Deeply engrossing but not without flaws…
An intriguing, in-depth character study of a social misfit who becomes the target of a series of threatening letters. A botched surgery leaves Ragna Riegel with a ragged scar on her neck and only a whisper as a voice. For a single woman, who has no friends or relations and whose estranged son lives in Berlin, Ragna leads a content life as a hard-core hermit until she starts receiving hostile notes in her mailbox. The book is more of a keen psychological study of a person’s loneliness and grief than a regular mystery. Though Fossum has depicted Ragna’s plight with painstaking details and empathy, the narrative becomes tedious at times with Fossum’s unnecessary foray into nitty-gritty of Ragna’s everyday life. Inspector Sejer stays true to his character with his deep understanding of human nature. Different from Fossum’s other Inspector Sejer books, the book will appeal to fans of literary crime fiction.
The Whisperer
by Karin Fossum
Harvill Secker
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Pub date January 22, 2019
ISBN 978-1787300941
Price $12.06 (USD)