Die Falle | Melanie Raabe

Linda Conrads is a reclusive, but highly successful writer who hasn't left her house in Munich for 11 years. She has spent those years searching for the man who murdered her sister, Anna, 11 years earlier. Her sister's brutal death has haunted her all these years, and one evening, while watching TV, Linda sees her sister's killer on television.

She devises a plan to entrap the killer, Victor Lenzen, and force him to confess, giving her the peace and closure she has been looking for. She writes a novel, describing her sister's murder and grants Victor Lenzen an exclusive interview when the book is published. Lenzen arrives at Linda's house for the interview and this is where the twists and turns begin. Through a series of questions that Linda and Victor ask each other, Linda's conviction of Victor's guilt and her sanity begin to crumble. Has she been mistaken all these years? Did she really see Lenzen at the crime scene when she found her sister lying in a pool of blood? Did she kill her own sister in a fit of rage and madness? Did she block out what really happened? Do her parents think she is guilty of Anna's murder?

Lenzen is convincing enough and he leaves Linda's house unscathed, while Linda has begun to doubt herself and her memories of the past. In another twist, Linda realises that Lenzen has tricked her, essentially gaslighting her, and she goes to confront him in his own home. He confesses to killing Anna in a fit of anger, and begs Linda for forgiveness. He has atoned for his sin and he has tried to make up for his tragic mistake every day of his life. Linda is not prepared to let Lenzen off so easily and there is a very dramatic final scene in which Lenzen points a gun at his own head.

My Verdict: This is the first book I have finished in German! Yay for me! I enjoyed the twists and turns, although some were a little far-fetched, but overall this was an exciting and gripping thriller and a very impressive debut novel from Melanie Raabe.

Review Award - 4/5