Whisper, He Might Hear You - Hardcover

Appel, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1556111908 ISBN 13: 9781556111907

Publisher: Dutton Adult, 1991

Synopsis

Kate Berman, an expert in fathoming the minds of deranged killers, comes out of her early retirement to track a serial murderer who targets women with sexy voices, and who turns his attention to Kate's family

About this title

Reviews

Appel ( The White Jaguar ) here adds another to the virtual subgenre of murder mysteries about sexually repressed serial killers, but he brings little that is new to the table. Heroine Kate Berman is a familiar figure: a police expert--with an almost psychic ability to get into the mind of a killer--she was nearly offed in an earlier case and only reluctantly dedicates herself to this new one. Almost immediately, her involvement becomes both personal and threatening. The killer, even more of a superman than most of his fictional brethren, is wealthy enough to devote all waking hours to his deadly avocation and a virtuoso of disguise who rubs shoulders with his pursuers. After becoming enraged by a newspaper story that reveals Berman's role, he murders the daughter of Berman's housekeeper as a mere act of disdain, and kidnaps Berman's niece, holding her captive (an action out of character, given his proclivity for killing) in a secret room he constructs almost overnight. Appel somewhat redeems his predictable plot with one good twist-- the villain's blood lust is aroused by the husky "cigarette voice" of each victim, reminding him of the aunt who shortcircuited his youthful psyche.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Novelist Appel ( The White Jaguar , Eagle Pub., 1985; The Watcher Within , Fawcett, 1983) joins the rush to create a female super-protagonist. Kate Berman, a psychologist and expert on serial killers, is pitted against a murderer who leaves no clues at the crime scenes nor a hint as to why he or she is killing. Working with New York City Chief of Detectives Bill Casey, Kate gets close enough to rattle the murderer into focusing on her and her family. Although Kate and husband, Josh, an ex-medical examiner, enjoy a cloying relationship of self-appreciation, the book's other characters remain undeveloped, the plot seems vaguely familiar and unexciting, the ending is the typical "male saves female," and the narrative grows disjointed and difficult to follow.
-Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton Adult
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1556111908
• ISBN 13: 9781556111907
• Binding: Hardcover