[Review] The Drowned Boy by Karin Fossum

The Drowned Boy by Karin Fossum
Series: Inspector Konrad Sejer, #11
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publishing Date: Aug. 25, 2015
Format: hardcover, ARC
240 Pages
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis 

A new addition to the captivating Inspector Sejer series, the first since The Caller, from Norway’s finest crime writer.

Carmen and Nicolai failed to resuscitate their son, Tommy, after finding him floating in their backyard pond. When Inspector Skarre arrives on the scene, Carmen reports that Tommy, a healthy toddler with Down syndrome, wandered into the garden while Nicolai was working in the basement and she was cleaning the house. Skarre senses something is off with Carmen’s story and consults his trusted colleague, the famed Inspector Sejer. An autopsy reveals Tommy’s lungs to be full of soap.

When Sejer and Skarre revisit the couple, Carmen, an epileptic, changes her story, confessing that she’d been knocked unconscious by a seizure while bathing Tommy. When she came to, she found him drowned in the tub and, horrified and frightened, threw him into the pond.

But Skarre and Sejer’s doubt is not appeased and the case is reopened. What more could Carmen be hiding? And what lengths will she take to cover her guilt? As Carmen’s own family starts to doubt her, Skarre and Sejer work to find the truth.

My Review

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

I was immediately drawn to this book after seeing the cover and reading the synopsis. I knew I had to read it even though I haven't read anything else by this author. I was a little concerned at first that I hadn't read the other books in this series, but after reading this, I'm guessing they can be read out of order. I didn't feel like I had missed anything by not reading the others. Though reading this definitely makes me want to read some more of Fossum's work. 

This was an interesting book and I really enjoyed reading it. It's a little slower paced than some other mysteries that I've read, but it was a nice change. But even though it was slower, I didn't lose interest and it wasn't missing anything. Inspector Sejer is a really unique character; he lives alone with his dog but there's definitely a lot that has gone on in his life. Carmen absolutely drove me crazy in this book; I didn't like her from the very beginning. It was her mannerisms and personality that just didn't fit with mine. She was too blasé about her child dying and wanted to move on too fast after. And poor Nicolai; he was clearly torn up about Tommy dying and I felt so bad for him. 

It's interesting to watch this story unfold and find out what happened to Tommy. It's definitely a book that kept me interested and I'm glad that I was given the chance to read this!