Le Chuchoteur, Donato Carrisi’s first novel, published in France by Calmann-Lévy

To mark the French bookstore launch of Le Chuchoteur (in Italian: Il Suggeritore; in English: The Whisperer), the publisher Calmann-Lévy has set up a website dedicated to this thriller, which is already a bestseller in Italy.

In winning the Mediterraneo del Giallo y del Noir literary prize, Donato Carrisi celebrated the first anniversary of the book’s Italian edition with his fourth award. A bestseller for Italian publisher Longanesi with over 200,000 copies sold, the novel has been the subject of fierce bidding in 12 countries (Spain, Germany, Holland, Russia, Brazil, Greece, the UK, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, China and France) – just for starters!

His Mediterraneo prize win follows his receipt of the Bancarella prize (whose former notable winners include Ernest Hemingway, Michael Connelly and Ken Follett) as well as the Camaiore and Il Belgioso prizes.

Born in 1973, Carrisi is also the author of an essay on Luigi Chiatti (the Italian serial killer known as the “Monster of Foligno”). A lawyer by training who specialized in criminology and behavioural science, he ceased practising law in 1999 to become a screenwriter. Il Suggeritore is his first novel and the first volume of a trilogy.

The French edition hit bookstores on 5 May, and Calmann-Lévy launched a dedicated website for the occasion where readers can view a preview trailer for the book, sign up for the Facebook fan page, download the first chapter and enter a competition to win one of five “activities and leisure” packs from the publisher’s partner, HappyBox, or one of 50 free copies of the book.

• Le Chuchoteur website