Bad Intentions (Konrad Sejer, #9) in Nordic Noir

Dec 28, 2011 Lane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scandinavian, foreign-setting, favorites, norway

Once again, Karin Fossum weaves a Web of relationships affected by two deaths, presumably murders. The issue this time is bullying. As always, i really enjoyed Fossum,s disarmingly simple way that she reveals more and more about the dynamics between and among the various characters to explore the issue. The questions she asks us to ponder are: how much, if any, responsibility/blame do the victims of bullying bear? Do we as a society unintentionally encourage bullies because don't look past their ...more

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Oct 05, 2015 John rated it really liked it

A shorter book than most of Fossum's novels, this is also a simpler one in terms of the unraveling of the crime, but its portrayal of character is every bit as deep and engrossing.

Jon, one of three friends, commits suicide in front of the other two, who conspire to lie about the circumstances of the death, thereby arousing the suspicions of Inspector Sejer that this could be a murder case. Why they should do so, and why Jon committed suicide, is something that unfolds before us for the rest of t A shorter book than most of Fossum's novels, this is also a simpler one in terms of the unraveling of the crime, but its portrayal of character is every bit as deep and engrossing.

Jon, one of three friends, commits suicide in front of the other two, who conspire to lie about the circumstances of the death, thereby arousing the suspicions of Inspector Sejer that this could be a murder case. Why they should do so, and why Jon committed suicide, is something that unfolds before us for the rest of the book. There is of course an earlier crime involved, another death.

Sejer and Skarre play a relatively small part in the proceedings; the solution to the case really comes about through the confession of one of the two surviving youths, the one who, however much he may appear to the world to be a wastrel junkie loser, has retained an integral core of decency. Indeed, if the book is about anything beyond the tale, it's about this concept of decency. It's embodied in the figures of the two bereaved mothers, who cross all sorts of social boundaries to comfort each other (and are my favorite characters in the book). Jon's mother at one point expands upon the topic:

A man was in a German prison camp during the war. He was subjected to so many awful things—abuse, torture, starvation and exposure. There were thirty men crammed into a freezing barrack, and the snow blew in under the door. Nevertheless he survived, and when the war ended he returned home. Though he now had plenty of food and warmth, he died shortly afterward. He was haunted by a terrible memory. One night he had stolen a crust of bread from a sleeping man. It was this incident which killed him. He could not bear to eat."

"That's very sad," Yoo said. She could visualize it all, an emaciated man in prison clothes stealing in the night. Crouching alone in the dark, furtively gnawing at the dry crust.

"That's one way of looking at it," Ingerid said. "But I also think that it says something positive about people. We need a sense of decency. Without it we cannot live a good life. And Jon had lost that sense of decency."

That's as good an exposition of the idea as I've come across.

This is a crime novel that focuses not on murder or any other major crimes, but instead on more minor ones like self-interest, stupidity, moral cowardice and of course that loss of decency. I found it gripping and very satisfying. ...more

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May 09, 2013 Laura rated it it was ok

This book is a pretty straightforward plot, and deals a lot with the psychology of guilt. There wasn't enough mystery here for me, and I couldn't really develop any empathy for any of the characters. Not one of her stronger reads. ...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Carol rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction-thriller-mystery, library

Slow paced psychological thriller. This is not a whodunit in a traditional sense. What the author probes is the why. Great tension and suspense in the book.

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Nov 09, 2014 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Very much a character study!. Enjoyed it

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Mar 14, 2011 Naomi rated it it was amazing

Another winner by Fossum..the only thing bad about this book is that it is too short and we will need to wait another couple of years for publishers to get out the next one...KF truly is the Queen of Nordic Noir!

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