The Water's Edge. Karin Fossum (Writer), Charlotte Barslund (Translation). Vintage (2010)

A deeply engaging and pessimistic crime story where the ripples for a terrible crime spread destruction through numerous lives. In Norway, a couple out for a walk in a local wood discover the body of a young boy, clearly he has been murdered. The police launch an investigation lead by Inspector Sejer and they work carefully and competently following the possible leads as they arise. The disappearance of a second young boy adds to the pressure on the investigation and on the inhabitants of the small town. The story unwinds carefully, showing the widening impact of the murder and the disappearance of a large cast, the investigation is thoughtful and well managed, the reveals are well staged and the bitter conclusion is natural and horribly credible.
Karin Fossum has an wonderful confidence as a writer, there is a large cast in the story and the crime itself is less important that huge impact that it has on the cast. The victims are never overlooked, their absence is a vital as their presence as the rest of the cast reshape their lives.
The couple who found the body, the wife who is horrified and her husband who becomes obsessed by the crime. The fault lines in their relationship steadily become more are more unavoidable as the wife starts to come to life altering realizations about their marriage.
The mother of the boy found in the forest who finds that she has lost far more than her son.
The mother of the boy who disappears, a young obese boy who is vividly established before he vanishes, cling to the wreckage the mother finds that even that may be not what she thinks it is.
The gay teacher in the school where the two boys went, he is caring and thoughtful and manages to be willfully blind to the possible reactions and interpretations of his actions by people who are frighted at the events.
The murderer himself, a pathetic man who is caught in the storm of his own desires and the results of his actions, alternately self pitying and defiant.
All of them are treated with sympathy and none are spared, there is no judgement of them, there is a pessimistic unfolding of events that allow for the worst to happen in the most natural of ways. The story is quiet with a carefully controlled storm wreaking havoc in lives that will not recover. Karin Fossum's astonishing skill is developing her cast and allowing them to present themselves to the reader is why the book is not a grinding catalogue of destruction. It is grim and ultimately bitter, it is never depressing or dispiriting.
Charlotte Barslund's translation is transparent and natural, the whole sense of the cast and context is delivered with care and confidence, the setting is fully Norwegian, it is never foreign or awkward. This is superb crime fiction, a deep,very dark pleasure.