For her thirteenth novel in the Inspector Sejer series, author Karin Fossum has tried something new. We KNOW who did it, or at least allegedly did it. The problem is, we don't know WHAT she's done â or why.

I admire this kind of creativity in an author. Unfortunately, I wasn't as big a fan of the work. I read it through to completion but didn't really find myself hooked until the crime was revealed. Was it because I was frustrated with the storytelling approach that the author took? I don't think so. Ms. Fossum alternated between a history of Ragna Riegel (whose loss of voice due to botched surgery is the title character) and Inspector Sejer's attempts to learn the motivation behind her perceived crime. I think my issue was simply that I didn't have an emotional attachment to the lead character. I found I did not like Ragna, nor did I hate her. She was just there â and for me, it's tough to get emotionally involved in a story where the characters do not inspire any emotion!!

Still, it is excellent storytelling, from a master of the craft. Therefore, I will rate it in the middle of the scale.

RATING: 3 ½ out of 5, rounded down to 3 where ½ is not permitted.

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