Amarried couple, Reinhardt and Kristine Ris, are out for a Sunday walk when they discover the body of a boy and see the figure of a man limping awa...
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Jan 31, 2012
Zaphoddent
rated it: 
Loathed this book.
In an attempt to explore the multiple layers of her characters, Fossum manages to come off as over sympathetic to the paedophiles. Her principal detective actually makes this statement: "Whereas gay men have finally become accepted, paedophiles will forever be outcast". Really? This statement is made by the principal detective? Okay, granted referring to anyone as a detective in the book is a stretch given how minor the police roles are and how all they do More...
In an attempt to explore the multiple layers of her characters, Fossum manages to come off as over sympathetic to the paedophiles. Her principal detective actually makes this statement: "Whereas gay men have finally become accepted, paedophiles will forever be outcast". Really? This statement is made by the principal detective? Okay, granted referring to anyone as a detective in the book is a stretch given how minor the police roles are and how all they do More...
Nov 28, 2011
The Water’s Edge, by Karin Fossum, a-minus, produced by BBC Audio, purchased as compact discs from Audio Editions.
In this book we have a couple out hiking finding the body of a dead little boy. They describe a man they saw leaving the scene as looking like Hans Christian Andersen. The inspector begins his search for what he believes may be a pedaphile. This book is unusual in that while they are searching for the man who killed the boy, they are spending time learning about what th More...
In this book we have a couple out hiking finding the body of a dead little boy. They describe a man they saw leaving the scene as looking like Hans Christian Andersen. The inspector begins his search for what he believes may be a pedaphile. This book is unusual in that while they are searching for the man who killed the boy, they are spending time learning about what th More...
Oct 31, 2011
As I work my way through a nice long list of Scandinavian crime writers, I'm finding Norway's Karin Fossum's books especially satisfying. Inspector Sejer and his assistant Jakob Skarre (think Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway) take on the investigation when the body of a eight year old boy is found dumped in the forest near Huseby, a small Norwegian town outside Oslo. The child does not have a mark on him, but his shorts and shoes are missing. A local couple out for a Sunday stroll discovere
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Jul 20, 2011
Cameling
rated it: 
If one didn't know better, one would assume from reading Fossum's crime mysteries, that murderers and paedophiles run amok in Norway.
A couple, taking their weekly Sunday walk through Linde Forest, are brushed past by a man stumbling through the woods and later discover the body of a 7 year old boy under a tree, clad only in his t-shirt. The couple alert the police and provide a description of the man they saw as well as the car they saw him get into. As Inspector Sejer and Jacob Skarr More...
A couple, taking their weekly Sunday walk through Linde Forest, are brushed past by a man stumbling through the woods and later discover the body of a 7 year old boy under a tree, clad only in his t-shirt. The couple alert the police and provide a description of the man they saw as well as the car they saw him get into. As Inspector Sejer and Jacob Skarr More...
Oct 30, 2009
EmmaLee
rated it:
This is a terrible book. I don't know if it missed something in the translation, but it spent way too much time trying to rationalize and make the reader feel sympathy for a child molestor! The parts from the molestor's POV are simply grotesque, and the speculations from Skarre are terrible. So what if the molestor feels he can't get help because he is too ashamed! Or they had a bad childhood and so do terrible things to other people! And I don't believe that child molestors are born and "
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Sep 03, 2009
Tony
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Fossum. Karin. THE WATER’S EDGE. (Norway-2007; U.S.-2009). ****. A married couple, Reinhardt and Kristine Ris, are taking one of their usual walks through the woods near a lake when they discover the body of a young boy, dead, lying amongst a copse of trees. Almost immediately afterwards, they see an older man with a limp walking away out of the woods. Kristine can remember his face because to her he looked like Hans Christian Andersen. They alert the police, but in the meantime Reinhardt
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Nov 14, 2011
Dave
rated it:
The Water's Edge by Karin Fossum
Karin Fossum
I think Karin Fossum is the most emotionally interesting of crime writers. She moves you and makes you think about our relationships to one another in our communities. Regional Norway becomes a crucible of the rest of our existence and what assumptions may rule our perceptions. Her stories aren't so much about Inspectors Konrad Sejer and Jakob Skarre but about us. These coppers are mere conduits to confronting underlying More...
Aug 20, 2009
Richard
rated it: 
This is the 7th novel of Ms. Fossum's translated from Norwegian to English. As is so typical of European stories, either in print or film, there is a slow development of the characters and very little action. She has several long monologues by different characters explaining their thinking about why they behaved in certain ways.
The story is an especially sad one: two young boys disappear. The first one was seen getting into a car with a man and is soon found dead. The other one seems More...
The story is an especially sad one: two young boys disappear. The first one was seen getting into a car with a man and is soon found dead. The other one seems More...
Nov 15, 2010
Giulietta
rated it:
Primo approccio con la scrittura nordica, che mi ha piacevolmente colpito: non un libro eccezionale, sicuramente, ma scorrevole e ben scritto, con un'attenzione particolare ai tratti psicologici dei protagonisti, a partire dall'investigatore Sejer, freddo ed indecifrabile, al più giovane Skarre, fino alla più insignificante comparsa.
