La Mort des bois

Elise Andrioli #1

by Brigitte Aubert

La vie d'Elise Andrioli a basculé lors d'un attentat à la voiture piégée qui l'a rendue tétraplégique, muette et aveugle. Au cours d'une promenade avec sa dame de compagnie, elle est abordée par une gamine de sept ans qui lui raconte l'histoire de trois garçonnets tués par "la Mort des bois", selon l'expression de la fillette. Vérité ou affabulation ? Elise devra se rendre à l'évidence lorsqu'un quatrième enfant sera retrouvé assassiné et qu'on attentera par deux fois à sa propre vie. Désormais, elle n'aura plus le choix et devra démasquer l'assassin avant qu'il ne soit trop tard. Un tour de force pour Elise, clouée sur son fauteuil, qui ne peut dire "oui" qu'en soulevant son index.

Brigitte Aubert, qui a remporté pour ce quatrième roman le Grand Prix de littérature policière, tisse un suspense minutieusement réglé. Rebondissements et fausses pistes se succèdent tandis que montent l'angoisse et l'horreur jusqu'au dénouement final, soigneusement ménagé pour surprendre le lecteur. --Claude Mesplède

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, France, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

265 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 31, 1996

About the author

Née en 1956 à Cannes, Brigitte Aubert a développé son goût pour le polar dans la pénombre du cinéma familial. Parmi ses nombreux romans publiés au Seuil et traduits dans plus de vingt pays, l'on retiendra Les Quatre Fils du Dr March, La Mort des bois (Grand Prix de littérature policière 1996), Transfixions (adapté au cinéma sous le titre Mauvais Genres), Funérarium... Elle est la reine du thriller à humour grinçant.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bestseller in France and I read it when it came out in English ten years ago. Many hundreds of books later, I still remembered the thrill I had at the risk the author had taken with her unusual murder mystery centered around a blind mute quadriplegic. I know, I know, how can this be? It was almost as if the author, sitting around with friends over several bottles of good wine, had taken a bet to see if she could construct a story about the most unusual of protagonists—one that cannot move nor see nor speak.

I searched for the title again, and decided to have another look…just to see how the author constructed the mystery and how she kept the tendrils of the mystery in my brain after so many years. The voice of Elise, our narrator, is so piquant and particular that we follow her willingly through a series of grisly murders. We think also what it must be like to be handicapped so completely, and how other people relate to the handicapped. These things alone make the book worth reading. The central mystery itself is impossible to foretell—I defy anyone to figure out the ending in advance—but the ending is not as cleverly wound up as the beginning is laid out.

The facts of the mystery are this: over a period of several years, young boys are found murdered and mutilated not far from a quiet suburban French village. Elise, blinded and paralyzed as the result of a bombing in Ireland, is befriended by a disturbed young girl who whispers to her that she knew who killed the boys. Unable to speak, Elise can only listen and postulate about the identity of the killer as more clues accumulate. Another child is killed, and Elise herself becomes a target, but even she does not know why.

I think the author, Brigitte Aubert, deserves kudos for maintaining momentum through this novel, and for trying something completely new. As I say, it is difficult to get this book out of your head, so if you try it, be prepared to find yourself thinking about it for years. After its success in France, the author apparently wrote a follow-up novel which was also translated into English, called Death from the Snows, also with Elise as a main character. I haven’t read this one yet, but I am interested to see how the author proceeds with a new mystery involving our unusual heroine. Brigitte Aubert is a well-known thrilled writer in France, but only a few of her many books have been translated. While this book has flaws, it is remarkable and memorable.

[Fotis Ips · Rating 2 out of 5]

Το βιβλίο αυτό θα έλεγα πώς πρόκειται για έναν αρκετά δουλεμένο συνδυασμό ψυχολογικού θρίλερ και ιστορίας μυστηρίου.

Με αρκετά πρωτότυπη πρωταγωνίστρια (δίχως ομιλία, όραση και κινητικότητα), γίνεται η μάρτυρας διαφόρων συμβάντων, πού όμως δεν μπορεί να βοηθήσει στην διαλεύκανση της υπόθεσης. Αρκετά κλειστοφοβικό, γεγονός που οφείλεται στην αφήγηση από την σκοπιά της πρωταγωνίστριας, πού κάνει τον αναγνώστη να απορεί και κείνος με κάθε ανατροπή.
Αρκετά ενδιαφέρουσα και η λύση του μυστηρίου, χωρίς να προκαλεί ιδιαίτερες εντάσεις. Αν και στους κύριους χαρακτήρες έχει γίνει καλή δουλειά ψυχογραφίας, θα ήθελα να δω εξίσου και στους υπόλοιπους.

