Black Seconds

Infobox Book |
name = Black Seconds
title_orig = Svarte sekunder
translator = Charlotte Barslund


image_caption = 1st English-language edition cover
author = Karin Fossum
cover_artist =
country = Norway
language = Norwegian
series = Inspector Konrad Sejer, #6
genre = Crime novel
publisher = Harvill Secker
pub_date = 2002
english_pub_date = July 2007
media_type = Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 1846550181
preceded_by = Calling Out for You
followed_by = The Murder of Harriet Krohn

"Black Seconds" ( _no. Svarte sekunder, 2002) is a novel by Norwegian writer Karin Fossum, the sixth in the Inspector Konrad Sejer series. The novel won Sweden's Martin Beck Award in 2002.

The storyline

The story starts with Helga Jones, who lives on her own with her daughter Ida Jones and, who is seeing her daughter go out of the home on a yellow bicycle wearing a red helmet, perhaps for the very first time. Helga is shown to be an over-anxious mother who worries excessively about her daughter.She even resorts down to calculating the approximate time Ida will take to reach the shop she is going to.

But as the night starts to fall and as the expected time of Ida's arrival starts to pass, Helga starts getting worried and calls up the shop Ida was up to. There she gets to know that Ida never did come there.Helga starts to lose herself and calls her sister Ruth who lives in the neighbourhood. Together they search for Ida but to no avail. Finally they call the Police and also Helga's husband Anders.

Then starts the search for Ida. The search for her leads to no result until after ten days the dead body of Ida is found lying on the road side. Ida's cadaver is not wearing the clothes she was wearing the day she left her place and instead is wearing a beautiful nighty.Also the same day Inspector Sejer notices an envelope at Ida's place which has a bird feather in it which ultimately proves to be a vital link in finding her murderer.

As the story proceeds, various angles have been taken into account like the accident of Ruth's son Tomme, who had had an accident at almost the same time Ida went missing.

Another important character in the novel is a man called Emil, who doesn't speak at all and answers only through gestures and the word NO. He also owns a three-wheeler which is shown to be a trademark of his.

Tomme has a friend Willy, who is detested by Tomme's mother Ruth because of Willy's involvement in some notorious activities like drugdealing. But Tomme owes him a lot because Willy helped mend his car after an accident.

Tomme has a secret which is evident from the way he talks and behaves at his place. This strange behaviour of his is making Ruth become restless.

At the other end Emil's mother has noted his son behaving somewhat strangely and when she reaches Emil's place to check if everything is all right she is welcomed by a locked home and when she tries to open the door using her pair of keys she notices a sticky substance inside the keyhole which is deliberately put inside so as to keep her from entering.

She smells a phony and rushes into the house using a crowbar to break-open the door.There she sees her son standing in awe and next moment as she enters Emil's living room she is struck by bewilderment. There lies the dead body of Ida.

Emil's mother wraps it up and changes its clothes so as to leave no clue. But still some of the feathers of Emil's parrot get attached to the nighty which later along with the nighty proves fatal for both Emil and his mother.

In the meanwhile Willy asks Tomme to accompany him to Copenhagen which Tomme refuses straight away but Willy tells him that he has mended his car at no cost and that he should help him in return.Tomme agrees and they leave. On the way back Willy asks Tomme to exchange his bag with Willy's. Tomme knows that Willy is carrying drugs in it and hence refuses. Willy threatens him that he'll tell the secret to everyone. Tomme still refuses.All of this conversation is taking place on the deck of the ship on which both of them are returning back.Also there is a gale blowing and they can hardly stand erect. Both of them are drunk as well.Next day Tomme gets up in his cabin to notice that Willy's not around. He looks out for him but couldn't find him.He comes back to his place. Willy's mother calls up at Tomme's place to know where Willy is.Ruth says Tomme has no idea as he was out with his friends.Willy's mother tells her that Willy has gone out with Tomme only and with nobody else. Ruth's mother is awe-struck. Tomme confesses that it was Willy only with whom he had gone out and tells her that Willy left him somewhere near the University and from there Tomme has gone to nowhere else but to his place only and that he has no idea where Willy is right now.

After hanging up the phone Tomme tells his mother how Willy asked him to swap bags and how he left him when he refused.Ruth is furious but thinks as Tomme has confessed his mistake he should be given a chance to improve.They later find out Willy had already put drugs in Tomme's bag and how he cheated Tomme. They flush out all the drugs.Tomme thinks that it might be the end of the gloom for him.

But as the story unfolds and as one clue leads to another it turns out that Ida was struck by Tomme's car first and after she got unconscious she was taken away by Emil in his Three-wheeler to his place where he just wanted to help her but because of internal injuries she died.

With poor Emil not knowing what to do next he just leaves her body as such on his bed.

Emil's mother thinks that may be Emil has killed Ida. She wants to save him by getting rid of the body and at the same time leaving no clue which she does by changing Ida's clothes and packing Ida neatly. These things ultimately turn out to be the presage of the things to come and eventually making all of them land up in jail.

Lastly Tomme is shown to be convicted in the killing of Willy as well which he did by throwing him off the deck on the night they were conversing.

This ends the book which grips you tightly till its last page.Though the story is not at all flashy and doesn't include meticulous crimes yet the delicacy with which intricacies have been shown is immaculate.