Released in 2009, The Whisperer, Donato Carrisi’s labyrinthine thriller, sets the bar very high. A complex serial killer, unexpected for a plot full of twists, built around an unconventional but remarkably effective duo of investigators.
Dive into the heart of a quality Italian crime novel.
A forest, a pit, six little girls’ arms buried. Six left arms for only five reported disappearances, the team of criminologist Goran Gavila is on the scene. Quickly, it becomes apparent that his team will have to find five small corpses, but there is still hope: the perpetrator keeps the sixth victim alive, deliberately. That’s where Mila, an expert in kidnapping cases, comes in.
Mila and Goran’s team will have to face a relentless killer who seems always to have two moves ahead of them. Worse, he openly leads them to complex crime scenes that only lengthen the list of victims…
Each little girl leads to a new crime and a new killer.
The first strong point of The Whisperer is its design, offering a story narrated by an external narrator; the author goes even further by offering multiple perspectives: firstly, the main plot which occupies 80% of the book, then chapters focusing on the captivity and thoughts of an injured girl, buried underground; finally, the notes from a high-security prison director to the public prosecutor regarding the suspicious behavior of a prisoner. All these elements form a whole, skillfully orchestrated by Donato Carrisi, thereby reinforcing the mystery that gradually unfolds. The plot elements fall into place, and each time we think we’re getting closer to the truth, the story is reignited, if not reset. We witness the helplessness of investigators faced with one of the most frightening and breathtaking theories ever read.
The team of investigators is truly pleasant to follow, naturally attaching us to Mila and Goran, whose lives immediately evoke empathy. However, the secondary characters are also interesting: Boris, Stern, Rosa, only Inspector Roche, the team supervisor, is not particularly likeable. The author brings the two heroes to life by our side for almost 600 pages, providing enough details for the reader to become involved in their lives and understand who they are and where they come from.
The other characters are less developed, but in this already very dense story, it was best not to risk overdoing it.
The great originality of this thriller lies in the conception of the crimes, but it’s impossible to say more without spoiling the suspense. This exploration into the deranged mind of a psychopathic genius is daring and captivating, the title becomes perfectly clear once you’ve turned the last page… Donato Carrisi knows how to distill suspense as it should be, leaving no pause for the reader who cannot help but avidly turn each page. Indeed, it is truly a high-quality page-turner. The writing is precise, never becoming gory despite the horror of certain crimes, it stops just before it becomes too much.
Another originality in this thriller, no geographical indication is ever given. No city, no country, the characters’ names can come from everywhere and nowhere, street names are never explicit, police or judicial institution ranks are the same as here but not quite. At times, you think for sure it’s in the USA, then maybe it’s in Italy (the author’s homeland) but the temperatures and climate also suggest countries further north, Canada, Germany, why not France or Belgium. This detail, a bit trivial but innovative, really adds a dose of anxiety and suspense, suggesting “it can happen anywhere, far or just next to you.”
At no point does the plot become confusing despite its drawer-like complexity, we don’t get lost, the author leads us exactly where he wants. The end, ultimately terrifying, is of the same caliber as the rest of the novel. Fans of crime novels, let yourselves be entranced by the reading of The Whisperer…
