The Whispering
An incredible dark Australian crime mystery thriller debut and winner of the Banjo Prize 2021, for readers of Patricia Wolf, Garry Disher and Hayley Scrivenor
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3.8 • 10 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
The whispering wild will take your child if you dare to look away ...
The stunning Aussie crime debut from the winner of the 2021 Banjo Prize for Fiction.
Shortlisted for the 2023 Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award.
Callum Haffenden swore he'd never return to Granite Creek. But, thirty years after a life-shattering accident, he's thrust back into the clutches of Far North Queensland and a local legend he worked hard to forget.
When a man goes missing in the rainforest, the past begins to resurface, breathing new life into memories of previous tragedies - two girls lost, seventeen years apart. In a town where it's easiest to turn a blind eye, the guilt runs deep and everyone in Granite Creek has something to hide.
In his search for answers, Callum fights to keep his feet firmly on the trail as he battles the deafening call of the rainforest burrowing into his ears. After all, everyone knows that the worst things in the rainforest are those unseen.
'The Whispering has everything we've come to expect from Australian rural noir in the way of climate and landscape, characters, hidden truths, and unpredictable plotting. Lando has cleverly woven an intricate and multi-layered story into a gripping mystery told with skill - and a good dose of obligatory treachery! I devoured it.' Lyn Yeowart, author of The Silent Listener
'Small town secrets and decades-old animosities weave together in this atmospheric, eerie mystery set in the dense tropical north, where everyone has something to hide and the dank wet rainforest can lure away the unwary. A dark, absorbing, tangled mystery that had me second-guessing right to the end.' Dinuka McKenzie, author of The Torrent
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In this riveting mystery, protagonist Callum Haffenden, with his aching leg, unrelenting curiosity and shadowy backstory, returns to the tiny Queensland town where he grew up to help search for a missing person. A cyclone threatens, the locals are upset by Callum’s arrival and everyone seems to know more than they’re saying—not only about the missing man, but about the two girls who were lost in the Granite Creek rainforest years ago. Veronica Lando tells a cryptic story about identity and memory with a keen sense for when to withhold and when to reveal critical information, making The Whispering an engrossing read from its eerie opening to its heart-racing conclusion.
Customer Reviews
Exceptional
The Whispering is an excellent and captivating read that had me hooked from the very first page. Veronica Lando masterfully crafts a suspenseful atmosphere, blending mystery, psychological tension, and a touch of the eerie in a way that keeps you guessing right until the end.