Would you want to live above a man who accuses you of sexually abusing your children? This is what happens to Rudolph and his wife Rebecca. Although at times Rudolph feels he should sort Dieter Tiberius out once and for all he's not that sort of man, instead he does the right thing and goes to both the police and a lawyer. They tell him there's nothing they can do to help.
Rudolph puts pen to paper to tell you what happens with Dieter Tiberius and about his life, past and present, his doubts and fears, how although he didn't have an unhappy childhood he never felt close to his father. A man obsessed with guns and who is currently serving time for manslaughter.
Although a good story I thought it dragged on a bit at times but I must confess I didn't see the twist coming at the end. All in all quite a good read and gets four stars from me.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review

Good thriller. Solid plot. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Dirk Kurbjuweit for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Randolph and Rebecca live in Berlin. They live in an apartment block and, in the apartment below them, lives Dieter. Dieter is spying on them and causing them problems by telling the authorities that they molest and abuse their children, Paul and Fay.

The problems escalate and it would be a great book if it wasn’t for the incessant ramblings and selfishness of Randolph.

Maybe something has been lost in translation? It doesn’t feel focused enough.

Fatima

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

This one is gripping, so well written and fast paced. Have you watched Nightmare Neighbors on TV, or had a nightmare neighbor. Ever wondered what you would do in that situation. Wondered what would happen if the law will not and cannot do anything to help you, become afraid to leave your family home that you cherish. This book is about one such family who are demonised by a man, a neighbour..... most people would move house..... but not this family..... no spoilers here!

Fascinating read.. but realistically, I am sure someone could have helped them!

Every so often a book draws you in, unsuspecting, then tugs you deep into its pages and doesn't let go. This book is wow worthy. I love the author's writing style, and nothing was lost in translation. I would love to see this book on the screen. It totally sank its claws into me. Would recommend highly. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.
I thought this was an excellent book, albeit not quite what I was expecting! It tells the story of a German family who are being tormented by the man who lives in the basement flat below them. He makes accusations of child abuse and reports the parents to the authorities continually. The couple, Randolph and Rebecca, receive no help or support and become increasingly desperate to rid themselves of the tenant.
I thought this would be more of a thriller, instead it was a literary journey through Randolph's childhood, his family and his marriage. The fear alluded to in the title, was the fear he had lived with all his life, not just the fear engendered by the stalking that his family suffered. It is an excellently written book, translated from the original German, which I really enjoyed, and one which is told exclusively from Randolph's point of view. The way his childhood, and the relationships with each family member is recounted, is extremely effective and evocative.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it certainly got under my skin and made me feel uncomfortable!

I was drawn to this book for the title, storyline, & cover. However, as I began to read the book; I knew I would have a hard time connecting with the characters in the story. For myself, it was hard to stay interested in what the characters were going through. It did not keep me wanting to find out what happens next. I read this book at slower pace than I normally read because I ended up loosing interest. It wasn't for me :(

Dirk Kurbjuweit has written a well-crafted literary novel that bounces around the life of the semi-autobiographical character Randolf, his highly strung but intelligent and gorgeous wife Rebecca, and their two children. He follows their turmoil as Dieter Tiberius, the downstairs neighbour, becomes more and more sinister, appearing to threaten his wife and their children. He explores what it means to be suspected of a serious crime, of abusing your kids, how you doubt yourself and your wife, and how you overreact to compensate against those vile accusations.

This is one of those books where you’re told the ending at the beginning - the story then fills in the details that led to that conclusion. For me, I wanted to understand what made the protagonist, a self-declared middle class pacifist architect, take the action that he and his family did. Yes, I can appreciate you want to defend your property, and yes, who wouldn’t take huge steps to protect their loved ones, but, and this is a big but, other options are always available - even something as simple as moving house. Because the ending was so fatal, I wanted (needed) that build up to be so fraught, so despicable, that no other outcome would be possible.

I kept reading, hoping that some event would occur that would tie his hands and force him down that course of action but sadly, this wasn’t the case - I didn’t feel that Randolf could justify his deeds, regardless of the threat posed by Dieter, and that, for me, broke the magic of the book.

Still, this is well written, excellently translated, and thought provoking, so a solid 4/5.

Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.

This German book translated to English deals with a narrator whose rhythm is different than what the normal thriller reader will be used to. Saying this, it also brings something new to the table which will give readers something new to gnaw their teeth on.

The main plot deals with a man who is desperate to protect his family when he has no one else to turn to as the police and the court system proves to be no help. The story is very enriched with questions and social dilemmas that will test your views on child abuse, gun control, protection of property and family, etc. This is a very interesting and as there are different sensibilities due to the country of origin of the novel being Germany, this gives the novel a lot of food for thought.
The narrator is Randolph is trying to protect his family and he comes across as an unreliable narrator as you are seeing things from his point of view but not given a total 360 degree narrative. This lends itself for the reader to be placed into his shoes and look at the situation from his view point.

