I Can See in the Dark by Karin Fossum

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This one gets a 3 star rating because a 2 star seems too low? Not much to say about this one honestly. Wait - who me?! I know, you can pick your jaws up off the ground, I’m just as shocked as you are.

This is a very straight forward “day in the life of a socially awkward sociopathic psychopath” novel. Riktor is not at all endearing and you don’t end up rooting for him despite yourself in the end. You generally find him to be disturbing and cold and an overall shit head throughout. Because of this, I found myself feeling no differently towards him whether he was cooking dinner or murdering a homeless alcoholic, mocking a disabled child or pinching the ear skin of an elderly woman (but I DID find myself hardcore cringing - guess there aren’t any PC police in Norway..?).

So ya, I should probably mention that this novel isn’t going to be for everyone (cue TrIgGeR wArNiNg!!). I don’t even know if it was for me. But I didn’t hate it, chapters were easy to get through, and it was refreshing in a way to read about a character that was straight up cruel and strange, without some unnecessary backstory or motive. AND! He was equipped with a fully functioning memory - which might be his best attribute given amnesia is currently an epidemic in current literature.



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