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In the Darkness

An Inspector Sejer Novel

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In the Darkness

By: Karin Fossum, James Anderson - translator
Narrated by: David Rintoul
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About this listen

Eva is walking by the river one afternoon when a body floats to the surface of the icy water. She tells her daughter to wait patiently while she calls the police, but when she reaches the phone box Eva dials another number altogether.

The dead man, Egil, has been missing for months, and it doesn't take long for Inspector Sejer and his team to establish that he was the victim of a very violent killer. But the trail has gone cold. It's as puzzling as another unsolved case on Sejer's desk: the murder of a prostitute who was found dead just before Egil went missing.

While Sejer is trying to piece together the fragments of a seemingly impossible case, Eva gets a phone call late one night. A stranger speaks and then swiftly hangs up. Eva looks out into the darkness and listens. All is quiet.

Gripping and thought-provoking, In the Darkness is Karin Fossum's first novel featuring the iconic Inspector Sejer. The prizewinning series has been published around the world to great acclaim.

 Crime Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Suspense Crime Fiction

Critic reviews

This is a tightly-written, carefully plotted story with amazing depths which is likely to remain with you long after you close the book
The latest offering from the “Norwegian queen of crime” is a novel of mighty power. In The Darkness, the first Inspector Sejer novel, is intricately crafted with undeniable pedigree. (Ruth Dugdall)
In the Darkness had me hooked from the start. Fossum’s writing is insightful and descriptive without being showy. There are no tricks or cliff hangers, just confident storytelling, refreshingly free from sudden bursts of implausibility. Her characters feel like real people, living in a real world, where money is tight and motivations are murky. (Julie Corbin)
It is Karin Fossum’s wry observations of human frailty and the warmth with which she portrays even her flawed characters - that make this book such a pleasure to read. It’s rare for me to find a book that I love so much I can’t put it down, but this was one of them. (Penny Hancock)
All stars
Most relevant

What did you like most about In the Darkness?

The focus on a very believable and relatable female character - Eva and the insights her character brings to the realities of life in Norway (despite its status as a utopian welfare state).

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Darkness?

Scenes of when Eve and Maya meet and discuss. Eve's relationship with her dad.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

As I live in the Nordic region, I know that storytelling here is much more nuanced than the very British style and intonation that David Rintoul utilises in this audiobook. I would have preferred someone who actually speaks Norwegian (as well as English) and is familiar with the culture and place, performing the audiobook. It's important to keep linguistic and cultural characteristics of a text, even when it's translated.

Additionally, since Karin Fossum is one of few female Nordic crime fiction writers, it would have been nice to have used the voice of a woman...particularly since the story centres around female characters too.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I wouldn't say 'moved' but you do feel sorry for certain characters at certain points in the story.

Any additional comments?

Please can audible try to retain the original character of stories by employing narrators who are from the same culture/linguistic background of the original story but are English speakers? In this case, there is no shortage of strong English speakers in Norway!

Could be better performed by Norwegian female.

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At first I found the book confusing as I couldn't get to grips with who was whom, but after about 45 minutes I began to recognize the different characters and get to grips with the increasingly engrossing story. Inspector Sager is the principle detective but doesn't figure as prominently as in previous books, which is a pity as he is an interesting creation unburdened by many of the cliches of this genre of fiction. Despite these quibbles it is a very good story and narrated by the excellent David Rintoul.

Generally a good listen

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