Αν και σε γενικές γραμμές μου άρεσε αρκετά και το θεωρώ άξιο ανάγνωσης, υπάρχουν αρκετά θέματα επιμέλειας στην έκδοση. Κατά τα άλλα, ειναι ένα αρκετά καλό, με ορισμένες δυνατές στιγμές και μια ιδιαίτερη χροιά, βιβλίο μυστηρίου, πού παρά τις υπερβολές του σε σημεία, αφήνει ικανοποιημένο τον αναγνώστη.

[Kovaxka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nagyon egyedi pszichokrimi, még nem olvastam ilyen – halmozottan hátrányos helyzetű – szereplő szemszögéből megírt történetet. Elise tetraplég, de nemcsak mozgásképtelen, hanem vak is, és beszélni sem tud. Izgalmas és sokkoló a „fejében lenni”, különösen a humora és pozitív életszemlélete nagy hatású és hiteles. Emiatt értékeltem ilyen nagyra, pedig a krimiszál túlbonyolítása, a végkifejlet túlcsavarása és egyes logikátlan dolgok miatt inkább négyest érdemelne. Érdekes és fordulatos történet, sok egyedi elemmel, krimikedvelőknek szeretettel ajánlom!

[Estheisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

La segunda mejor cosa que he leído en mi vida.

Esto es demasiado, DEMASIADO. No me gustan las cosas psicológicas. Terror/Thriller psicológico, no es lo mío, pero cambié de opinión con este libro.

El personaje principal, Elise, quedó tetrapléjica, muda y ciega como consecuencia de un atentado terrorista, la historia está narrada en primera persona, y podrán pensar “qué cosa interesante va a pasar si la mujer no se mueve, no ve y no habla?”. Pues déjenme decirles, que ahí es donde se equivocan.

Elise es como esa muñeca con la que hablamos de pequeños. Todo el mundo le cuenta sus confidencias porque sabe que están a salvo, le cuentan tantas cosas... incluidas los asesinatos, y todo el mundo parece ser el culpable.

Narrado en primera persona es la mejor de las experiencias porque la mente de Elise es un laberinto. Es un personaje que desmenuza hasta la mínima información y crea todas las teorías posibles, enloqueciendo al lector y dejándolo en vilo sobre quién puede ser el asesino, porque todo el mundo parece culpable, a todo el mundo le gusta hablar, y mientras más asesinatos y más cosas ocurren, el miedo se acrecienta, y la llegada de la muerte está cerca.

PASAN UNAS COOOOOOOSAS que te quedas “put* madre cómo van a salir de esta?”. Y algunos personajes son tan terroríficos que, en lo personal, me he escuchado diciendo: “Pero e’ el demonio que tiene adentro”.

Todo está perfectamente arreglado y nada queda a la imaginación. En un punto todos los personajes explotaron en mi cabeza porque no podía seguirles el ritmo, pero eso ya es culpa de mi déficit de atención.

En este pueblo hay que andar con cuidado, después de todo, la muerte acecha.

[Mike Van Barneveld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wat een geweldig verhaal. Ik had er nog nooit van gehoord en ik zou het wellicht in de boekwinkel links laten liggen, maar dat zou eeuwig zonde zijn geweest. Een echte whodunit maar in een heel eigen jasje. Een vrouw die wegens een aanslag verlamd, blind en stom geworden is speelt een cruciale rol in dit boek. Ze kan niet veel meer maar haar oren zijn nog goed en haar hersenen ook. Omdat ze niet veel kan, merken mensen haar ook niet vaak op. Zodoende krijgt ze mondjesmaat informatie te weten over een aantal gruwelijke moorden die in haar omgeving plaats hebben gevonden. Puzzelstukje voor puzzelstukje leidt haar naar de uiteindelijke dader van de moorden. Maar of ze dit op tijd kenbaar kan maken en of dit geheel zonder gevaar voor haar eigen leven zal gaan... Ik zal niet teveel weggeven, maar zeker aan aanrader om dit zelf uit te vinden. Een heel goed boek en ook erg origineel!

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come

[Giedre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ai, ne man tie detektyvai...

