Death from the Woods

Death From the Woods was named France's Best Thriller of 1997, and the reason for that, without doubt, is the character of Elise Andrioli. Most people upon hearing that the main character is a blind, mute quadriplegic will probably avoid the book, thinking that it's too depressing. It is not because the story is told by Elise, and we get to see how smart and brave and funny she is. Her sense of humor is what is helping her to survive being unable to communicate with anyone. When Virginie shares her bombshell with Elise, the knowledge fires her up. Elise wants to learn more, and she wants to be able to share her knowledge with the police. When she does manage to regain the use of one index finger and uses it to answer yes or no show more questions, the news spreads through their little circle of friends and acquaintances. Soon the murderer knows as well, and Elise's life is threatened in more than one bone-chilling scene.

Through Elise, our own senses are limited to what she can hear and what she can feel, and this certainly ratchets up the tension, but the rest of the characters are mostly stereotypes, and I found it entirely too easy to pinpoint the killer's identity. Moreover, the ending was anticlimactic and the type that I dislike the most: one of the characters tells us everything that happened. Quelle déception!

I must say, however, that even though I'm disappointed by the secondary characters and by that ending, Elise Andrioli is such a marvelous character that I want to read the second book she appears in-- Death From the Snows. I'm a soft touch when it comes to extraordinary characters. show less

The conceit of this story -- that the protagonist, Elise Andrioli, has lost the ability to move below the neck and is blind and mute due to being caught in a bomb explosion -- is both its strength and weakness. It's fascinating to be in Elise's head as she narrates this tale and yet, the situations that are presented seem tailor-made for her disabilities. I could see the seams.

A chance encounter with a young girl near the woods while sitting in her wheelchair sucks Elise into a murder mystery. The girl, Virginie, confides in Elise that there's a killer of young boys on the loose in their French neighborhood, and that she both knows who will next be killed, leaving Elise with the impression that she knows who the killer is. With only a show more slight movement of one finger as a means of communication, Elise sets herself to solving the mystery.

Slowly, Elise and her caregiver, Yvette, become part of the social circle revolving around Virginie's parents and these people, along with a police captain, confide in Elise and use her as a sounding board. Whatever Elise needs to know at each point in the progressing tale, someone manages to reveal to her at just the right time. Yet there is more to the serial killings than is first thought and the conclusion turns out to be rather ingenious, or would have been if I hadn't figured out half of it ahead of time simply because of things said and the fact that Elise can't see things for herself. But I don't want to give too much away. This is a rather clever mystery, but at its best, it gives the reader an intriguing peek/insight into the mind of a woman trapped inside her uncooperative body.

There's a sequel, but much as I enjoyed this, I'm not sure I want to read the next book. The most fascinating aspect of this book -- Elise's condition -- will no longer be fresh and it would need to depend more on the mystery to carry the tale. Still, this one is very much worth reading, even if you can see the pieces come together before Elise can figure them out. show less

I think the author was very talented to make an interesting mystery where the protagonist could neither see nor speak nor move. I would have given it higher grades for its ingeniousness but found the ending to be somewhat of a let down

Death from the Woods. Brigitte Aubert. 2001. This book was on my Amazon Wish List for a year or so, and I am not sure where I first heard about it. One of the blurbs listed it as being “named France’s Best Thriller of the Year.” As the result of terrible auto accident, Elise, the narrator, is paralyzed, mute, and blind. She is confined to a wheel chair, and the only way she can communicate is by moving one finger up and down. Elise’s thoughts and feelings move the plot along. Young boys are being murdered and Elise becomes aware the murders from a neighborhood child who takes the time to learn to communicate with Elise. The suspense intensifies when Elise realizes the murderer must be someone she knows

Blind, mute paraplegic woman shares involvement, through her perceptions of sound, with investigation of serial killer whose victims are 8-year-old boys. Don't miss

Die Idee des Buches ist gut: Eine sehr schwer behinderte Frau erfährt von gruseligen Verbrechen in ihrer Umgebung und bekommt vieles davon mit, wird auch selbst bedroht und angegriffen. Doch die eingeschränkte Wahrnehmung (sie kann hören, riechen und fühlen) und die eingeschränkte Kommunikationsfähigkeit (sie kann nur den Finger, später die Hand bewegen) machen die Situation für sie extrem schwer und als Leserin erfährt man die Geschehnisse auch immer nur aus ihrer Sicht. Das ist sehr gut gemacht.
Die Story selber allerdings finde ich ziemlich an den Haaren herbeigezogen. Sie ist nicht immer spannend, ich wusste zumindest den Mörder schnell.

De 36-jarige Elise Andrioli is volledig verlamd, blind en stom. Enige vorm van communicatie is alleen mogelijk doordat Elise wel haar wijsvinger nog kan bewegen. Op een dag vertelt een wildvreemd meisje haar hoe in de bossen aan de rand van de nieuwbouwwijk door een geheimzinnige figuur kinderen zijn vermoord. Ze weet zeker dat dat ook degene is die verantwoordelijk is voor de dood van haar halfbroertje. Elise raakt steeds meer overtuigd van haar gelijk. Wanneer de politie een onderzoek instelt ...