A Crime Thriller with a Difference:
I have to admit that this book took me totally by surprise. Both its content, style and prose were not what I expected when I started reading. This is a very contemplative read which isn't indicated by the book's cover comments. Nonetheless it is a thought provoking novel which made for a very interesting read.
Most crime novels follow an expected pattern: basically asking the question who-dun-it? after the perpetration of the crime. This novel does it the other way round. Dirk Kurbjuweit presents us with the conclusion and then explains how events unfolded to arrive at a conviction.
In fact, the novel is not so much about events but rather attitudes. The prose is related in a singularly monotonous tone by Randolph. It is devoid of emotion which goes a long way to explain the novel’s surprise ending. The author conveys post war German attitudes to their divided country and in particular Berlin. A Berlin which was in turn divided by a Wall.
It provides a wonderful insight into the insecurities and tensions bubbling just below the surface of everyday post war German life. This was a nation arising from the ashes after Hitler and the Nazis. We are given a glimpse of how the Nazis managed to rise to power. Through Randolph, the narrator, we see the danger of holding onto rigid views which expect the State, or Establishment, to support middle-class perceptions of the order of society. I felt empathy for the victim, Tiberius, who doesn’t deserve what fate had in store for him. Tiberius’s fate is the result of the prejudices of Randolph and his wife, Rebecca. Are these prejudices that much different from those that were applied to the Jews?
There is an undercurrent of unwarranted righteousness in Randolph’s view of the order of life. Randolph stands in stark contrast to his brother, Bruno, who has a rather different view of life abhorred by his brother but ultimately healthier. If Bruno had been in Randolph’s position the problems would have been sorted out quickly.
The novel poses the reader a question: what would you have done in Randolph’s position? The answer would be almost certainly something totally different.
The author also considers the effect on families of gun ownership. Randolph grew up in a house where his father possessed over thirty guns and yet he is adamant that this had no impact on his way of thinking or behaviour. He became a pacifist who spurns violence in any form even when it would seem logical to deploy to protect his family. As his brother Bruno suggests, nipping a problem in the bud. Certainly, the tragic events which unfolded could have been avoided.
This is a crime novel written to make the reader think. And it has a surprise in store for the reader at the end. A book for readers who want more than a simple who-dun-it. But I was left with a feeling that the twist at the end was rather predictable.

What can be done when your downstairs neighbour begins to harass and stalk you, making your life a misery with his behaviour? The description of this book sounded great, just my type of thing, but I really struggled with it and it took far longer to read than it should’ve done. It wasn’t a thriller, more like a kitchen sink drama with some really unappealing people. More about Randolph’s family history than his troublesome neighbour, so wasn’t a gripping page turner. Would it read better if it hadn’t have been translated into English? I did like the cover.

An uncomfortable, claustrophobic story very dark.that will send shivers down your spine and make you think how far you would go to protect family and those you love and care for,was very different to how I expected it to be but was enjoyable if that is the right word..........

This was a book by a new author to me. I’ve enjoyed reading this book, and will look for other books by this author in the future.

I found this book disconnected all the way through and kept wondering what was the purpose of reading it. The author has tried to put a twist in the end but I still felt that it did not really complete the book. The characters were well developed but the book lacked structure. A lot of Randolph’s background growing up did not add to the main story.

I was looking forward to reading this book. However, when I started I soon found out that it wasn’t what I was expecting.
The story is narrated in first person by Randolph. His family finds that they are being stalked by their neighbour. He writes Randolph’s wife Rebecca letters and some poetry and then accuses them both of sexually abusing their two children. The police are not taking the threats seriously and eventually they take matters into their own hands. How far will you go to protect the ones you love?
The book is well written with lots of detail, the ending however didn’t surprise me as I guessed it earlyish on, thank you Netgalley and Orion Publishing for letting me read a copy of this book.

