The Whisperer by Karin Fossum || Book Review

Coming down from two amazing thriller books to this book.

I thought I might be lucky with a third book that kept me glued to its words and twists, but sadly this didn’t turn out as I expected.

What I expected was a good thriller, with an intriguing and mysterious main character – not a book set up as a character study and nothing much else. Yes, maybe a mystery book but far from a thriller.

This is book 13 in the Konrad Sejer series by Karin Fossum. There were no references to previous books nor any real context to explain who Konrad Sejer is and why he has a whole series written about him.

DISCLAIMER: This review could contain possible spoilers based on my opinions. All opinions and views are my own.

Book review: The Whisperer by Karin Fossum #bookreview #karinfossum #mysterybooks #booktwt #bookaddict #booktwitter
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Originally published: 2016

Pages: 384
Format: Paperback

Plot from GoodReads:

Ragna Riegel works at Europris and lives alone in her childhood home. Her parents have died and her only son has moved to Berlin, and they have no contact other than occasional Christmas and birthday cards.

Ragna lives within close confines. She likes her job because it is full of routine, she likes to sit on the same seat on the bus every day and she likes to buy the same things at the local shop each day. She must have order in her life. And she does, until one day she finds a letter in her mailbox with her name on the envelope and a clear threat written in block capitals on the sheet inside.

The letter reinforces a nightmare where Ragna Riegel’s life is threatened by an unknown enemy and she realises that she must use all means possible to defend herself.

Thoughts:

One of the slowest moving books I’ve ever read, and that with a plot that wasn’t going anywhere.

Most of the book consists of recollections of Ragna’s life and how her life got her to where she is in the present time in the book, and the rest conversations between her and Konrad Sejer. Most of it is sad, but no matter how many pages I read, I couldn’t stir up any sympathetic emotions towards her. For a main character, she was dull with nothing really interesting about her – apart from her whispering. That was it.

There were no predictable twists in the book at any point and it took most of the book to reach the actual murder. There was lack of suspense or any build up whatsoever.

The ending was quick and even more so disappointing. One VERY important detail about Ragna is never revealed, and it makes up for her one big characteristic.

I was left wondering about how a dark tale, which could’ve had potential (if the whole book was scraped and rewritten) could have ended up being so boring to read about?