THE WHISPERER - Donato Carrisi

If you missed my review of THE WHISPERER previously published by Shelf Awareness, today I am re-posting it here with their permission.

First line: "The big moth carried him along, moving by memory through the night."


Donato Carrisi’s debut thriller isn’t for the faint of heart, but it is most definitely for the connoisseur of fine fiction. A race to find the monster that has kidnapped and murdered five young girls, leaving only their arms behind, creates the foundation of the plot. A sixth arm is uncovered but forensic evidence indicates the child is still alive. From there Carrisi weaves in the psychological exploration of the investigative team: criminologist Goran Gavilia, missing person’s specialist Mila Vasquez, homicide investigator Sarah Rosa; they all harbor secrets that work to waylay the investigation and build the suspense of the novel.

Carrisi carefully and effectively toggles the point of view between a limited third person vantage point, an unknown first person perspective and a series of prison reports. This alternating frame of reference helps Carrisi to catch the reader off-guard with well-crafted plot twists that fuel the book’s intensity.

The translation of this novel is a bit awkward and inconsistent at times, causing the reader to possibly question location or experience a stiffness in dialogue. But aside from these types of small details, The Whisperer is a hauntingly exciting, graphically thought-provoking psychological thriller.

Start this one early in the day, you won’t want to put it down and you won’t want to turn out the lights. Carrisi is setting the bar of excellence high right off the bat in 2012.

The Whisperer is available in hardcover (ISBN: 978031619472) from Mulholland Books and on audio (ISBN: 9781611133547) from Hachette Audio, narrated by Carol Monda.