovely, little, quiet book, where seemingly nothing much extraordinary happens for the most part. And yet, people get sick, divorce, and die, becaus...more
"The Caller" is another lovely, little, quiet book, where seemingly nothing much extraordinary happens for the most part. And yet, people get sick, divorce, and die, becaus...more
Okay, this is a Norwegian mystery, one of the many Scandinavian novels flooding the market since the success of the Millennium trilogy.
The premise is interesting. A 17 year-old boy with a deprived homelife sets about playing malicious pranks on people in and around his village. Some of them have dreadful consequences. Kids can be really vicious, for sure.
The novel's problem is simple: there is very little suspense or tension. Much of it is written from the POV of the boy and you know his motiva...more
The premise is interesting. A 17 year-old boy with a deprived homelife sets about playing malicious pranks on people in and around his village. Some of them have dreadful consequences. Kids can be really vicious, for sure.
The novel's problem is simple: there is very little suspense or tension. Much of it is written from the POV of the boy and you know his motiva...more
THE CALLER. (2012). Karin Fossum. ***.
This is the latest in Fossum’s Inspector Sejer series of mysteries, though not up to her usual standards. In this installment we meet Johnny Beskon, a teen-aged boy who lives alone with his alcoholic mother. He doesn’t know who his father is, and his mother isn’t telling. He has no friends to speak of, and the only person he cares for and who cares for him is his grandfather. He needs to be taken notice of, and plans a series of what he considers pranks. Th...more
This is the latest in Fossum’s Inspector Sejer series of mysteries, though not up to her usual standards. In this installment we meet Johnny Beskon, a teen-aged boy who lives alone with his alcoholic mother. He doesn’t know who his father is, and his mother isn’t telling. He has no friends to speak of, and the only person he cares for and who cares for him is his grandfather. He needs to be taken notice of, and plans a series of what he considers pranks. Th...more
This is my first Fossum novel, but I'm glad to know there are many others. I have come to really appreciate the dark Scandinavian thriller. This one paints a more idyllic, more innocent picture of life in small towns in Norway, but evil is there beneath the surface like a silent scream.
The novel opens with the seemingly perfect family of Karsten, Lily and baby Margrete. But nothing will ever be the same for them when they discover Margrete covered in blood and rush her to the hospital. One by o...more
The novel opens with the seemingly perfect family of Karsten, Lily and baby Margrete. But nothing will ever be the same for them when they discover Margrete covered in blood and rush her to the hospital. One by o...more
Karin Fossum is an author from Norway whom I’ve discovered only recently, so this is just the second of her books that I’ve come to read. The first one was Bad Intentions which I whole-heartily recommend to all crime fiction aficionados.
The events of this book, in which the main protagonists are the usual suspects inspectors Sejer and Skarre, take place in a small provincial town in Norway. It all begins when somebody spills blood on a baby girl who sleeps in her pram beneath a tree in the yard...more
The events of this book, in which the main protagonists are the usual suspects inspectors Sejer and Skarre, take place in a small provincial town in Norway. It all begins when somebody spills blood on a baby girl who sleeps in her pram beneath a tree in the yard...more
Lucy thought she had everything a woman could want [and who could disagree]: youth, beauty, health, a loving husband, and a baby girl they both doted upon. Until the warm summer day when evil is suddenly visited upon her perfect life in the form of an unknown monster, for when Lily approaches the pram under the maple tree outside their house where the baby had lain sleeping, she discovers that the baby is covered in blood. In their terror and panic, they rush to the hospital, where they are soon...more
The book takes you deep into the hearts and minds of both victims and perpetrators, and, as in other Karin Fossum novels, the mystery is not who did it, but what made them do it. Fossum is no apologist for criminal behaviour, and never makes light of the consequences of her characters' villainous actions. Nevertheless, she can make you understand them in ways no other writer can. She shows a depth of compassion and insight rare not only in crime literature, but any literature. It's as if she's s...more
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In this latest from the Inspector Sejer series, Johnny Beskow's sole pleasures in life appear to be riding his moped, visiting his frail grandfather, and playing disturbing pranks on the folks in town. First, he splashed blood all over an infant asleep in a pram in her front yard. The parents rush to the ER in a panic. Thankfully, the baby was unharmed, but the couple's life was forever changed. A false obituary, a funeral home's visit to pick up the body of a terminally ill man, the cruel prank...more
Apr 20, 2013
mirta
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
any nordic/european crime ficton fan and anyone who loves psychological aspect more than action
Like in Black seconds, we can't judge this culprit. It would be wrong from various aspects although like in a book, many would really condemn him without having a second thought.
Fossum excels at showing how grey things can be, never entering too much into black or white parts of the spectrum of guilt.
Many of her characters and culprits are easy to sympathize with and we get to understand what makes them tick and what motivated their actions and built them to be what they are.
The ending saddens m...more
Fossum excels at showing how grey things can be, never entering too much into black or white parts of the spectrum of guilt.
Many of her characters and culprits are easy to sympathize with and we get to understand what makes them tick and what motivated their actions and built them to be what they are.