Un giallo misurato, mai eccessivo, eppure intrigante, perché ti porta a conoscere le vittime, i carnefici, i protagonisti e i comprimari allo stesso modo, fino a far More...
Un giallo misurato, mai eccessivo, eppure intrigante, perché ti porta a conoscere le vittime, i carnefici, i protagonisti e i comprimari allo stesso modo, fino a far More...
Jul 09, 2010
Allison
rated it: 
So, I read these three mysteries at the same time. This was definitely the best of the three. The other two were horrible. Horrible writing, horrible story plot, gratuitous swearing-definetly not books I would recommend. They threw me off reading for a while-I was that disappointed. Anyway, this book was a decent mystery, probably not even in the good category, in the okay category. I think it seemed better than it really was because of the other two. The author, I am still not sure what
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Aug 01, 2009
Angie
rated it: 
Fossum has created a small masterpiece in "The Water's Edge". The book is remarkably short. She manages to cram an incredible amount of what I shall call "emotional" information about her characters by telegraphing their actions and for the most part, their thoughts and speech. The longest paragraphs in the book involve, however, the grieving mothers talking about the two boys whose disappearances make up the supposed raison d'etre of the story. But for Sejer and Skarre, F
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Jul 02, 2011
Kristi
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 20, 2011
MS Fossum uses the mystery format and her characters to discuss or explore topics that in many cases might be off limits. In her discussions she doesn't reach a conclusion but does raise questions. I sometimes think the discussions take away from the story but without the discussions would there be a story.
A married couple going out for a walk see a stranger walking toward a car and then a little while later find the body of a young boy. The boy has been assaulted and soon another youn More...
A married couple going out for a walk see a stranger walking toward a car and then a little while later find the body of a young boy. The boy has been assaulted and soon another youn More...
Jun 13, 2011
Susan
rated it:
This may possibly be my favorite Karin Fossum book yet....the character of Inspector Sejer is a very interesting one...the psychological development excellent. In this book, a young boy goes missing and is found dead in the woods. Two witnesses saw a man acting suspiciously leave the area. There is no doubt that there is a child molester involved; it is suggested by someone who should know, that this might be his first child. And then the next child goes missing....it is not enough for Inspect
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Aug 17, 2009
Karen
rated it:
One of the things that I particularly love about really good crime fiction is the way that it highlights the human condition - warts and all. The thing I particularly love about Karin Fossum's books is the way that she explores the notion of the sad, the stupid, the moments in which things go awry. To my mind, there's something profoundly more sobering about the notion of momentary mistake or misjudgement - rather than the automatic presumption of evil.
THE WATER'S EDGE tackles the More...
THE WATER'S EDGE tackles the More...
Nov 24, 2011
Tracey
rated it:
Love the genre, Water's Edge is a good story with plenty of moral food for thought. Much less intense in overall storytelling, Inspector Sejer does not really develop in character. There are intersting insights into the mind of paedophile that humanize the inhuman. I am left wondering however, where is the Reinhardt Ris character headed? His role in Water's Edge as the first to discover the body of little Jonas, taking pictures on his cell phone, quirky interest in the crime and veiled threats t
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Aug 04, 2011
Clodia
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 04, 2009
Meredith
rated it:
Hmmmm, I'm not much of a mystery reader - so I'm left feeling like I either don't like mysteries or I just don't get it. This book was well written but left me with several questions. I did enjoy how everyday people (no over the top personalities - yeah!) were caught up in a dramatic circumstance - but everything was so understated I was left feeling a little bored. Norway was interesting to read about and I loved the unpronouceable names (to me) but the author got me interested in a characte
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Jan 31, 2011
anenko
rated it:
Trigger warning for sexual assault of a child.
I'm torn over this book. It's a slow, quiet mystery, and the translation is smooth and easily readable. The subject matter, on the other hand. . . Fossum tried to address the human in the pedophile characters: what makes them who they are? can we understand these people? It's still deeply uncomfortable to see a couple of detectives--our main characters--sharing tea and a comfortable conversation with a charming old pedophile.
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I'm torn over this book. It's a slow, quiet mystery, and the translation is smooth and easily readable. The subject matter, on the other hand. . . Fossum tried to address the human in the pedophile characters: what makes them who they are? can we understand these people? It's still deeply uncomfortable to see a couple of detectives--our main characters--sharing tea and a comfortable conversation with a charming old pedophile.
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Nov 07, 2011
Antje
rated it:
I enjoyed this book, the crime and the characters were quite realistic, no exaggereted plot, motives or complexity, every person in the book I can imagine clear, they are normal, no unbelievable monsters, no shining heroes, no unbarable atrocities.
I must admit I didn't like that one of the policemen spent a lot of time with finding explanations why the paedophile became a peadophile and what kind of childhood he had, but I guess, lot of people are asking such questions. Anyway, this is an i More...
I must admit I didn't like that one of the policemen spent a lot of time with finding explanations why the paedophile became a peadophile and what kind of childhood he had, but I guess, lot of people are asking such questions. Anyway, this is an i More...
