Abeck01 > Status Update

An exciting and suspenseful first novel by an emerging Norwegian author based on a true incident in his home town about a series of arsons that terrified the community over a period of a few months. He was an infant when the arsons occurred, but as an adult he returned to his village to research the incident and speak to any of his surviving neighbors who recalled what happened. At the same time, he chronicles his own recollections of the village growing up along with his memories of his father, who was active in the community's efforts to identify the arsonist and who also had a great impact on the author's decision to become a writer. Even though Hellvoir reveals the identity of the arsonist relatively early in the story, we become so wrapped up in the life of the village that we become concerned as to how the revelation will impact all involved. At he same time we're eager to join oh the author in trying to figure out the guilty party's motivation. The book is listed as a novel in part because of Hellvoir's recreations of conversations and incidents that happened while he was an infant and his occasional attempts to get into the minds of some of the people involved. He may also have rearranged some incidents for better storytelling impact. Before I Burn is an innovative take on the Scandanavian mystery novel that is nonetheless effective and entertaining.