The ending saddens m...more
4.5 stars.
I have read and enjoyed 4 of Karin Fossum's books in the last couple of weeks, and was so impressed that I will be reading the rest of her fine mystery series. The books are set in a Norwegian town, and feature a patient, perceptive and kind older detective, Inspector Sejer and a younger policeman and friend, Skarre.
The books are short, tightly and well written with no wasted narrative,and you do not feel that you are reading a book in translation.
Someone is playing nasty, practical...more
I have read and enjoyed 4 of Karin Fossum's books in the last couple of weeks, and was so impressed that I will be reading the rest of her fine mystery series. The books are set in a Norwegian town, and feature a patient, perceptive and kind older detective, Inspector Sejer and a younger policeman and friend, Skarre.
The books are short, tightly and well written with no wasted narrative,and you do not feel that you are reading a book in translation.
Someone is playing nasty, practical...more
I have never read Karin Fossum before, and it strikes me that this book may not have been the right place to start. It’s something of an anti-mystery/thriller. The perpetrator is known from the start and the victims for the most part remain unknown to the reader until just before bad luck befalls them. As a consequence, much of the dramatic tension comes from the general sense of inconvenience (one could hardly call it danger) felt by the residents of a small town with a cruel prankster on the l...more
I didn't absolutely love this mystery but it was worth reading if you haven't read many of the Scandinavian mystery writers. While it is a translation from Norwegian, it doesn't feel as much like a translation as other writers do. Anyway, Inspector Sejer has been a police in Norway for a long time. His wife is dead and he is beginning to have some health problems himself. That doesn't keep him from trying to track down an evil menace to the peace of Norway. Someone is randomly targeting folks to...more
I've never read Karin Fossum before, so I didn't know what to expect.
I have to say I really liked this book but only gave it 3 stars because there was no real tension build up and no real pace to it. But I couldn't put it down!!
*WARNING; BIT OF A SPOILER IN THIS REVIEW*
The story revolves around a young boy who plays some quite vicious and malicious tricks on people within a radius that he can easily cover on his moped. All the characters are well described and you begin to feel that you really k...more
I have to say I really liked this book but only gave it 3 stars because there was no real tension build up and no real pace to it. But I couldn't put it down!!
*WARNING; BIT OF A SPOILER IN THIS REVIEW*
The story revolves around a young boy who plays some quite vicious and malicious tricks on people within a radius that he can easily cover on his moped. All the characters are well described and you begin to feel that you really k...more
Konrad Sejer is one of my favorite "inspector" series. I like the setting in Norway-so few stories come from there. This is a quick read, but the story is good with an interesting twist at the end.
"One mild summer evening Lily and her husband are enjoying a meal while their baby daughter sleeps peacefully in her pram beneath a maple tree. But when Lily steps outside she is paralysed with terror. The child is bathed in blood. Inspector Sejer is called to the hospital to meet the family. Mercifull...more
"One mild summer evening Lily and her husband are enjoying a meal while their baby daughter sleeps peacefully in her pram beneath a maple tree. But when Lily steps outside she is paralysed with terror. The child is bathed in blood. Inspector Sejer is called to the hospital to meet the family. Mercifull...more
This book was between a 4 and a 5 for me. It's very unusual, in that we are pretty sure from the outset who is behind the upsetting doings in the small Norwegian town. This book features the detective work of Inspector Sejer but it is really a character study and a study of human relationships. What small thing can tear a seemingly very happy nuclear family apart? What is most frightening to those who know they are near death by disease? How strong is the bond between humans and the animals in t...more
"The Caller," an Inspector Sejer Mystery, by Karin Fossum is a very strange book. I'm not sure if the mystery genre it's supposed to represent is psychological thriller or black comedy because it overlaps into both categories, with a little murder thrown in where you don't expect it, but whatever it is it kept me enthralled from the first page.
Fast-paced and slightly claustrophobic due to the proximity of the victims, the caller, preys upon it's less a book about outright horror than creeping...more
Fast-paced and slightly claustrophobic due to the proximity of the victims, the caller, preys upon it's less a book about outright horror than creeping...more
The special appeal of series fiction, at least for me, largely comes from watching the lead characters change and mature over a number of years. That, however, can be a double-edged sword when a reader begins a long-running series with its latest volume. Not having watched a character evolve over time, a reader might find the current versions of the character and setting intriguing but discover that, for them, the earlier books do not work as well. Because Not My Blood is Barbara Cleverly’s tent...more
I became overwhelmed by the number of Scandinavian mysteries out there, but when I learned that my friend K. E. Semmel had translated The Caller, I thought it would be good place to start. I'm pleased I made the choice, because I thoroughly enjoyed Fossum's spare, direct approach, enough that I will read more in the Sejer series. It's a thriller about nasty "pranks" that set a recession-fatigued village on edge. Since you know who is doing the pranks--half the book is from his perspective--the b...more
“The Caller” lives in a world of slow-grinding cruelty, of mean neighborhood streets. The stakes aren’t high, unless you’re one of the rattled victims of the mean pranks and cruel tricks, but Karin Fossum shows how much mental destruction is possible even from low-grade violence.