Aug 08, 2011
Anssi
rated it:
Karin Fossum has an extraordinary talent for creating realistic crime stories, where solving the actual crime has a very small role compared to the psychology and relationships between people involved. In this one, she examines not only the lives of the criminal and the policemen, but also the victims and witnesses of the crime. I didn't like this one quite as much as some of her earlier books, which usually concentrate on just one or two people at a time, and thus delve deeper into their minds.
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Aug 31, 2011
Rachelle
rated it:
Fossum's good. This book involves paedophilia. The children who are victimized are as arresting as the community that reacts in fear. The husband and wife who serve as witnesses, of sorts, provide a study in marriage, what it means to have and not have children, and what the power plays within marriage do to people. This is also a fine profile of worried citizens trying to protect their children, and how they may be simultaneously exploited. The thoughtful Inspector Konrad Sejer is a fine c
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Jul 06, 2011
Bob
rated it:
First Karin Fossum book that I have read. Interesting style, tale told from several character viewpoints. Although main character Inspector Sejer is likeable, there isn't enough focus on his character to create the strong attachment that makes reading the next book in the series to be compelling. Although this does allow for the development of other characters in the book that will not be recurring characters in other books in the series. Not a bad approach, just different.
Aug 10, 2011
Yvonne
rated it:
Gripping mystery, translated from the Norwegian. Couldn't put it down. The murder of a young boy brings the reader into contact with the police, the couple who found the body, the parents of children, the paedophile murderer, local townspeople and friends of the victim. Beautifully told from every viewpoint, in a well paced story. The two Norwegian police officers assigned to the case are careful, thoughtful, hardworking and, dare I say it, sensitive! In a manly way of course. A good read.
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Sep 16, 2009
Jim
rated it:
I've been a fan of Karin Fossum's moody mysteries up to now, ordering her books early from Amazon UK, and this time buying her book in hardcover. So I was doubly disappointed. The plot, characters, and detection were as thin as a paper towel, good for wiping away an evening's ennui - and not much else. By the end I had the impression Fossum had left out a third of her book. The best third. Norway's "queen of crime" is resting on her laurels in this one.
Oct 24, 2010
Melinda
rated it:
Would give 3.5 stars, so I erred on the positive. A solid mystery and page turner for another cold and remote (for us Westerners)Norwegian mystery. Det Sejer is insightful,kind, yet unyielding in understanding the whys of the murder. This book dealt with serious content - pedophiles and bullying, with both victims discussed with utmost respect. The sidekick, Skarre is bright, young and insightful. Would rec to any readers of Arnaldur Indriðason.
Sep 19, 2009
Lydia
rated it:
Fossum's writing gets better quite noticeably with the latest book in the Inspector Sejer series. I was immediately gripped by the story being told in the first chapter.
Her characters are a lot more believable this time around - from the game-playing, egotistical husband to the scary "bad guy". Unfortunately, the characters with the least amount of actual character are the constants - which is a disappointment to me. But, overall, a good read.
Her characters are a lot more believable this time around - from the game-playing, egotistical husband to the scary "bad guy". Unfortunately, the characters with the least amount of actual character are the constants - which is a disappointment to me. But, overall, a good read.
Nov 01, 2009
Andrea
rated it:
Review:(10/27/2009, 12:44 PM)
One of my barometers for a great book is when I am finished I can’t stop thinking about the story or the characters. Karen Fossum’s “The Water’s Edge” meets that criteria and then some. Wonderfully written she drew me into the story dealing with a delicate subject of a child’s molestation and murder. As a mother I find this a very difficult subject to read about, but Fossum handles it tactfully as the story unfolds into an excellent mystery. One of my favorite More...
One of my barometers for a great book is when I am finished I can’t stop thinking about the story or the characters. Karen Fossum’s “The Water’s Edge” meets that criteria and then some. Wonderfully written she drew me into the story dealing with a delicate subject of a child’s molestation and murder. As a mother I find this a very difficult subject to read about, but Fossum handles it tactfully as the story unfolds into an excellent mystery. One of my favorite More...
Oct 04, 2009
Kristen
rated it:
This was a very gripping story, wonderfully told. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The only downside was that it left me with too many unanswered questions! I don't want to pose those questions here, but if anyone else has read this book and would like to discuss with me...
Overall, The Water's Edge was an excellent book and I'll be looking for more from Karin Fossum to add to my books-to-read list! More...
Overall, The Water's Edge was an excellent book and I'll be looking for more from Karin Fossum to add to my books-to-read list! More...
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Jan 24, 2010
Deborah
rated it:
Like the first book, this Inspector Sejer mystery didn't really come alive for me. There's a blind alley thrown in here and there to keep it interesting, but if there's theme here it's the malevolence of ordinary people in an ordinary small town. People kill for stupid reasons, then keep it up.
One cultural difference that is beginning to rise to the surface in this series of mysteries is the ordinariness of suicide in these Norwegian communities. There doesn't seem to be much hand w More...
One cultural difference that is beginning to rise to the surface in this series of mysteries is the ordinariness of suicide in these Norwegian communities. There doesn't seem to be much hand w More...
