Review: Kate’s Whisper by Carrie Wiegman

Dark, mysterious, and emotionally charged, Kate’s Whisper by Carrie Wiegman is a page-turner and a fascinating insight into the lives of those who fight crime.

Set in Seattle, this detective novel follows the investigations of young FBI agent Kate, well-known in the forces for her steady mind and invaluable hunches. Determined, clever, and armed with infallible intuition, Kate is no ordinary agent, and no ordinary person either – since she was little she knew her talents were special, almost surreal.

After her mother’s sudden death and her father’s descent into alcoholism, Kate’s life changed forever. In one sweep, she lost not only her family as she knew it, but also her guide; Kate’s mother was the first to perceive her potential and trained her in secret since she was eight. Sitting in their attic every Saturday afternoon, she would teach Kate how to practice meditation and self-mastery exercises to sharpen her natural perceptivity.

Many years after her mother passed away, Kate stumbles by mistake upon a criminology class at university – or is it fate? – and she feels her brain light up again. By the time she must deal with her first serial killer, one targeting successful women her age no less, Kate is an experienced, tough, if young agent, and she is determined to get the job done.

In navigating two serious crimes, while still healing from the wounds of her last big arrest, Kate needs to trust her gift more than ever in order to bring justice. This case has a different feel from the beginning – something personal, something that weasels into Kate’s dream, makes her long for someone to hold her, to help her bare the pain and the trauma of her job. Her colleagues at the FBI have become her family, but is it enough for her? Will she ever be able to open up completely? Tracking down the perpetrator of these atrocious feminicides, Kate is forced to look inside herself and find the strength to follow her instinct, even when it’s telling her to do something she finds incredibly difficult – let people in.

Fast-paced and atmospheric, Wiegman expertly weaves together a procedural thriller with character-driven drama. Among gruesome crime scenes, police jargon, and rigorous procedures, Kate’s Whisper is an emotional, romantic, and even spiritual novel. Wiegman intertwines dream and reality, premonition and instinct, cleverly sketching the inner life of a highly intelligent woman with her strengths and vulnerabilities.

The world that Kate inhabits can be brutal and Wiegman doesn’t shy away from the mental struggles that a detective must face. At the same time, she is very lucky – though the police force is a male-dominated world, Kate is respected, supported, and loved by all her colleagues, making her an inspiring character. At times, she may be too good to be believed – incredibly efficient, competent, proper, and loving – so her work environment can feel a little unrealistic at times, but it’s still a welcome relief from the horrors her team encounters, offering a narrative balance to the story overall.

Enigmatic and suspenseful, Kate’s Whisper is a powerfully written detective novel in which the action-packed plot and the emotional inner lives of the characters enhance each other throughout. The book hopefully sets the stage for a series, as Kate is such a vibrant and well-imagined character that it leaves the reader wanting to know more about Kate and her next case.