Norwegian Queen of Crime—now in Russian for the first time!
Rarely does one experience such tension and chilling terror, delivered so subtly and convincingly. Karin Fossum managed to create an atmosphere that fully engulfs you and keeps you on edge until the very last page, achieving the effect of complete immersion in a real nightmare.
Lieutenant Konrad Sejer is investigating…
It was a real dollhouse.
A tiny house with red window frames and lace curtains at the windows. It stopped just short of him, but he didn’t hear anything—only a dog panting heavily nearby, and a faint rustle in the branches of old apple trees. He stood there a little longer, feeling how his boots were soaking through in the damp grass. He could also feel that his heart still couldn’t return to a normal rhythm—after that “chase in the garden.” The dog looked at him and waited. Steam rose from its huge mouth as it sniffed something in the dark; its ears trembled—maybe it could hear sounds that he couldn’t. He turned around and looked at the mansion behind him, where light was burning, where it was so warm and cozy. No one heard them— not even the dog when it barked. He’d left the car a bit farther down the road—two wheels on the sidewalk and the door left open.
“She’s afraid of dogs,” he thought, surprised. He bent down, grabbed the dog by the collar, and then slowly went to the door. In such a tiny house there clearly can’t be a back exit—even, most likely, there’s no lock on the door. Evidently, right now, as the door slammed shut, she realized she’d been trapped. There’s no way out. She has not a single chance.