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Death from the Woods
Death from the Woods
Author: Brigitte Aubert, David L. Koral
A mute and blind quadriplegic, Elise Andrioli is approached by a girl who claims to have witnessed one of the recent child murders in the community. But, trapped in her own body, Elise cannot warn anyone--or protect herself.
ISBN-13: 9781566491099
ISBN-10: 1566491096
Publication Date: 4/2000
Pages: 279
Edition: 1st
Rating:
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1

5 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Welcome Rain
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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cathyskye avatar reviewed Death from the Woods on + 2264 more book reviews
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 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.
reviewed Death from the Woods on + 3 more book reviews
The narrator is a blind, mute, quadriplegic with a sense of humor! I could not put this book down. The unique perspective kept me guessing until the end...a great thriller!


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