The Drowned Boy (Inspector Sejer Mysteries) Paperback – August 9, 2016

As a longtime admirer of Karin Fossum and her Inspector Sejer detective novels, I found ,myself disappointed at the eleventh entry in the series. In the most minimalist of all her books, a young child suffering from Downs Syndrome drowns, and what appears a horrible accident provokes the suspicions, first, of Jacob Scarre, and eventually of Sejer himself. This seems the making of a classic Fossum mystery, bur surprisingly there is a flatness and predictability to the novel, in sharp contrast to the psychological complexity and richness of the earlier books. One of the reasons for these changes is age itself. Not only is Sejer suffering from inexplicable dizzy spells, causing him to brood on his own mortality (in fact the book is filled with a variety of illnesses and afflictions), but Scarre is now a gifted investigator in his own right, and thus the former bantering and philosophical interplay of the two men has become more staid and and institutionally defined. Having worked together for so many years, they have become legendary for their integrity and investigative abilities, but a certain nuance and vitality has been lost. I clearly have the sense that Fossum has begun to recycle old material (her second novel also featured Downs Syndrome, the death of a young child, and a mysterious drowning) and she has brought back the emphasis from the earlier books on Sejer's lonely obsession with his deceased wife. In several later novels she had shifted this emphasis by introducing a sensual and intelligent and provocative girl friend, who challenges Sejer and exposes some of his emotional shortcomings, but now he once again he is alone with his dog, though a new dog now, and endless meditations on his beautiful wife and their life together. It's worth noting here that many of the most iconic Scandi mystery writers have concluded the franchise after ten novels. As the old saying goes, all good things must end. And sadly Sejer's best days seem behind him now. But it's been a marvelous series. And Fossum one of the best Nordic writers in this genre.

I'm a big Karin Fossum fan, but "The Drowned Boy" is so inferior to her other books that I'm puzzled. My best guess is that the book is a mediocre effort made even worse by a really bad translation into English. (For example, the translator repeatedly used "cramp" for "convulsion" when describing an epileptic fit.). The writing was repetitive and clunky. A decent editor would have compressed this into a novella or even a short story.Again I'm puzzled that this was even published given the level of Fossum's other work.

I've been eagerly waiting for the next Karin Fossum book with Inspector Seger. At first I thought I was not going to like it - but then... well, I read it it in one day. If you like understanding the psychology behind the crimes people do, you will love this book. If you just want action packed, this is not the book for you. It begins with the drowning death of a 16 month old boy... a boy who has Downs syndrome. It looks like an accident, however the mother seems oddly detached and so Skarre calls in Inspector Seger to get his opinion. The mother's name is CArmen and she is 19 years old.. a beautiful young girl. She cries copious amounts of tears, but then immediately gets rid of her son's belonging and is ready to get on with her life. The father, 20 years old, is caught in grief and can barely function.A great study in the psychological aspects of a crime

A staid morbid plot that rewrites itself like a broken record to the unrealistic ending (what are the odds of?...don't want to spoil the ending if you do read it....) A well educated 10-yr. old could get through the vocabulary easily and perhaps be bored with the content, too. Fossum needs to scale up with more complex characterization, plot development and better writing in general. Save yourself the $11.99 Kindle fee. Try the Louise Penny, David Hewson, Tana French and/or Jo Nesbo books--much more engaging novels. If you want to read a very good psychological mystery with introspective dialogue, I recommend "The Girl on the Train".

A boy with Down's Syndrome is found drowned. Was it an accident? Did one of the child's parents kill him? Or is there some other explanation?Inspector Sejer takes hold of this one like a dog with a bone between its teeth, and holds on until what happened finally becomes clear. This is a far less complicated procedure than in most of his cases, but "less complicated" doesn't mean easy. The investigation is in large part psychological, as the Inspector peels back the personalities involved like so many onions. The solution becomes clearer as we move on, but even so I could not put this novel down until I finished it. As ever, Karen Fossum's writing (and its translation) is real pleasure to read: precise and convincing. The ending is perhaps a little bit ex machina, but it does add a nice reminder of the unavoidability of desitny.

I refer to Karin Fossum as 'the demented one' because she tackles crimes against decency. In this book the subject is a disabled toddler, which caused a great deal anxiety. I read 50% of this book in 2017, but I couldn't finish it. Last month I pursued myself to finish. I wish I had stopped st 93%…I can't recommend this book to anyone because it is a book of nightmares that come true the author has a voice through her empathetic Inspector Sejer.

This was a very good mystery with some interesting twists. There is a clever twist at the end, but hints are given about it earlier.The story was a little slow at times, and you will have to get around that it is a translation from the Swedish. Now, I admire folks who speak more than one language and can translate books, but the final draft should have been given to a native English-speaker to read over. At times the conversations seem a bit stiff and sometimes the wrong word is used...example: a comfortable and relaxing patient waiting room at the hospital is described as "homely" when it should have been "homey."This book is a part of a series but I haven't read the others. It did keep my interest.

Another delightful psychological thriller by Karin Fossum. The Drowned Boy commences with the untimely death of a young child and only draws suspicion because of Detective Skarres intuition that something is amiss. He requests Inspector Sejer to attend and he take over the running of the case.The plot is about a young couple; Carmen and Nicolai who have a 16 month old Down's Syndrome son. As the name of the book suggests, we learn immediately that the child is found in the water with Carmen having pulled him out and tried to resuscitate him to no avail. The characters mentality is explored by Fossum with each parent responding to the death in a different manner. It is not her best book as at one point I did wonder where the plot was heading as it dipped into the mundane, however we can feel the pressure and frustration that Sejer is under and the dismay that the perpetrator might get away with the crime.It is a well thought out plot with a satisfactory ending that leaves a little room for one to make up their own mind. I liked the twist at the end and had to smile...

I am a fan of Karin Fossum and enjoyed large parts of this book very much which I found very moving. I really felt for the father and his anguish at what had happened in particular.Don't expect this to be a who-done-it book though. This is a crime novel certainly but it centers more around the characters, their drives and emotions than a traditional solve the mystery type of thing. Unfortunately the end was a rather unbelievable. It didn't spoil the book for me as in a way the ending was not central to what the story was about but never-the-less it did take the gloss off an enjoyable read,

I' ve started to read my way through all of her novels. She's a real writer..Pedro

A competently written if brief book. Do not expect excitement or breathless anticipation. Inspector Sejer is calmly preoccupied with the death of a child. He is also concerned about his own health and aware that he and some colleagues are aging. The book very slowly concerns itself with these issues. Perhaps Karen Fossum has also become bored with her main character? Read it if you need bedtime reading that will help you fall asleep.

Totally disappointed with this effort. It plodded along and I was desperate for it to get going. The plot was totally unbelievable in content and it was not worthy of this wonderful author.