He Who Fears the Wolf (Inspector Sejer Series #3) Book

He Who Fears The Wolf is the third outing in Karin Fossum's intelligent and frequently profound series featuring Chief Inspector Konrad Sejer and his choirboy good looking subordinate, Jacob Skarre. The second novel to appear in English (translated by Felicity David), this tale takes three individuals who would typically fall into the category of dysfunctional misfits and occupy the outer fringes of society and contrives their meeting. Often shunned and eschewed due to their status as local harbingers of trouble, the potential for mayhem is exponentially raised as their number is increased. When twenty-four-year old Errki Johrma leaves the Beacon psychiatric hospital at 3 a.m. intending never to return, he heads into the surrounding woods. Errki knows he isn't quite made up like those in mainstream society. Marked out by his lank, greasy hair, daily uniform of black clothes and his refusal to look up from the ground, his appearance is enough for anyone to steer clear. His hostile demeanour and deep-set eyes complete the image of a dangerous schizophrenic and with his swinging gait he jolts and twists as he searches for sanctuary in the woods. His first stop is an abandoned cabin, only to then come across elderly no-nonsense widower Halldis Horn weeding the garden of the little farm she still inhabits. The next moment of action see twelve-year-old reform school resident, Kannick Snelligen rushing into the police station to report the blooded corpse of Halldis on her front step, quickly followed by his claim of sighting Errki Johrma nearby the surrounding area. Local legend has seen Errki's reputation as a deranged madman gain momentum but there are others, Konrad Sejer included, who think that the greatest danger the man presents is to himself. Afraid of people and notoriously reluctant to encounter others for fear of being mocked or ridiculed, Sejer just cannot rationalise the shock claim of murder with what he knows. However, with medication no longer at his ready disposal, Sejer finds himself seeking out the doctor who has treated Errki for four-months in the asylum for further advice.

It is musing on this situation that Sejer encounters his next problem, as it proves that an ominous feeling about a shifty character who marches into Fokus Bank comes to fruition. Firing a shot and escaping with the loot and an unwitting hostage who happens to be the prime suspect for the murder of Halldis Horn (Errki Johrma), robber Morgan subsequently makes an escape into the woods. It is this combination of two dangerous and unstable individuals with nothing to lose that so worries Sejer. It takes time to understand the territory into which Fossum is taking this third novel featuring the erudite and compassionate fifty-year-old Konrad Sejer, but once it gathers momentum this is an unstoppable collision course between two misfits. He Who Fears The Wolf is once again another instalment of crime fiction in which the procedural element plays second fiddle to the fascinating psychological underpinnings that Karin Fossum is so well known for. The touching bond forged between at first Errki and bank robber Morgan, which is then widened to include obese delinquent Kannick is a touching testament to opening hearts and minds.

Fossum chooses this novel to allow her readers to learn more about both of her lead detectives, with a chance to see Sejer contemplating romance after the sad demise of his adored wife, Elise, when he encounters the enigmatic and fiercely intelligent psychiatrist, Dr Struel. Mounting a solid defence of a patient who she has worked with for only four-months, fiery Dr Sara Struel explains to Sejer that Errki is afraid of confrontation, being judged by his peers and thus furthered ostracised by society. It is only when backed into a corner that he presents a potential risk to others. After nine years as a widower and with the reliable canine, Kollberg, his only companion Chief Inspector Sejer is a handsome man and a driven investigator with an unwavering faith in human beings. Another facet of this novel is the chance to observe enthusiastic and devout Jacob Skarre alongside Sejer. Skarre occupies the middle ground between the element of the police force which are quick to see local Errki Johrma as bad news. As Skarre takes the time to assert his belief that an act cannot be defended just the person who committed it he shows he is learning well from Sejer. That Morgan takes the time to clarify the misnomer that Errki was responsible for his mother's death and Kannick's arrow unintentionally caused injury, it shows just how much empathy is dependent and benefits from social experience.