Karin Fossum writes an intricate and dense character driven psychological whydunnit set in the small town of Kirkelina in Norway. Ragna Reigel is the eponymous Whisperer, a woman who lives a small routine driven life, avoiding contact with most people. A botched surgical operation on her throat has left her vocal chords damaged and unable to speak normally, only able to whisper, left with a heavily scarred throat that she covers up. Similar to someone suffering from Asperger's Syndrome, Ragna's life is driven by routines, and anything that deviates from them leave her feeling unsettled and disturbed. She works at a supermarket, Europris, close to two workers there, Gunnhild and Lars, and regularly visits the shop close to her, run by the Turkish Irfan Baris. As the story begins, we are aware that a terrible crime has been committed although it is only near the end of the book do we learn what it is that Ragna has done. She is on remand, and being interrogated with compassion by Inspector Konrad Sejer, accompanied by his dog, Fred, his job to discover the circumstances that lie behind the crime, tasked with writing a report which will influence the judicial process and the justice meted out.

Fossum provides a claustrophobic, detailed and heavily descriptive picture of Ragna's daily life and snippets of her past, that come to be slowly revealed in the narrative. Ragna's son, Rikard Josef, left home at 17 years of age, and has not returned home since. There is no contact between mother and son other than Christmas and Birthday cards. Ragna is proud of her son, now a Director running a Berlin with great success, wishing she was closer to him. Out of the blue, she starts getting scary and disturbing letters that have her fearful, and paranoid, as she begins to suspect those around her, feeling desperately unsafe, experiencing disturbing dreams, sleeplessness and needing pills. Ragna believes herself to be ugly, of no value, invisible, wretched and abandoned, her disability propels her to shun the warmth and companionship of people.

This is not a fast paced read or action driven read, so if that is what you are looking for, then this book is not for you. It is the examination of a life, and the development of a meaningful relationship between Inspector Sejer and a woman who feels unloved, whose central need is to reconnect with her estranged son. Karin Fossum focuses on a forensic approach to crime and the character and life of the perpetrator, and the judicial process that springs into action. This is a thoughtful look at crime and what lies behind the person who commits it, looking at issues of justice, dysfunctional families, the power and nature of the spoken word, and mother and son relationships. What impressed me most was Sejer's lack of judgement and humanity when it came to getting close to Ragna as he starts to connect with her, seeing her for what she is, deeming her a worthy human being and ensuring she is helped. The crime is almost a secondary affair in Fossum's writing, she is far more interested in what underlies it. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.

Unfortunately, Karin Fossum- The Whisperer, proved a little disappointing, although the build up in the beginning recounting the lonely life, and subsequent arrest of the whispering woman of the title for a slowly revealed crime, promised much. I did enjoy the head-to-head interrogation by Fossum regular, Inspector Konrad Sejer of the seemingly mouse-like suspect, Ragna Riegel, but it was all a little too ponderous and drawn out- about 100 pages too drawn out. Shame.