krisx's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
stephaniemcuervo's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
speirbhean's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Second book I've read from Fitzek. He has a remarkable way of creating so many twists and turns that you could never guess what was going to happen in the end. It makes it all the more satisfying to reach the end of the book and seeing how all the pieces have fallen into place. Amok is a perfect example of this
aira_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Fitzek is one of those writers that never cease to amaze. The twists and turns, the seemingly innocuous details that leads to something bigger and bigger and the characteristics described makes it such a good listen
canada_matt's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Sebastian Fitzek, and Head of Zeus for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Sebastian Fitzek is a master of the sharp psychological thriller, pulling the reader into the middle of something, only to provide a massive twist to discombobulate anyone trying to following along. In this piece, there are layers of intrigue set against a fast-paced plot and a time limited narrative, where a killer has a handful of hostages and is broadcasting live over Berlin’s radio waves. With a criminal psychologist tasked with diffusing things, she has her own issues and finds the added pressure all too much. Explosive and chilling at the same time. Perhaps Fitzek’s best novel to date!
During the morning show on one of Berlin’s most popular radio programmes, a tour for winning listeners goes sideways when one among them decides to take the group hostage. He wants his demands broadcast live, on-air and is willing to use the show’s popular games to get what he wants. Listeners must answer when called and recite a precise phrase or someone will die.
All the while, renowned criminal psychologist, Ira Samin, is preparing to die. She can no longer handle the pain that has befallen her, but wants things done a certain way. When she is called into work as a hostage negotiator, her suicide plan must be temporarily shelved. Ira works to get to know the hostage taker a little better and takes his one demand very seriously, ‘find my fiancée and bring her to me’.
While Ira works to unravel a tense situation, she must also wrestle with some troubling news. It would seem the aforementioned fiancée has died months ago in an automobile accident. However, the hostage-taker will hear none of it. He knows she is alive and demands that she be brought to him. Ira does all she can, only to realise that there is another reason that she must end the hostage taking right away. While Ira works through her own issues, all of Germany is on high alert, awaiting the next call and hoping someone will pick up and say the right thing. If not, things could get much worse, live for all to hear.
While I only recently discovered the magic of Sebastian Fitzek, I cannot get enough of his writing. Twisted and highly entertaining, one can never decipher what twists await the reader as the story progresses. He is surely a master at his craft and has pulled me in with each of the novels I’ve read. There are so many layers to the stories that the reader must pay close attention, or risk being left behind.
Ira Samin is a well-developed and troubled protagonist, perfectly cast for this story. Her personal issues almost drown out the need for professionalism throughout the piece, but this only adds depth to an already intense story. Ira has come to terms with the end of her life, but seems almost put out that she cannot do what she wants most, to die, until she stops a madman from killing others. There is much the reader discovers about Ira as the story progresses, all of which is essential to her own larger narrative.
Fitzek opens the novel with a seemingly odd tangent, only to force the reader to realise that this is the crux of the novel. The narrative pushes forward and offers deceptive twists almost from the outset, keeping the reader guessing what is to come and how it will all play out. Using short chapters, Fitzek teases the reader to ‘read just a little more’ and captures their attention with ease. Chilling and not quite what it all seems, Fitzek delivers yet again, with an English translation that is as smooth as ever, not distrusting the flow whatsoever. I can only hope there are more stories like this to come, as I am ready and eager to see what’s next.
Kudos, Mr. Fitzek, for another winner. Where you get all these ideas is beyond me, but I am not complaining in the least.
Be sure to check for my review, first posted on Mystery and Suspense, as well as a number of other insightful comments by other reviewers.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
honeyreads1066's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I honestly didn't expect to love this book as much as I did.
This book follows Ira who in what she expected to be her last day on the earth, gets pulled back into her job as a hostage negotiator when a man breaks into a radio station. For each hostage, he calls a number from the phonebook, at random. If they answer with a specific slogan, a hostage goes free. If they don't, a hostage dies. The only issue is the thing he wants is his girlfriend except she died 8 months ago in a car accident.
The characters themselves were all complicated. Maybe it's because the book was set in a day but you couldn't guess anyone except Ira's motivations but that worked well for the genre of the book. I think that's what made me guess the whole way through. The characters weren't also likeable but they didn't need to be for you to feel sympathy or empathy. I think that could have gone both ways but was written very well here.
The plot itself kept me guessing the whole way through, I genuinely had no idea where it would end it what the twist would be and also who was reliable and who wasn't. I think that in itself added to the story.
My only issue was that while I understand why it was put in, the things about Ira's daughter just didn't find my interest. Maybe it's because we never met her so I wasn't that upset about it or because Ira wasn't too much of a likeable character so I wasn't invested in what she wanted but frankly I didn't care.
Overall I greatly enjoyed this, it went to places I didn't expect and the twists in the plot weren't things I was able to guess. I would 100% recommend this book as a good thriller.
This book follows Ira who in what she expected to be her last day on the earth, gets pulled back into her job as a hostage negotiator when a man breaks into a radio station. For each hostage, he calls a number from the phonebook, at random. If they answer with a specific slogan, a hostage goes free. If they don't, a hostage dies. The only issue is the thing he wants is his girlfriend except she died 8 months ago in a car accident.
The characters themselves were all complicated. Maybe it's because the book was set in a day but you couldn't guess anyone except Ira's motivations but that worked well for the genre of the book. I think that's what made me guess the whole way through. The characters weren't also likeable but they didn't need to be for you to feel sympathy or empathy. I think that could have gone both ways but was written very well here.
The plot itself kept me guessing the whole way through, I genuinely had no idea where it would end it what the twist would be and also who was reliable and who wasn't. I think that in itself added to the story.
My only issue was that while I understand why it was put in, the things about Ira's daughter just didn't find my interest. Maybe it's because we never met her so I wasn't that upset about it or because Ira wasn't too much of a likeable character so I wasn't invested in what she wanted but frankly I didn't care.
Overall I greatly enjoyed this, it went to places I didn't expect and the twists in the plot weren't things I was able to guess. I would 100% recommend this book as a good thriller.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Torture
brittski's review against another edition
3.0
This is only a little bit of the main novel, but this did not make me want to read the whole book.
staralfur's review
2.0
Started out good, I enjoyed the first half. After that the story went all over the place, and the whole thing tied up a little too nicely in the end in my opinion.
Wonderful audio production though - excellent narration.
Wonderful audio production though - excellent narration.
fankle's review
3.0
Very very well produced & performed drama - the tension is racheted up so high at many points I was holding my breath and could hear my heart thumping - but in the end the story is too full of extra twists and revelations to sustain credibility.
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