[Clara OBERTI · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super bouquin !

[Nadine_Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 ⭐️

[Philippe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les événements se succèdent à un rythme élevé. Avec parfois un peu d'humour.... et un coupable que l'on peut deviner quelques chapitres avant la fin.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death from the Woods is a super suspense novel by Brigitte Aubert released on 2001.

I simply admired this book and it sent goosebumps on me.

I read it on my Sophomore Year in College.

The story basically revolves around Elise Andrioli which has been a victim of a bomb shock and has been quadriplegic, mute and blind since then.

Eventually, she meets Virginie, a young mysterious girl.

Virginie whispered her a secret about ‘Death from the Woods’ that she has seen, adding the name of ‘Death’s’ next victim.

Elise was horrified when she learns that what the girl told her really happened.

How can Elise tell the tale of a murder that she can solve?

Would she risk her life for it?

Read the book to find a real page-turner.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This award-winning French thriller brings to mind Rear Window. But since the wheel-chair rider is a blind woman who can't speak, and can only move one finger; and since the victims are children whose little bodies pile up quickly; well, right away you see that the stakes are higher and the situation of the protagonist is a tad more challenging.

I usually avoid serial killer stories, but this page-turner was more tolerable because - since the books is written in the first person - you never "see" the crimes. The character I liked best is the seven year old witness Virginie, and the author creates a clever cat-and-mouse interplay between Virginie and the paraplegic Elise who is trying to feel out the border between madness and reality.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in one jet lagged night, with the effect that I didn't end up being able to turn off the light because I was scared. I mean, a blind, mute quadriplegic??? Involved in a murder mystery? It doesn't get much scarier than that. Just think... You're there, blind, mute, unable to move, and with the distinct feeling that you're not alone.... Aaaahhh! This does sound a little exaggerated, maybe that's why it only gets fours stars of me, but this was a one of a kind page turner that left me terrified and made me hold my breath on multiple occasions.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book puts the thrill in thriller! The protagnoist is a quadrapalegic who is also blind and mute. People start sharing their secrets with her since she is a safe holding vessel. Some of the scenes were so spooky my skin was crawling. I tried closing my eyes and imagining that I couldn't move and couldn't talk - unnerving.

The thing that held me back from awarding a 5 was that there was a small section in the middle of the book that dragged somewhat. I will definitely check out more of this author's books in the future.

[Holly Lindquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This French whodunit features an unusual heroine, a mute and blind woman confined to a wheelchair. By chance, she hears a disturbing tale from a neighborhood girl about who may be behind some recent child murders in the area. Now she has to try to solve the mystery, with the added challenges of her extreme disability and the fact that the killer may be on to her. Fortunately she's very clever and very brave...

[Genna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this a while ago but remember I read it quickly, it is a real page turner and what a fantastic idea! Is there any idea more creepy than a blind, mute quadraplegic experiencing threats and intimidation from a deranged killer whilst being unable to identify them, draw attention to them or avoid their attention - I lent my copy to several colleagues once I'd read it and we all agreed it was a bloody good read!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. I became completely wrapped up in the plot and characters that I stayed up till 3am when I had to get up for work at 6:30am. I couldn't help it, I fell in love with Elise and her amazing inner narrative. I'm not a fan of mysteries or really thrillers but this pulled me in from the start.

[Guna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was the winner of France's Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere. It is told from the point of view of a girl who survived a terrorist bomb, but as blind, mute, and quadriplegic. She gets involved in serial killings and mutilations of young children, and is subjected to terror herself. This was an absorbing mystery.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is very different from anything I have ever read, and I haven't read anyhting like it since. It's really spooky and keeps you reading. you know how sometimes you read before you go to bed and you say "ok, one more chapter". well with this book you will say that over and over. :)

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this book really creeped me out. So well written that I could put myself in the lead character's shoes (and she was a blind and paralyzed). Truly frightening without being too morbid. I will see if we have anything else by this author but she is French and this was translated to English.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY enjoyed this book. It was gut wrenching nail biting fun. Well written, Clever and Suspenseful. Read this book! Author shows that despite profound difficulties and severe disabilities, one can be smart and successful.

[Mfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't be turned off by the kid thing. It's actually funny and...unlike any other mystery, really.

[Rosemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great thriller! With such an unlikely protagonist -- a mute/blind quadrapolegic.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely great whodunnit! Elise is paralyzed from the neck down, can't speak but she can hear. How does she get involved with the dastardly murders that surround her? You won't be disappointed.

