Death from the Woods - Hardcover

Penzler Pick, May 2000: This gripping mystery by one of France's top mystery writers recently won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, the equivalent of the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Elise Andrioli has been left blind, mute, and quadriplegic after a terrorist bomb explosion in Northern Ireland that killed her fiancé. Back in the small suburb outside Paris where she lives, Elise leads a solitary life except for the contact that she has with her caretakers. However, a series of grisly local murders has shaken the residents. Young boys have been disappearing only to be discovered a day later, dead and horribly mutilated.

One morning, while waiting in her wheelchair outside a supermarket, Elise is approached by a small girl named Virginie, who confides that she was present when "Death from the Woods" murdered Michael, a boy reported missing several days earlier. Later that afternoon, Michael's death is confirmed on the local news. Elise is intrigued but has no idea who Virginie is or how to find her. But soon Virginie reappears and offers Elise more information about the murders. The investigating police officer suspects that Virginie is giving information to Elise that she is reluctant to give to him, and tries to set up a communication system between himself and Elise to find out what she knows. But someone else also suspects that Elise knows something--and after an accident that almost costs her her life, she must try to convey her knowledge to those around her. But how?

This first-person mystery is not only chilling, it is--incredibly--amusing. Elise is an engaging heroine with a remarkable sense of humor about her physical and mental state. There are plenty of twists and turns in this crisply translated story, and readers, far from feeling sorry for Elise, will find themselves cheering on this gutsy woman as she uses her remarkable intellect to keep herself out of danger and bring the murderer to justice. --Otto Penzler

Brigitte Aubert is widely considered to be one of France's most talented authors of suspense fiction. She lives in Cannes and is currently working on the sequel to Death from the Woods.