The Blurb:

“Six buried arms. Six missing girls. A team led by Captain Roche and internationally renowned criminologist Goran Gavila are on the trail of a serial killer whose ferocity seems to have no limits. And he seems to be taunting them, leading them to discover each small corpse in turn; but the clues on the bodies point to several different killers. Roche and Gavila bring in Mila Vasquez, a specialist in cases involving children, and Mila discovers that the real killer is one who has never lifted a finger against the girls – but merely psychologically instructs others to do his work: a ‘subliminal killer’ – the hardest to catch.”

(source: Amazon)

What I thought:

I was recommended this book by a bookseller in Waterstones while browsing in the crime section the other week. He told me that it was original and although he prides himself on guessing the culprit pretty early on, he didn’t get this one. Sounds interesting, I thought. Plus, the title is The Whisperer! It must be a sign. Thank you Waterstones man!

The Whisperer  opens with who little boys and their dog finding an arm buried in the woods and the police are called in. When the discover 5 more arms in shallow gaves next to them, the police are sure that they have found the 5 missing girls, all aged between 7 and 13 that have been kidnapped in the last few weeks. They are about to get down to business when one of the team unearths a sixth arm – but only 5 girls have been reported missing.

The investigating  team draft in Mila Vasquez, an expert in finding missing children and  Goran Gavila, a criminologist who helps to profile serial killers for the police. They set off to find their killer but are stumped at every turn when it appears that there is more than one killer at work.

I loved the paciness of this book; there were twists at every corner and just when the team thought they had got their man, they would be proved otherwise. There is some major suspension of disbelief required for this book, but then there is for most crime books – that’s what’s needed for a great page-turning plot. A quote on the front cover of the book asks the question “Is this the most eagerly awaited thriller in the world?” In my opinion, no, but I would still recommend as a damn good crime fic read if you like your twists and turns.