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A review by dhowjones
The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi
2.0
A book with pace and momentum, a real page-turner, and as such recommended if that's what the reader is after. But the flaws can't help but stand out, and make for irritating reading:
Two-dimensional lead characters that are yet given space to introspect in ways that fail to really flesh them out.
At times poor translation (or perhaps faithful translation of poor original writing - I don't read Italian).
A conspicuous absence of sense of place. The mixed surnames of the characters suggests it may be the United States or a similar immigrant-based country. References to gun-culture and types of food bring to mind what could only be the US. The weather suggests somewhere in the mountains or northern climes. While it's no sin to anonymize the locale in fiction, in this case the anonymity is a bit too conspicuous, and perhaps a missed opportunity to add dimension to the story. My suspicion is that the writer is after a larger market for this book than his native Italy.
The notion of an elite serial-murder crimes unit that has seemingly no budget for or access to automobiles or proper accommodation.
And worst of all for me, the utterly false (or willfully ignorant) references to technology that underpin many of the clues. I'm used to fiction writers describing technology poorly or misunderstanding even its fundamentals (and I actually prefer a poor description in passing to an over-eagerness to delve into or glorify tech at the expense of the human narrative). But, without going into particulars (or spoilers) here, this writer removes us from the postulated digital-forensic reality and brings in the fantastical - but likely only for those readers who know the technology well enough. Suspending disbelief, alas, gets very very difficult at this point.
That all said, I read this book to the end, as its pace and puzzles kept my interest up despite the above irritations.
Two-dimensional lead characters that are yet given space to introspect in ways that fail to really flesh them out.
At times poor translation (or perhaps faithful translation of poor original writing - I don't read Italian).
A conspicuous absence of sense of place. The mixed surnames of the characters suggests it may be the United States or a similar immigrant-based country. References to gun-culture and types of food bring to mind what could only be the US. The weather suggests somewhere in the mountains or northern climes. While it's no sin to anonymize the locale in fiction, in this case the anonymity is a bit too conspicuous, and perhaps a missed opportunity to add dimension to the story. My suspicion is that the writer is after a larger market for this book than his native Italy.
The notion of an elite serial-murder crimes unit that has seemingly no budget for or access to automobiles or proper accommodation.
And worst of all for me, the utterly false (or willfully ignorant) references to technology that underpin many of the clues. I'm used to fiction writers describing technology poorly or misunderstanding even its fundamentals (and I actually prefer a poor description in passing to an over-eagerness to delve into or glorify tech at the expense of the human narrative). But, without going into particulars (or spoilers) here, this writer removes us from the postulated digital-forensic reality and brings in the fantastical - but likely only for those readers who know the technology well enough. Suspending disbelief, alas, gets very very difficult at this point.
That all said, I read this book to the end, as its pace and puzzles kept my interest up despite the above irritations.