“The Caller” didn’t really work that well for me because there wasn’t a whole lot of detection and uncovering going on by Inspector Konrad Sejer.
He seems kind of la-dee-dah about the whole situation, even though he’s c...more
“The Caller” didn’t really work that well for me because there wasn’t a whole lot of detection and uncovering going on by Inspector Konrad Sejer.
He seems kind of la-dee-dah about the whole situation, even though he’s c...more
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3 1/2... y esta vez le he dado las tres estrellas en lugar de las cuatro para reflejar esa nota por la sencilla razón de que me ha gustado un poquito menos que los anteriores. No obstante, me ha parecido una buena novela negra, diferente por su planteamiento: desde el minuto uno conocemos la identidad del delincuente con nombre y apellido, y la trama se compone en gran medida de pequeñas historias entrelazadas, con un tinte muy humano y social. El desenlace es un caso retorcido de justicia poéti...more
The Caller by Karin Fossum, translated by K.E. Semmel from the Norwegian, is the eighth book in her Inspector Konrad Sejer series of books. It is not only a mystery with a adrenaline rush, but also a psychological examination of the criminal and victims minds. Rather than a mystery that needs to be unraveled, Fossum creates an unsettling atmosphere that keeps readers on the edge. What will happen next, how will the criminal again strike fear into those around him — neighbors, family, strangers.
A...more
A...more
I was very impressed with the first Karin Fossum book I read, a stand alone, Broken. Next I read Bad Intentions, an Inspector Sejer book, and knew the Karin Fossum was an author I wanted to seek out, and that the Sejer series was intriguing.
The Caller is an escalating story where events spiral out of control, a story of dysfunction, and an intimate look at the impact a stranger's callous disregard can have on the daily lives of strangers. This one leaves you pondering what could have been, if o...more
The Caller is an escalating story where events spiral out of control, a story of dysfunction, and an intimate look at the impact a stranger's callous disregard can have on the daily lives of strangers. This one leaves you pondering what could have been, if o...more
Yet another enjoyable read from Karin Fossum, I have read all her books and I am never disappointed, the caller is about a series of events from one young boy who needs to feel good about himself playing a very bad game of phoning ramdon vitims causing complete shock, grief, and some total breakdown.
But in the end his tricks take a disasterous turn and ends up feeling the same as his vitims. Karin is very good at exploring the human mind, how people react, fight, become a victim or be caught in...more
But in the end his tricks take a disasterous turn and ends up feeling the same as his vitims. Karin is very good at exploring the human mind, how people react, fight, become a victim or be caught in...more
The Caller by Karin Fossum, set in Norway and masterfully written in suspenseful prose, takes the reader deep into the lives of several families who have unwittingly become the focus of dreadful pranks. While Inspectors Sejer and Skarre travel from victim to victim trying to uncover what their connections to this prankster may be, the reader is drawn not only deep inside the prankster's life but also the lives of those he has targeted. The Caller is an emotional suspense mystery, which looks dee...more
Jan 25, 2013
Doug
added it
A prank is played on a couple with a baby and then additional pranks are played on other people. Inspector Sejer slowly gathers evidence but does not find out who the individual is until a couple of severe pranks cause death.
Ms Fossum uses the mystery to explore how the different characters react to the events in their lives. Sometimes the reaction is positive and sometime it is negative. I like the way she develops her characters although a lot of times it is a tragedy. Even Inspector Sejer rea...more
Ms Fossum uses the mystery to explore how the different characters react to the events in their lives. Sometimes the reaction is positive and sometime it is negative. I like the way she develops her characters although a lot of times it is a tragedy. Even Inspector Sejer rea...more
Probably Fossim's best work in the Sejer series.Anguish and moral pragmatism are woven into a story of a community warped by fear and suspicion. While Fossim is at her best dissecting middle class sensibilities and smugness, she also shows here a deft touch in exploring the condition of those marginalised in society. And typically of her, it has come back to the question of mother -- and father -- hood...and children, no matter what their age.
You are always going to find cause to cry when readin...more
You are always going to find cause to cry when readin...more
This really caught me by surprise - haunting, sad, full of memorable characters and narrative ambiguities. I'm not familiar with the writer nor her recurring leading man, Inspector Sejer. In fact, Sejer mostly drifts around the edges of the story which is less of a mystery than it is a study in abjection, loneliness and existential unease. Someone is disturbing the very fabric of social order in a small Norwegian village, and this character's pranks and cruel jokes take an unnerving toll on all...more
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Karin Fossum is a Norwegian author of crime fiction,often known there as the "Norwegian queen of crime". She lives in Oslo. Fossum was initially a poet, with her first collection published in 1974 when she was just 20. It won the Tarjei Vesaas' Debutant Prize. She is the author of the internationally successful Inspector Konrad Sejer series of crime novels, which have been translated into over 16...more
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“Why did criminals have so many rights? Why were they entitled to respect and understanding? Had they not acted so unlawfully that these rights should be stripped from them?”
—
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