A flat on the ground floor in Berlin a middle class family of 4 living in it, their nightmares have just been brought to light by the tenant living in the basement below them. They love their home and don't want to move out but accused of sexual abuse of their kids, poems and stories about the mother written by the stalker leave you feeling more than a little unpleasant. There is some good twists to this story and I felt it was well translated from German. Great ending too.
Thanks to author, publisher and netgalley for arc of this book.

I expected a really tense thriller from the description and the cover but ultimately was left really disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Books for providing me with an ARC! All opinions are honest and my own.
Reading the synopsis, I went into this thinking it was going to be a tense, fast-paced thriller however I was left disappointed. This was an interesting read nevertheless however it was not the one that I was expecting.
This story follows Randolph and their family as they move into their new home only for them to be stalked by their neighbour who lives in the basement. He sends’ Randolph’s wife letters and poems, spies on the family and even reports them to authorities with false accusations. This all sounds quite chilling and terrifying especially when since this story is loosely based off the Authors own experiences with being stalked by his neighbour. You already know how this is going to end in a sense, as this book begins with his father in prison and you find out early on why he is in prison.
The writing of this made it feel a lot more like an autobiography than a fictional story which is what I was expecting or really wanting. This is only confirmed with all the backstory which is littered throughout the plot about Randolph’s childhood and growing up and also his father’s passion for guns. Whilst some these backstories were interesting, they did pull away from the main plot and I didn’t find a lot of them useful to the main plot line of the stalking neighbour. I understand that a lot of the backstory about Randolph’ relationship with his father were meant to lend to how his father perhaps helped him with fixing the neighbour problem but a lot of it could have been cut out to make for a more streamlined story.
I feel like this book did portray “fear” itself well and how it can have an effect on how you act both in the moment and also how it effects your everyday life. The false accusations make Randolph start questioning whether what he’s doing is wrong even though he knows what he’s doing is 100% right and ok and he starts overthinking everything that he does and how other people will see him doing these things.
This wasn’t a bad book itself and I didn’t see the twist at the end of the book coming either. I enjoyed how it went on to explain how life after the stalking incident and twist is like and as mentioned, shows how much fear can affect you even when the threat of the fear has disappeared. I just didn’t enjoy the way this was written and how much backstory was involved which I didn’t feel was necessary. As this was a translation from the original language of German, maybe some of the flow of the main plot and back story was lost? Or maybe that’s how the Author intended it to be, who knows? Either way, the writing wasn’t for me, but I did enjoy the actual storyline.

Fear by Dirk Kurbjuweit is a psychological thriller that is very different from so many other books in this genre because the reader knows up front who committed the crime. The mystery is how this crime came to be committed and the interesting family history and family dynamics that influenced the narrator (the son of the killer) and his family. The book has been well translated from German. I enjoyed reading this title very much.

This is definitely a unique read and one that will stay with me for a while, but there are also parts that I perhaps didn't click with as much. For one, I didn't like the main character and no matter how good a story is, it's hard when you don't connect with the person telling you the story. There was qualities I liked in him, especially how protective he became of his family, but the second his secret was revealed at the end, he lost all his redeeming qualities for me. There was a lot of backstory given and I feel some was more worth it than others. All of the parts of his childhood with his father were 100% needed, because it completely explained their relationship, but I felt the backstory with him and his partner could be cut down - there was more information given to me than I really needed. I also feel the book should have been cut at his confession. That part was a shock and would have been such a strong thing to end on. Now, its not a bad book and definitely worth a read, such a strong idea, but there were just parts that I didn't quite click with.

*2.5 STARS*

Having read the synopsis for 'Fear' I was expecting a tense, heart pounding read, but I'm afraid I was left feeling deeply disappointed.

The story is narrated by Randolph, (an architect) who finds that he, his wife and two children are stalked by their neighbour. The neighbour writes letters and poetry to Randolph's wife, and more worryingly, makes false accusations to the authorities saying they sexually abuse their children.

