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.
there is a few italien thrillers around nowdays I ve a guttari on my tbr pile to read ,all the best stu
I’ve noticed that too, Stu. I still want to read I’m Not Scared too.
I don’t read that many crime fiction but I do like to get out of my comfort zone from time to time so why not, the plot sounds engaging! Thanks for the review Boof!
[...] by Karin Slaughter Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel Losing You by Nicci French (review to follow) The Whisperer by Donata Carrisi Before We Say Goodbye by Gabriella Ambrosio The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths [...]
Sorry…………. not very impressed right now.
I think that she’ll do well though
Robert Harris
I loved this book!
The problem I had with the book(besides some awkward writing-which could be a translation problem) is that there is no sense of place. Where is this occurring? No place names are given. The characters names are a mixture of Italian, Spanish, German, French, English. Also the author seems to know little about forensics and profiling.
The major flaw in the plot resides in the fact that two members of the police team MET Goran Gavilla’a wife after she suposedly abandoned him. How could she be alive then, as she had already been murdered by him?
Hmm, interesting – I can’t actually remember very much about this book now as it was about 2 years ago that I read it but I am now curious….