Customer Reviews

He Who Whispers

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I have gone off on "jags" reading Rex Stout or Agatha Christie, or others, but I always come back with a hunger for John Dickson Carr. This is not easy-- his books are very old and only Amazon provides a good source.

This is one of the very best by Carr. What draws me to Carr is the mastery of mood, tone, and atmosphere-- a brooding, semi-supernatural, atmosphere of the Gothic-- of terror, of raw fear-- of people literally frightened to death. To put it crudely, it's like "Sherlock Holmes" meets "Stephen King."

In this novel we have a fabulous beginning with an "impossible murder" that seems to have no explanation, a "femme fatale" woman, the setting of a ruined Norman tower in France, and a most sympathetic leading character, Miles. Dr. Gideon Fell is a colorful and delightful detective who usually enters the story at least a third into the book.

Frankly, the conclusions sometimes let the reader down -- or seem to -- because Carr's skill at "atmosphere" has got the poor fellow so on the edge of his chair with anxiety that no ending could totally meet the expectations.

This book-- like many Carr books -- has a neat love interest-- a totally improbable love between a convalescent British gentleman and a French "woman of the streets." The love interest alone drew me through some of the chapters.

Carr's style and descriptive skills are excellent. He will describe a setting with original turns of phrase. He will paint word-pictures that force one to reread the paragraph more than once, savoring the writer's skills. He's a highly literate man with a control of English that would have made him successful in writing more conventional novels.

This is probably the best Gideon Fell novel I have read, and one of the two or three best novels by Dickson Carr I have read. I urge you to enjoy the book, and wish you, er, "unpleasant dreams."

John Dickson Carr was a writer in the "Golden Age" of mysteries, and he never cheated his readers. All of the clues needed to solve the mystery are presented, giving the alert reader a chance at identifying the murderer. I actually figured out who the killer was before the denouement of "He Who Whispers" even though I had no idea of how the murder was committed.

However, his scrupulosity is not my favorite characteristic of this American author. What I love are the hot-house, claustrophobic, even supernatural atmospheres that he creates in his mysteries. In "He Who Whispers" a man is murdered at the top of a medieval French tower when no one could have possibly climbed the tower's sole staircase to accomplish the deed. His son's fiancée is accused of vampirism and barely escapes war-torn France with her life. She resurfaces in England and takes a position as private librarian at Greywood Mansion in New Forest. The first night she spends in the house, another woman is nearly frightened to death.

Dr. Gideon Fell bumbles and rumbles onto the moonlit grounds of Greywood shortly before the mysterious shot is fired, and he and his French compatriot, Professor Rigaud attempt to solve the mystery of how the sister of Greywood's owner was almost frightened to death in her own bedroom. Was the beautiful new librarian really a vampire? Professor Riguad, using a rather convoluted form of Gallic logic believes she is. It is the only 'logical' explanation of how Howard Brooke was killed on top of the French tower back before the war.

However, if you've read enough Gideon Fell mysteries, you know that Carr's humongous detective always manages to find a non-supernatural explanation to the mystery, in spite of the Unspeakable Horror that always seems to lurk just around the corner, breathing its chill vapours through the text.

Though Carr was an American most of his books (especially the early ones) were set in England and France. He moved to Great Britain with his English wife in 1933 and they lived there for a number of years before moving back to the United States in 1965. Carr was awarded an Edgar in 1950 by the Mystery writers of America (MWA) for his Conan Doyle biography. He was also awarded the title of Grand Master by the MWA in 1970.

Even though I'm not particularly fond of Carr's serial detective, the lumbering, snorting, coyly hinting Dr.Gideon Fell, the mysteries he inhabits are wonderfully brooding, baffling, atmospheric tales.

John Dickson Carr (a.k.a. Carter Dickson or Carr Dickson) was one of the greats of the mystery genre, specializing in locked-room mysteries and always playing scrupulously fairly with the clues. In this entry featuring detective Gideon Fell, the murder takes place in a tower by the edge of a river. A man is seen to climb the tower's spiral staircase. Two people go up there to talk with him, and then he is left alone. The next anyone hears of him is when some children find him run through with a sword. And yet the evidence is absolutely clear that nobody else could have been on the tower.

For mystery readers who like their puzzles complex, there simply is no author better than Carr, who delighted in explaining the impossible. This, and his other novels, are highly recommended. (Note, though, that the solution here is one of the more complicated ones, and it might be better for those who have not experienced Carr to start with another book first.)

Their are 4 perfect Gideon Fell novels (The Three Coffins(1935), The Crooked Hinge(1938), The Case of the Constant Suicides(1941), and He Who Whispers(1946)). He Who Whispers is the last of them, and one of the best.

The year is 1946, WWII is over, and Miles Hammond is headed to the Murder Club. Their, he hears the Howard Brookes. Howard entered the old stone tower, and walked to the top room, to see his son, who goes down a few minutes later. Infront of the entrance was a family having a picnic. The next time any one would see him, fifteen minutes later, he had been stabbed. No one had enentered the tower during the fifteen minutes in which Howard had been stabbed. The blame fell to his sons then girlfriend, Fay Seton, who is belived to be able to summon vampires. This shocks Miles, as he has just hired Fay to be his book keeper.

