The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carrisi

Oh, goodness. This was a busy, busy weekend. I did manage to squeeze in some quality reading time with Donato Carrisi's latest, though. This was a whopper of a read!

Sandra's husband has been dead for over five months now but she's done everything she can to avoid dealing with the loss. As an investigative journalist, his work sent him all over the globe. At the time of his death he was supposed to be in Oslo, or at least that's what he'd told her. Why then was his body discovered in Rome? Unable to bear the thought that he could have been hiding something, Sandra has yet to even go through his bags from the trip. But a call from Interpol finally prompts her to do so propelling her into an investigation that she believes may have led to her husband's murder. 

The Lost Girls of Rome is a testament to plotting brilliance! From the very start there are so many threads of story that it seems almost impossible they'll all connect. But connect they do and in a way that I'd bet even the most savvy mystery and thriller reader will never predict! The Whisperer easily landed Carrisi on my favorites list but I think The Lost Girls of Rome still managed to surpass my expectations.

First you have a medic whose sister was kidnapped. The prologue begins with a call to a remote estate and a dying man with the words "Kill me" written on his chest. Near his body, one of the only clues to the medic's sister's disappearance.

Next you have Marcus and Clemente investigating the home of a missing girl. The girl may be tied to the medic's missing sister and the man from the beginning but it's Marcus's job not only to determine how but to hopefully find the missing girl.

Then you have Sandra, a cop whose husband's recent death was ruled an accident. As mentioned above, he was secretive about where he really was on his most recent job and Sandra has put off dealing with everything associated with his death.

And finally you have the hunter, a mysterious character stalking a mastermind criminal able to hide seemingly in plain view.

I won't give anything else away but I will tell you that like Carrisi's debut, The Whisperer, The Lost Girls of Rome is exceptional and extremely dark! And like it's predecessor, this latest also has a number of clever twists.

The Lost Girls of Rome is translated from Italian by Howard Curtis. As translations go, both this title and Carrisi's previous one are outstanding. Really an all around highly recommended read in my opinion, especially if you like your thrillers dark and twisty!

Rating: 5/5

Where's My Bookmark: The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi

One would think that being snowed in almost all weekend would mean finishing a ton of books from the TBR. Nope. In truth, I had all of Friday, almost none of Saturday, and spent over half of Sunday rearranging the bookshelves. Definitely not a waste.

All I needed was one more hour to finish reading The Whisperer, a highly intense and twisted thriller by Donato Carrisi (with more butterfly cover art). Just one more hour! Now I have to wait until my lunch break. Argh!

Haha.

When a burial site containing six arms is discovered, Goran Gavila's team is called in to investigate. Gavila is a highly trained criminologist and his team of investigators is no doubt the best for the job. They know that the arms belong to a string of missing girls that's been reported in the region. The catch? There are six left arms. They only know of five missing girls. Enter Mila Vasquez, an officer whose specialty is tracking down missing people. Together, they will have to unravel the most disturbing crime of their careers.

It's dark, there are unexpected twists around every corner, and just when you think the author couldn't turn this mystery upside down any more... he does. The Whisperer is really a fabulous read that will keep you (cliche, I know) on the edge of your seat (it's true, though). Carrisi's debut is a very clever premise and one that he takes full advantage of. I like the plot, I love the twists, but I also like really dark reads. The pacing is really quick, too. It's the kind of book that you really don't want to put down, can't wait to get back to, and think about when you're not reading.

The Whisperer has been making its way around the globe and was released here in the States just last month. I know that Carrisi has a second book out or coming out in Italy. I hope we'll be in store for that next as well.