I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for stunning thriller Whisper of the Seals by Roxanne Bouchard. Thank you to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this outstanding book.
About the book:
Detective Moralès returns in a breathtaking literary thriller set on the icy seas of Quebec’s Magdalen Islands, in the midst of a brutal seal hunt, where nothing is as it seems and absolutely no one can be trusted…
Fisheries officer Simone Lord is transferred to Quebec’s remote Magdalen Islands for the winter, and at the last minute ordered to go aboard a trawler braving a winter storm for the traditional grey seal hunt, while all of the other boats shelter onshore.
Detective Sergeant Joaquin Moralès is on a cross-country boat trip down the St Lawrence River, accompanied by Nadine Lauzon, a forensic psychologist working on the case of a savagely beaten teenager with Moralès’ old team in Montreal.
When it becomes clear that Simone is in grave danger aboard the trawler, the two cases converge, with startling, terrifying consequences for everyone involved…
.About the author:
Over ten years ago, Roxanne Bouchard decided it was time she found her sea legs. So she learned to sail, first on the St Lawrence River, before taking to the open waters off the Gaspé Peninsula. The local fishermen soon invited her aboard to reel in their lobster nets, and Roxanne saw for herself that the sunrise over Bonaventure never lies.
Her fifth novel (first translated into English) We Were the Salt of the Sea was published in 2018 to resounding critical acclaim, followed by The Coral Bride, which was a number-one bestseller in Canada, shortlisted for the CWA Translation Dagger and won the Crime Writers of Canada’s Crime Book of the Year Award. Whisper of the Seals is the third novel.
She lives in Quebec with her partner, an undertaker.
Translated by David Warriner.
My Review:
Whisper of the Seals is the third in the DS Moralés series of books written by Roxanne Rouchard. Exquisitely written by the author and brilliantly translated by David Warriner, it is a stunning thriller that brings the biting cold intensity aboard a sea trawler vividly to life as fisheries officer Simone Lord finds herself in the midst of a brutal grey seal hunt, where nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted.
In this book DS Joaquin Moralés is newly divorced and struggling to come to terms with the loss of the life he once knew. Trying to find his place in a suddenly unfamiliar world, he embarks on a cross-country boat trip down the St Lawrence River, accompanied by Nadine Lauzon, a forensic psychologist who is working on the case of a savagely beaten teenager with his old team in Montreal. As Moralès finds himself reluctantly drawn into the case, it soon becomes clear that Simone is in grave danger aboard the trawler and the two cases merge with unexpectedly horrifying consequences that I can quite honestly say left me reeling.
Ripples from the first two books most definitely spill over into Whisper of the Seals and I think reading the series from the very beginning before reading this one would make for a far richer reading experience. The magnificent but tumultuous seas of Quebec’s Magdalen Islands during a freezing cold winter storm are terrifyingly brought to life, with Simone’s inner monologue breaking my heart as, in a race against time, DS Moralès desperately tries to reach the trawler before it’s too late. As tensions continue to rise and fisheries officer Simone finds herself increasingly in peril aboard the trawler, my heart was in my mouth and my nerves torn to shreds as the story raced towards an ending that completely took my breath away.
Oh my word, what an absolutely fantastic read this is! The writing is exquisite, the plot flawless and the characterisation spot on. I was gripped from the very first word, the claustrophobic feel of the location making this an atmospheric, suspenseful read that I could not put down.
A stunning read, Whisper of the Seals is a powerful, shocking and emotionally intense thriller that I would highly recommend.
Whisper of the Seals by Roxanne Bouchard is available to purchase now:
Check out what these other lovely bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 