I always find classic mysteries of this sort hard to review. You can't really discuss the plot except in the most vague way without spoiling it for future readers. Stripped to the bare bones, the plot involves a crime committed a few years back which is currently causing complications in the present. This is a theme that Carr has touched on a few times.

The plot is involved and Carr is scrupulously fair with the reader. The clues are there in black and white. The book is a real page turner. It is the type of book that demands one give up another half hour of sleep for "just one more chapter." As in most mysteries of this type there are some plot points that will raise eyebrows. The most grievous in this book is the use of coincidence to get the story moving. There is a big one at the beginning which is acceptable, such things do happen. The one revealed toward the end really pushes it.

Besides the mystery itself we get a detailed look at England immediately post war. Rationing is still in effect and the effects of war is a theme that permeates the book. The writing and characterization were well done.

I read this on the Kindle. The Kindle edition is just fine with a functioning, linked, table of contents. The only flaws are the inevitable OCR quirks which mangle a word here and there. Nothing major.

Highly recommended. The golden age of the classic British mystery was over by this time but Carr was doing it as well as almost anyone.

This is one of the finest, most ingenious, and most atmospheric of the classic "locked room" mystery novels of John Dickson Carr. It is also one of his most somber and frightening books. While the author is most famous for his intricate and hard to solve murder puzzles, I think his hardcore fans like myself most enjoy the brooding atmosphere he creates, with a hint of the supernatural hanging over sometimes appalling crimes.

He Who Whispers is particularly great in its creation of this mysterious atmosphere. A man is brutally murdered under seemingly inexplicable circumstances, alone atop a remote tower. A female suspect is accused of being a soulless, bloodthirsty vampire, though to all appearances she is a modest and intelligent young woman. Oddly, as the novel wears on, this accusation seems at the same time absurd, and yet quite plausible! It is most cleverly handled, and resolved, by the author.

But what I most enjoyed about this novel, and what really makes it stand out among the author's many fine novels, is its uniquely, intensely romantic aspect. The point of view character (NOT the brilliant detective Gideon Fell, nor his stolid "Watson," Inspector Hadley) is drawn to two interesting, intelligent women, both of whom are potential suspects. One is a resourceful and determined investigative journalist, with, as it turns out, a rather murky connection to the case somewhere in her own past. The other is a lovely, sad governess who has apparently been wrongly accused of murder as well as other misdeeds....but how innocent is she really?

The mystery is ultimately sorted out--but then it really gets interesting! The resolution of the tangled romance plotline is moving and unexpected, and yet entirely logical, given the author's odd, seemingly incompatible combination of anachronistic chivalry toward women and respect for independent, uninhibited females. If this sounds a bit vague that is because I am trying not to give away any plot details, as I would never forgive myself if I spoiled the suprises of a great Carr mystery novel like this one!

One of the darkest and most somber entries in the Dr. Fell series, HE WHO WHISPERS is as briskly written and clever as Carr's best. Unfortunately, the plot hinges on a turn of coincidence so jarring it fails to be wholly convincing. Nevertheless, the impossible crime scenario is resolved with admirable ingenuity. A great read.

John Dickson Carr is the master of locked room mysteries from the Golden Age of Mystery! I'm glad to see He Who Whispers available for Kindle and hope that all fo the rest will be soon, including those he wrote as Carter Dickson.

In a village in France, a man standing on the top of a ruined tower is stabbed in the back. There's no else there but him and witness swear that no one enterred or left by the door. The other side of the tower is a sheer wall over a river. THere were no boats. How did he die?

Six years later in London, at first meeting in 5 years of the Murder Club,an exclusive and distinguished group who are interested in crime are to meet and discuss this. However, no one but the speaker and two guests appear for the meeting. What happened to the Murder Club?

This occurs in 1945 post WWII England. Carr brings that period vividly to life. He also has one seeing ghosts and almost believing in the supernational before the end of the book. No one does spooky atmosphere better!

He Who Whispers is a real treat! It's true puzzle story with many twists and turns with some interesting subplots as well! I highly recommend it!

John Dickson Carr was one of the best "Golden Age Detective" story writers of his time. This book was written in 1945, and it is a true classic. It has all the Carr hallmarks - an impossible locked-door crime, a taste of the supernatural; great settings (there are two here), and an impossibly evil villain. His books are very complex and very difficult to figure out. There are actually two crimes in this book. One was committed in France just before the war, and the other was attempted in England just after the war. Of course we are treated to Gideon Fell doing the detective work here, and let me tell you if you haven't read any books about Carr's Gideon Fell, you are in for a treat. And boy can Carr characterize. He has the knack of bringing to life wonderful characters in a very short time. His books are not that long. But they are filled with tension and even today, are not easy to put down.