[William Kozy · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're considering reading this book, and you are fluent in French then I would STRONGLY recommend that you read the French version instead of the English version. And even then, I wouldn't recommend the book for fear that it would only be a little bit better than the English translation which comes off very awkwardly.

So much of it feels like it was written by a child but with all the potential grammatical mistakes corrected. But still coming off in a dully simplistic style. It's the dialogue that is damaged moreso than the prose descriptions of what's happening. The action description I suppose you can get away with some simplistic description since it won't violate real world verisimilitude, but when you start reading dialogue that bears no resemblance to how real people talk, then you're in trouble. It's also forgivable in the paragraphs in which we're reading the main character's inner thoughts, although traces of the awkwardness still persist.

Here's just one example of the clunky dialogue, out of many. I'm sure there are even worse but I just didn't want to spend the time wading through it all to find the worse. But here:
"I suppose you are exhausted and wish to rest. I must seem quite bothersome to you. But you must believe that I'm being bothersome to you only in your own personal interest I wasn't the only one whom someone tried to kill this morning. And it won't be me they'll try to snuff out tomorrow. Do you understand me?"

I just read that sentence to my girlfriend, and she noted that if it hadn't been for the fact that I read it to her from this that she new I was reviewing, she would have said that A.I. wrote that sentence.

The other cumbersome thing about the arrangement of the writing, is that all too very often we don't actually know who is talking in the quotes. After a paragraph in which we hear the inner dialogue of the mute protagonist, the author resumes the dialogue happening in the room, but we aren't given a typical, "Helene then said..." or a "To which Yvette responded...". No it just gives a quote without a source which followed by another quote without a source, and then another etc. So you wind up having to reread and try to figure out, "oh it must be so-and-so saying that because the other character would have said such-and-such instead, but wait a second who is saying the third paragraph? is it back to the first person, or a new person?" And that happens a lot.

The premise of the book I admit is a very intriguing one. The main character is quadriplegic, blind and mute. So, it's cool, unique approach, and one in which I was eager to follow along as she tries to figure out who the mystery serial killer of little boys is. I just wish the author had been clever enough to devise a plot point in which this protagonist's handicap proved to be an asset in figuring something out. The author often made what felt like conspicuous commentary on Elise noticing the smell of cologne or tobacco or perfume on someone, and I thought, "Aha Elise is going to figure out a piece of the puzzle through her olfactory sense". But nope. Doesn't happen. or maybe her keen attention to sound will reveal a clue. But no, not really.

How did Elise become, a quadriplegic, blind and mute? From an explosion that we learn happened to her and her boyfriend before the story here begins. That explosion killed her boyfriend so now her wealthy uncle has arranged a caregiver for her (Yvette), while she receives therapy. I could imagine how the blindness and quadriplegia occurred, but I wondered about the muteness affliction. but yes, a little research told me that indeed that is also possible. But I guess I would have liked at least a modicum of medical description. Halfway through the book Elise does at least gain movement in her index finger which allows for at least some welcome Yes or No question and answer dialogue involving her.

Another bothersome aspect was an ability to exact what seems like overly effective physical ability in key moments. You slap your forehead saying, "Oh come on."

And finally, this book has the single most convoluted and improbable and often illogical denouements I've ever read--the typical cliche description by one or more parties in a mystery that we're used to encountering in the drawing room as a detective explains "It was then that I realized that the culprit had to have been someone who...etc etc etc". And you read a few pages of overly expository description of the who and how and why. But this book takes the cake in terms of how over the top that time honored (or dishonored??) mystery book convention is taken. It was absurd on so many levels.