Although the story outlines a middle aged man's attempt to cause as much fear and intimidation as he possibly can for his neighbours, his story actually takes something of a backseat, the main focus being on Randolph. The author gives a detailed characterisation of Randolph going back to his childhood- the depth of which is astonishing, and yet, I still don't feel as if I knew him at all, and what's worse is I really didn't care. On a more positive note there was a twist at the end that I wasn't expecting, but it came too late to save it for me.

Set in Berlin, 'Fear' has been translated into English, and I just don't know if something was lost in translation, but it just didn't do it for me, it held such promise but didn't live up to it.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for my ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I found Fear by Dirk Kurbjuweit to be a captivating read. The writing is hugely addictive and I found the lead character, Randolph, engaging. I don’t think I would quite call it a fast paced thriller, although the writing definitely did draw me into the story. Nevertheless, I did find the book a really enjoyable read and I’m sure I’ll be looking out for more from this author in the future.

Randolph and Rebecca live a comfortable lifestyle. They have two children, Paul and Fay, who they adore. Life couldn’t be better for them. But when they move into a new apartment, their neighbour, Dieter Tiberius begins to accuse them of heinous crimes against their children. Randolph and Rebecca are pushed to the brink when lawyers and the police become involved and it is clear to them that Dieter Tiberius isn’t going to go away easily. And this is where Dirk Kurbjuweit asks the reader an important question: you’d die for your family, but would you kill for them?

What I thought this novel did really well at was highlighting how unfair the law can be. It is true that these days the police won’t take action - if someone is threatening you - until someone is dead. I shared Randolph’s exasperation at the lack of effort from the authorities as he tried to expel this threat to his family and I shared his sentiments, we pay taxes into these services but when we need their help, they don’t want to know, until it’s too late.

I’ll certainly be pushing this book into the hands of fellow crime readers so that I can discuss it with them. I love a book which has that effect on you, when after you’ve read it; you can’t wait to talk to someone about it. This would be a perfect book club read. A really enjoyable novel. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

Great premise....it sounds so exciting in the blurb.It wasn't!The while book is written from the father's point of view and is just a very long account of what's happened.It does have some childhood memories(which a lot of don't seem to serve much purpose) and randomly detailed accounts of meals in restaurants.I just wanted it to end.

'Fear' is a first-person account of a normal situation gone bad: Randolph's neighbour becomes threatening and scary to his wife and children, however his actions aren't illegal, they're just scary. It seems like there's nothing Randolph can do to protect his family, and this is the story of what happens.

This was a quick read, and very easy to read in just a few sittings, however I found the plot to be a little dull and predictable, and the first person narrative too immersive with not enough actual action to keep me entertained - too much thinking and not enough doing from the point of view character. It was very well-written and well-structured but there just wasn't enough going on for me.

I found this book interesting, although it wasn't what I was expecting after reading the description.. The story takes place in Berlin, and is indeed about a family who are terrorised by a neighbour. The said neighbour sends letters accusing the family of sexually abusing their children. We know from early on that the narrator's father is in prison for killing the neighbour. What follows is basically an analysis of family relationships, and how they led to what happened. I found it slow going in places, and didn't particularly warm to the characters. However, thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

Had me gripped from the very first page to the last. A five star winner for any fan of this genre.

I was expecting an exciting and suspenseful story but what I found was a bit of a dirge interspersed with a little tension but only a little. There was far too much back story which I found quite boring. Would I recommend this novel, no sadly.

This was such a good read and unlike anything I’d read before (as in nightmare neighbor plot) but tbh it was also soooooo creepy to the point I left the light on! It’s a totally freaky stalker kind of story in which you totally feel like it’s you he’s stalking! You feel so helpless and wonder how he can get away with what he does!

Won’t say too much but it totally gets out of hand and it had me literally gasping in places!

A must read for anyone who likes to be creeped out and on the edge of their seat (a lot) !!

Excellent book, serious page turner - I couldn't put it down!