‘The Girl in The Fog’ by Donato Carrisi

Published by Abacus,
2 November 2017.
ISBN: 978-0-349-14262-3 (PBO)

The action takes place in the small alpine village of Avechot in Italy and the book opens with Special Agent Vogel of the police force having a car accident. Although emerging unscathed he has a lot of blood on him. He seems very vague as to what happened, and psychiatrist Flores is called in to talk to him. This all takes place sixty-two days after the disappearance of Anna Lou Kastner, a teenage girl.

We then go back to two days after she vanishes, and Vogel is brought in to solve the mystery. He interviews Anna's parents who are deeply religious and belong to a strict brotherhood in Avechot. They assure him that she is a good girl and very loving, she has never been any trouble. Vogel is convinced she has been snatched and instructs the police to concentrate on finding the person responsible. He is very good at manipulating the press and media and makes sure they know about the police searching the river even though he is sure Anna will not be found there. Soon it is all over the television channels and he hopes to flush out the culprit.

People start to leave tributes to Anna outside her house, especially toy kittens as she loves cats. A boy named Mattia is seen acting suspiciously, could he have anything to do with her disappearance? Then they are given to understand that he actually used to follow Anna around even taking pictures of her with his camcorder. Vogel and officer Borghi then discover a white four by four was seen very often around Anna, the driver almost seemed to be stalking her, who could this be?

They then learn that thirty years ago a man nicknamed “The man in the fog” was responsible for six murders of girls similar in appearance to Anna. Could this be him resurfacing?

Vogel and Borghi certainly have their work cut out trying to solve the mystery of Anna's disappearance. Also running through the story is an old case of Vogel's which nearly cost him his career and it makes him all the more determined not to fail this time.

Wow! this is certainly an exciting page turner, full of unexpected turns and false trails. Very cleverly conceived and written, leading the reader to be convinced of the abductor and then sure it is someone else and then perhaps not!  I found myself gasping aloud at some of the final revelations. It has exactly what all crime thrillers should contain along with an atmosphere of menace and intrigue.

This is the second book written by Donato Carrisi that I have read and have thoroughly enjoyed both of them. I can't recommend this book enough.

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Reviewer: Tricia Chappell

Donato Carrisi was born in 1973 and studied law and criminology. Since 1999 he has been working as a TV screenwriter.  The Whisperer, Carrisi's first novel, won five international literary prizes, has been sold in nearly twenty countries, and has been translated into languages as varied as French, Danish, Hebrew and Vietnamese. Carrisi lives in Rome.

Tricia Chappell. I have a great love of books and reading, especially crime and thrillers. I play the occasional game of golf (when I am not reading). My great love is cruising especially to far flung places, when there are long days at sea for plenty more reading! I am really enjoying reviewing books and have found lots of great new authors.