The Whispering Wall by Australian author, Patricia Carlon was originally published in 1969. This is a clever, claustrophobic mystery where the main character, Sarah Oatland has been paralyzed by a stroke. She lies in her bed, unable to move or speak or even convince her nurse or her greedy niece that she can understand what they are saying. Her niece, Gwenyth, appears to have ideas on how Sarah’s estate should be handled and appears to resent spending money Sarah’s care. She arranges to divide the house into three flats, renting out one to a single woman and her young daughter, Rose, and the other to Murray and Valma Phipps.

Sarah finds herself able to listen in on the downstairs tenants through the wall and hears Murray and Valma plot to lure her step-father to visit and then do away with him. When young Rose lets it slip that Sarah can understand what is being said, and the Phipps discover that she knows of their plans, Sarah hears that not only the step father is going to be murdered, they are planning to do away with her as well.

This is a slow burner of a mystery, the tension and suspense build and the author skilfully shows the frustration and terror that Sarah is going through in not being able to communicate. This is the second Patricia Carlon mystery that I have read and I find her work reminds me somewhat of early Ruth Rendell mysteries. The Whispering Wall was a mystery that I found very hard to put down once I started it. ( )

Sarah has suffered a stroke, and is unable to move, speak, or otherwise communicate. Her doctor and her caregiver Nurse Bragg don't know whether she understands what is going on or is a vegetable. In fact, she is very aware of what is going on, and extremely frustrated by her inability to communicate. When she overhears a plot to murder someone, which may also result in her own death, she struggles to find a way to expose the criminals before it is too late.

This book had a good premise, but I must admit to being dismayed by the stupidity of most of the characters (except for Rose, the little girl). I found this aspect of the book to be unrealistic, and it destroyed my enjoyment of the book.

2 stars ( )

Sarah Oatland is 61 and has had a stroke. She cannot walk, talk or move. She can see, hear and think but no one knows these things about her, at least at first. She is being cared for at home thanks to her wealth.During the day her bed is wheeled to the window of her large room where, due to an acoustic eccentricity of the house, she is able to hear everything said in one of the downstairs rooms. When her husband was alive they once spent the night listening to guests talk disparagingly of them but now she only hears the doctors discussing her dispiriting prognosis with her nurse. Until her parsimonious niece fills the house with paying lodgers and Sarah listens to Valma and Murray Phipps plot the death of Valma’s stepfather so they can inherit his money. Sarah’s growing terror at being able to do nothing, literally, in the face of the seemingly inevitable murder is palpable.

Of course there’s a noticeable lack of technology and twitter has only one meaning but these small details aside there is nothing much to place this tale in any specific time. Equally, no location external to the house gains any foothold in the reader’s imagination. This novel is all about what happens inside the house. It seems impossible that such a richly drawn story progresses forward almost entirely based on what an immobile woman hears but it is a testament to Carlon’s writing skill that such a narrow perspective provides a more thoroughly gripping read than many of today’s much-hyped blockbusters. This is a genuinely suspenseful domestic setting and seemed to me to be as scary today as it would have been on publication.

One of the reasons I think the book is so successful is that the characters are all very ordinary. Even the would-be killers are not knife-wielding psychopaths or of a similar ‘outlier’ personality that would make it possible to believe such sinister behaviour only goes on in books. They are just greedy and impatient and not very nice (obviously given they are plotting the murder of a harmless old man) but they are quite normal. Sarah’s frustrations and limitations are depicted realistically too – she cries and gets upset as you would in such circumstances – but her innate intelligence shines through and the reader can enjoy being inside Sarah’s head even while being increasingly worried for her health and well-being. There are, eventually, couple of characters who cotton on to the fact Sarah knows what is going on and try to help her communicate and the way everyone reacts to Sarah’s changing circumstances – the realisation that she is not just a fish on a slab – is another subtly drawn standout feature of the novel.

If you are looking for a timeless tale of how an insular environment can create a truly suspense-filled experience THE WHISPERING WALL is highly recommended. In fact my only gripe is how little is known about this author in her home country. Given the quality of this book and the fact that it stands up so well nearly 50 years after being released it is galling to realise that Patricia Carlon is virtually unknown here and that most of her novels have still never been published in this country. Shame on us.

Written in the 1960s, The Whispering Wall has the feel of a Hitchcock movie. Sarah has had a stroke, which has left her able to think and hear, but unable to communicate. She's been moved back home and is under the care of a nurse, but her niece is eager to gain control of Sarah's house and money. She divides up the ground floor into two flats and lets one out to a tired single mother and her awkward daughter, the other is let to a shady couple. Due to a closed up fireplace, Sarah can hear people talking in a room downstairs. She hears the couple arguing about how to best kill an aging relative, but what can she do to prevent a murder?

The story is told entirely from Sarah's point of view, trapped in her own head and desperate to communicate. It's a nail-biter of a tale and while it is clearly written fifty years ago, it has aged well. I'll be looking for Carlon's other books. ( )

Sarah has had a stroke and is unable to move or speak. She overhears a conversation between her downstairs lodgers who are planning to murder Roderick to inherit his money. Sarah is able to communicate by winking - one for yes and two for no. When the would-be murderers realise this Sarah's life is in danger too. Sarah with her limited communication skills has to somehow convey the danger she and Roderick are in. Coming to Sarah's aid is, Rose, a precocious 12 year old child.

Initially rejected by Australian publishers, Carlon was first published in England in the 1960s. Carlon builds the suspense in the book as we share Sarah's frustration at not being able to communicate the danger she and Roderick are in. The plot is reminiscent of the film Sorry, Wrong Number and another film where a man's worst fear of being buried alive comes true (still have nightmares about that one).

Plenty of suspense and interesting characters (Sarah and Rose) make The Whispering Wall a great read. ( )