Fear make the Wolf bigger than she is

Author : Karen Fossum
Title : He Who Fears The Wolf
Published : 07/11/2013
Pages : 400
Format : Paperback
Publisher : Vintage





A twelve-year-old boy runs into his local police station claiming to have seen a brutally dismembered corpse. Errki Johrma, an escaped psychiatric patient and known town misfit, was spotted at the scene before he disappeared into the woods. The next morning the local bank is robbed at gunpoint. Making his escape, the robber takes a hostage and also flees into the woods.
    

     I usually have a stack of Scandinavian noir books waiting to be read. When push comes to shove and I cant think what to read ill grab one from the pile. Some from authors I've read many times before and some are first time outings. This is my first Fossum book I was intrigued by the blurb on the back. it didn't strike me as the usual murder mystery.

 

     The author has given us an interesting set of character to observe it this tale. It strikes me that the Inspector for which this series is based about take some what of a back seat in this book. Errki the man who is suspected of committing the murder from the beginning of the book plays much more of a leading role, This is something I found to be an interesting choice. While at first I wasn't sure how to take Errki. As the book progressed I found my self becoming more immersed in his story and feeling more sympathy for him. Morgan his abductor and bank robber seems to facilitate  in this proses allowing Errki to open up about his life. Throw in to the mix Kannick a boy from a home for troubled boys and his bow and arrows. She dose an amazing job of bring these characters alive before your eyes and giving them Gravity and meaning the interaction like a small chain reaction all leading us further in to the woods.

 

     Fossum has done an insightful job of using a crime story to also deal with the subject of mental health. At no point did I feel she was using it as a crutch to explain away the action that take place. Her use of the inspector in this seems much more like a light touch. And for me it worked for the story she was trying to tell. At the end on the day there is still a mystery to be solved which she manages to do in an effective manner. The switching between the two groups allows for the story to flow to its own rhythm. At no point did I feel like the story was slowing down while she kept my interest right up until the end.

 

     For a book I chose at random from my stack I was pleasantly surprised by this. It might not have been what I though gong in to it. But It supplied a shift in gear that I found enjoyable. It managed to escape the trap of book series of not becoming a formulaic tale. Instead giving us a mussing on what its like to be the outsiders in there world. So If this is anything to go by I look for to my next foray in to the authors series.