[Trần Tuệ Minh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75☆
Mình khá thích cốt truyện. Nhân vật chính là một người thực vật và thế là cô ấy có cơ hội tiếp xúc vs các nhân vật liên quan đến vụ án, được họ kể cho nghe mọi tình tiết vì cô ấy chỉ là một cô "búp bê" có nhận thức. Từ đó ta có các dữ liệu để suy luận vs nhân vật chính. Cũng chính cảm giác bị giam cầm trong thân xác của Elise cho mình những trải nghiệm thú vị giống như bị nhốt trong một cái kén, phải vận dụng hết sức sự thông thái logic để giải quyết vụ án, tự cứu lấy mình.
Điểm mình không ưng là thân phận của hung thủ. Hắn ở giữa sự dối trá thông minh và biến thái cuồng nộ. Những biểu hiện của một nhân cách bình thường ẩn giấu sau một con quái vật bị ám ảnh do quá khứ và tuổi thơ chịu ngược đãi. Nhưng mình cảm thấy nó không liên kết.
Đây là một vụ án giết hại trẻ em vì tình yêu thương nhưng những tình tiết về hung thủ không cho thấy tình yêu đủ lớn đến cuồng nộ. Quá khứ của hung thủ cũng khó có thể biến hắn sẽ trở thành một kẻ yêu thương trẻ con. Đáng lẽ hắn nên là một kẻ giết hại trẻ em vì căm ghét khi nhìn thấy những đứa trẻ sẽ nhắc hắn nhớ về những năm tháng kinh hoàng mà hắn từng trải qua.
Nói chung thì trình tự logic về hung thủ không làm mình thỏa mãn 😥

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A French mystery

The protagonist, Elise Andrioli, is a quadrapalegic who is also blind, mute and confined to a wheelchair. People start sharing their secrets with her since she is a safe holding vessel. By chance, she hears a disturbing tale from a neighborhood girl about who may be behind some recent child murders in the area. Now she has to try to solve the mystery. Elise shows that despite profound difficulties and severe disabilities, one can be smart and successful.

Elise is also the narrator so the story is being told as she tries to understand the information she is hearing and processing it into finding the murderer while being unable to interact in any meaningful way. This is definitely an interesting point of view. There is a significant plot twist about 80% into the story and its continuing twisting turns things upside down.

[Guizotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai adoré le point de vue de la narration : avoir choisi Elise comme narratrice, paraplégique, aveugle, muette, ne pouvant communiquer que par son index, mais entendant tout et se retrouvant au milieu d'une enquête policière, c'était très original et très bien fait. J'ai aimé le ton avec lequel elle racontait, ça apporte de la légèreté dans un récit qui enchaîne les morts violentes et où elle-même se retrouve en danger. J'ai aimé tous les personnages qui gravitent autour d'elle, la Virginie parfois bien flippante, les adultes qu'on soupçonne tour à tour, ceux qui viennent se confier à elle parce qu'elle ne pourra rien répéter... il y a une ambiance à la fois amusante et pesante. J'ai trouvé la fin plus embrouillée mais j'ai adoré tout le reste.

[Effie Saxioni · Rating 5 out of 5]

💫Η Ελίζ,μετά από ένα τρομερό ατύχημα,είναι εγκλωβισμένη στο ανήμπορο σώμα της και στο απόλυτο σκοτάδι, όταν ξαφνικά γίνεται μάρτυρας ειδεχθών εγκλημάτων.
💫Ένα από τα καλύτερα locked room mysteries που έχω διαβάσει, αν και ακουμπάει κάπως και στο θρίλερ, με έξυπνες "ατάκες" και αρκετό χιούμορ- προερχόμενο κατά κύριο λόγο από την τάση της ηρωίδας να αυτοσαρκάζεται.
💫5/5 και ασφαλώς προτείνεται.Αν το έχετε σε κάποια στοίβα αδιάβαστων είστε τυχεροί, διότι είναι κάπως λιγουλάκι εξαντλημένο! ☹️
ΥΓ: Αν δεν βρείτε σε κάποια δανειστική Βιβλιοθήκη αυτό,μπορείτε να αναζητήσετε τη σειρά με τους Κ2 κ' Πατρίσια,του Hans Olav Lahlum- είναι λίγο πιο αργή, διότι Νορβηγία, αλλά πολύ καλή και σε παρόμοιο πνεύμα.

[Lubov Yakovleva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Захватывающий триллер, где главная героиня — жертва автомобильной аварии — не может ни двигаться, ни видеть, ни говорить.
Но может слышать, переживать и немного думать.

С ней начинает общаться маленькая девочка, не испугавшаяся куля на инвалидной коляске, и выбалтывает тайну — мол, она знает убийцу маленьких мальчиков.
Теперь главной героине начинает грозить опасность...

Постепенно тайна разъясняется. Финал фантасмагоричен и нелеп.

Но пока мы движемся к этому финалу вместе с автором, нелепость конструкции не заметна. Потому что скорость высокая и напряжение растёт.
Это достоинство романа. А вот всё остальное... Увы.