Death from the Woods

Barbara Davey

... the plot unfolds through the conversations around her and her thoughts. It is a good mystery -- the murderer does not become apparent until the last fast-paced 40 pages -- but what you'll remember about this book, long after you've put it back on the shelf, is the horror of being physically helpless which Aubert has managed to communicate so extraordinarily.
— Mystery Review

Library Journal

"Death from the Woods" is the name given to a serial killer who strangles and maims young boys and then discards their bodies in the forest. The unlikely key to solving the mystery in this French thriller, winner of the 1997 Grand Prix de Litterature Polici re, is 36-year-old Elise Andrioli, rendered quadriplegic, blind, and mute by a random car bomb in Belfast. The police, the suspects, and even future victims seem to swirl around Elise, making her the unlikely center of their deadly dance, choreographed by an amazing series of coincidences. In the end, it's up to Elise to bring an end to the killings. While this is a pretty standard whodunit, and the translation from the original French (especially the dialog) is clunky in spots, the portrayal of an intelligent, blind, mute quadriplegic is refreshing, and Elise is a spunky and engaging heroine. This should appeal to the Jeff Deaver crowd.--Rebecca House Stankowski, Purdue Univ. Calumet Lib., Hammond, IN Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\