This is a gripping read and one that would very much enhance any reading group as there is enough found within the pages to start very interesting discussions. The writer really has a grip and is able to give enough background information to really immerse yourself into the story.

This is an excellent read and one that will haunt you days and even weeks afterwards. This is a mandatory must read.

I've picked up and put this down several times but I just can't get into this. Maybe I need to be in a different mindset - a winter story not a summer holiday read.

A creepy story of stalking. The title is very apt. Well worth reading

Randolph lives in a flat with his wife and children. In the basement flat lives Dieter Tiberius who is rather strange.A good choice of name for the perpetrator(The Roman emperor Tiberius being known for sexual perversion ).He starts out being friendly to the family and then begins stalking them, creeping around the garden when Randolph is away. This is told from Randolph’s point of view as a story to his wife, and also gives quite a bit of his background. It starts from the end (if that makes sense) and then works it way towards that explaining what occurred to bring that end about. When the law of the land is unable to help you are forced to make your own decisions. This is well written albeit a slightly “weird” novel. Almost a biography with a twist (loosely based on a true experience by the author)
I voluntarily chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased

A neighbour drives a family to despair. The architect, who has become distant from his wife, tries to knit his family back together in the face of a nebulous threat. Very literary and introspective, and European in tone.

Hmmmm, never have I waited as long after reading to write a review. Why didn't I like this book, yet read it in two sittings and am still thinking about the story now. I've decided it was because I wanted to kick the selfish, self absorbed, boring narrator very hard! That being said, how wonderful must the characterisation be to make me feel that strongly? This story of a stalker that lives downstairs has probably been written many times, but none like this. Yes, it does make you realise that the Law is an ass and you really want to feel sorry for the family upstairs, but it's so cleverly written that you don't side with anyone. Having said all that, a couple of things ring untrue *spoiler*. The owner of the flat downstairs, being a businessman would never have turned down the offer of twice the market price. There should be a real reason (not just apathy) for the family upstairs to not sell up and move out. Thirdly, and most importantly the narrator would never be able to do what he does in the final twist; although it is in his character to let someone else suffer, he would not be 'man' enough to do it. The juxtaposition of fairly well to do, educated family man v an unemployed single man with mental health problems is handled well. The narrator knows he would garner no sympathy from the public or the press. So, did I enjoy this book? Not really, but it made me think., thereby doing the job a good book should.

Thanks to the publisher for approving me to read this book in exchange for an open and honest review.

When you read the description to this book then it appears to tick a number of boxes. Unfortunately after the first 20% I have really struggled to read this. Usually I am a one to two day person but this has taken me over a week . I am stubborn and wanted to persevere.
The fact that story is based upon a real life experience makes me want to like this and have the greatest sympathy with the author. I am not sure if it is the translation that has failed or just my own interpretation of the facts.
There appear to be more issues here than the story that you expect to be told. The way the man in the family withdrew and enters his own silo makes me as a reader angry at his indulgence and lack of urgency to protect his family. He is almost self indulgent and the book is more of a personal psychological exploration that a person being stalked. This may be due to it being too painful to discuss but I felt that it was making excuses for his ultimate actions. I must emphasise this is my own interpretation.
There are instances such as when he chases the perpetrator who has a knife , but he also sees an apple that you wonder whether some of the danger may have been in the imagination rather than being fact. whilst the letters are touched upon and the wives actions and feelings appear the norm ;despite this focusing on the mans feelings there is minimal exploration of his true feelings rather than what he is expected to feel.

Im sorry this just did not do it for me.

We've all been there with nightmare neighbours, people that annoy or wake us up at strange times who we may have never met. You're likely not to know much about them, their past or what they may be thinking. The main character, Randolph, in this book has a nightmare neighbour of his own. Things start quite calm but then escalate quite quickly when his neighbour Dieter starts to act strangely, especially in relation to Randolphs family. Very psychological and made me think a lot about what I would have done in that situation and what could/should have happened or been prevented! This one took me a while to get through but it's worth picking up for sure.

This book started out so well and I metaphorically rubbed my hands with glee, expecting a taught psychological thriller. Sadly I got a limp wristed plodding tale of a very dislikable protagonist. The characters were poorly drawn and I felt no connection to any of them. I've given 3 stars because it wasn't terrible but just OK

Absolutely loved FEAR.
Brilliant in every way a must read.

Found this style of writing very hard to get into.

I'll be honest, after the first couple of chapters I skim read this book. What sounded like a great idea for a creepy, insidious story of stalking and revenge, became a rather tedious slog through a self proclaimed middle class man's mind.

I am not sure if it was a result of the translation, or just that the narrator was that dull, but I felt like I was wading through treacle. The narrator clearly has issues with forming relationships with anything other than food. But even that's not as exciting as it sounds. He has a troubled relationship with his Dad and is at a remove from his wife. He also always has to take the moral high ground. I really didn't like him.

Rather than the cat and mouse story I was expecting - one where the stalker becomes the stalked - there was no tension and no suspense. I was very glad to finish this.

Thanks go to net galley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.