The Whisperer
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3.8 • 10 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Read the stunning, psychologically acute new thriller from the Queen of Norwegian crime fiction.
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE PETRONA AWARD 2019**
Ragna Riegel works in a supermarket and still lives in her childhood home. She's alone in the world since her only son moved to Berlin. She longs for a Christmas or birthday card from him.
Ragna lives her life within strict self-imposed limits: she sits in the same seat on the bus every day, on her way to her predictable job. On her way home she always visits the same local shop. She feels safe in her routine, until one day she receives a letter with a threatening message scrawled in capital letters. An unknown enemy has entered her world and she must use all her means to defend herself.
When the worst happens, Inspector Konrad Sejer is called in to interrogate Ragna. Is this unassuming woman out of her depth, or is she hiding a dark secret?
‘The final page will make your jaw drop and your heart stop’ Evening Standard
‘Exemplary… the suspense is maintained with a sure touch’ Guardian
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fossum's engrossing 13th Inspector Sejer mystery (after 2016's Hell Fire) opens quietly, with Sejer interviewing Ragna Riegel, the whisperer of the title, who's in police custody. Flashbacks tell the story of Ragna, whose vocal chords were damaged in an operation, causing her difficulty in speaking. She lives alone in the house she grew up in, works in a discount store, and has little social interaction outside work. She has a son (after a one-night stand), who has grown up and moved to Berlin, but the two have no relationship except for the occasional exchange of greeting cards. Ragna is virtually unseen and unheard but not unhappy, until she finds an unsigned note in her mailbox that reads, "You are going to die." It's the first of several ominous messages that suggest she has committed a crime. Over the course of several interviews with a sympathetic Sejer, the nature of her crime eventually emerges. Fossum has rendered Ragna's plight with great precision and empathy in this acute psychological study of loneliness and grief. Fans of more nuanced Scandinavian crime fiction will be rewarded.
Customer Reviews
Psycho thriller
3.5 stars
Author
Norwegian author of crime fiction, aka the "Norwegian queen of crime" apparently. She lives in Oslo, and was originally a poet. Best known for a series of novels involving Inspector Konrad Sejer, which have won a slew of awards. This is the latest in the series, but can be read standalone.
Premise
One of life’s victims is in custody for an initially undisclosed crime, to which she has confessed. Patient, sympathetic copper pieces together her story.
Characters
Ragna Reigl: Isolated, middle aged woman with a touch of he Eleanor Oliphants about her, who lives in her parents’ old home, commutes to and from work in a Scandi version of a dollar store (two dollar store in Australia), sits in the same seat in the bus every day, has no friends except work colleagues and is close to precious few of them, and one son who lives in Berlin that she gets a card from at Christmas and sometimes her birthday (17 June in case you were wondering). The son was the product of liaison with older married man when she was 17. She believes him to be highly successful in hotel management (he’s not). Our gal whispers because her vocal cords were damaged by surgical misadventure.
2. Inspector Konrad Sejer (see above)
The rest are walk-ons.
Narrative
Alternating from POV of Ragna and the Inspector, one going backwards, the other forwards, which isn’t as confusing as it sounds. “I”s get dotted, “T”s get crossed, Ragna gets medication.
Bottom line
Psycho thriller, qu'est-ce que c'est. I wasn’t tense or nervous though, and I could relax. This is not the usual style for an Insp Sejer book. It’s well executed (sorry, poor choice of words), but tending towards meh for me.