The Whispering by Veronica Lando

Publisher's Synopsis

Callum Haffenden swore he'd never return to Granite Creek. But, thirty years after a life-shattering accident, he's thrust back into the clutches of Far North Queensland and a local legend he worked hard to forget.

When a man goes missing in the rainforest, the past begins to resurface, breathing new life into memories of previous tragedies - two girls lost, seventeen years apart. In a town where it's easiest to turn a blind eye, the guilt runs deep and everyone in Granite Creek has something to hide.

In his search for answers, Callum fights to keep his feet firmly on the trail as he battles the deafening call of the rainforest burrowing into his ears. After all, everyone knows that the worst things in the rainforest are those unseen.

My Review of The Whispering by Veronica Lando

The whispering wild will take your child,
If you dare to look away.
When she hears the call, she will meet her fall,
Never again to play.
Winds from the boulders will snatch and hold her,
Where forever she will lay.

Veronica Lando appears to have mastered the art of misdirection in The Whispering, an expertly told small-town mystery. The fact that the book cover sports a gold label proclaiming the book the winner of the 2021 Banjo Prize for Fiction alerted me that there was something special in store and that’s how it turned out.

The story is set in the Far North Queensland town of Granite Creek as Callum Haffenden makes his return, very much against his better judgement. He’s ostensibly there to help in the search for local firefighter Lachie Wyatt. But the immediate burning question is, why did he travel all the way from Hobart to do so? He hasn’t been back to Granite Creek for 30 years and, judging by the attitude from some of the locals, he’s not exactly welcomed back into the fold. 

Almost immediately we are given the stark impression that the rainforest that borders the town holds an insidious hidden danger. The Whispering refers to a tonal undercurrent that apparently lures people in, only to become lost and confused. And then there’s the granite boulders lying at the base of a cliff and the location of more than just a few deaths over the years. The suggestion is that this natural formation may represent the true danger in the story.

But there is so much more going on within the town of Granite Creek. And it’s been going on for more than 30 years.

From the initial missing person search, we begin to understand in greater depth Callum’s real reason for being there. And what we discover is a bitter and tragic past that becomes compelling as it slowly unfolds. Lando does a remarkable job of gradually telling Callum’s story by unravelling his past as he comes to terms with his return to Granite Creek.

From one jaw-dropping revelation to the next we are put through the emotional wringer. While helping to solve the present-day mystery, Callum also unpicks the truth behind events from decades earlier.

The story managed to continue to build with intensity, drawing me in just as the Whispering supposedly draws the unsuspecting hiker to the deadly drop to the boulders below.

What an outstanding debut this is, excellent character development combined with a well-constructed plot that benefitted from the sure hand of an author who was aware exactly when and where to insert the next unexpected twist.