There were things I did like about The Soul Breaker - it is fast, furious and propulsive. However the storyline was a little too crazy for me and it stretched belief on occasion. Not a bad read but didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

The Soul Breaker by Sebastian Fitzek is a psychological thriller following the lives of three women who encounter a mysterious man who has the power to shatter their souls and erase their memories.

Fitzek masterfully weaves a complex plot with twists and turns that will surprise and shock you. The book is well-written, fast-paced and gripping. The characters are realistic, flawed and relatable. The Soul Breaker is a book that will haunt you long after you finish it.

Deep, dark and twisty! I really enjoyed this and it was so much more than I was expecting. Highly recommend

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this book.

I felt the writing was done well in this book but there was just something missing for me and I couldn't get into it and enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

This one is not for the faint hearted but it really screws with your mind. Strangely addictive but a very dark read.

I'm really not sure. Gruesome in places, too much so for me. But - it was a good plot and did have me gripped to find out the truth. Lost me at times but I did stick with it. Didn't guess all the twists and was glad of the last chapter explaining everything.

Wow wow wow. Loved this book. I thought I had cracked the identity of the soul breaker but I was very wrong! This book had me gripped! I want more from this author!

The Soul Breaker is a psychological thriller in the form of patient notes and flashbacks. Casper is our unreliable narrator, having entered a remote psychiatric clinic in Germany not knowing who he is or where he is from. When the clinic is cut off from the outside world, we learn that a serial killer known as the Soul Breaker has arrived.

Much of the book is spend trying to navigate and escape the locked down clinic, and the narrators attempts to work out who the Soul Breaker is. This is a tense and claustrophobic psychological thriller, with many twists and turns. Mystery is throughout this book, even up until the acknowledgements.

This book is a really interesting and fresh entry into the genre. 4/5 stars.

This book was sadly not for me. I struggled to get into this one. A crazy storyline that I found fat too unbelievable.

Woah! What a book! Right at the start I didn’t know if I’d be able to read this. I can’t deal with eye related injuries so reading eyelids stapled back almost made me put this down. I kept going though I’m so glad I did. Absolutely amazing book. So fast paced, complex characters, fear that I could feel coming off the pages and the biggest twist that I didn’t see coming. This is a must read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

The Soul Breaker sounded so intriguing but unfortunately left me almost as cold as that hospital. It was a very strong start, but ultimately too much was piled on too fast - escalation after escalation - and my suspension of disbelief could only go so far.
The author did, however, write well enough that I saw it through to the finish - and that writing ability was more than enough to earn an extra star.

Suspense at every turn to keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat!! A real page-turner just like his other novels.

I was thoroughly entranced by the concept, plot and characters of The Soul Breaker, especially the main body of events that took place in the past timeline. The pacing was masterful and the plot continuously took me to places I couldn't predict, which I adore. Up until the 95% mark, I loved every minute of it.

However, the ending, though still very good, knocked half a star off. The extent the narrator was willing to go to provide explanation in the present timeline was too far and unnecessary and so some of the antagonist's motive didn't ring true to me, which slightly detracted from the main story.

There was one element that I wish hadn't been included in the story but aside from that, I highly rate this book and will definitely read the next one.

4.5* rounded up.

My second Fitzek book, and I don't think I'll try any more.
I'm just not sure I get what he was aiming for here, and the parts where I could see his aim, the execution was off for me.
High concept books have to be thorough and without plot holes, and I just felt confused rather than gripped.

A mixed book, at some points I was gripped whilst at others I found myself wanting to skip parts. The setting is creepy, it's spooky, and atmospheric. and the plotline is quite unique.

Sometimes books need the right mood or atmosphere. I started this book in the summer and just didn't get into it. So I put it to one side, read some other things, and then came back to it in October and found a new book - one I enjoyed much more.

Why the change of heart? Because it's a horror story. I know it's categorised as a thriller, and there are some nice suspenseful aspects, but primarily it's a horror. Maybe it's the fact that we're in spooky season, maybe the gap just helped me stop trying to make enjoy a horror story as if it's a thriller, but whatever happened, it just read better. For me at least, it's clearly a book that took on a new light when external factors were correct.

So, what happens in the story? Well, there's a serial killer on the loose, a vicious snowstorm, and a psychiatric hospital. No, I don't know why I didn't lean into the horror vibe sooner either given how well signposted it was. Anyway, in brief, it's the story of a night in the hospital cut off from the outside world.

Now, hang in with me because this is where the setup gets weird. All of that is actually medical notes being read by students undertaking a story an unclear number of years later. Don't worry if you're not a fan of dry medical notes, these ones are written like a horror story. If I'm honest, in my initial read of the book I found this somewhat contrived and thought it was a pretty weak gimmick. And really, even though it ultimately gave a clever way to include an epilogue, I can't help but feel that a simple epilogue would've still worked and had the benefit of being more accessible to more readers. But, who says art needs to be accessible?

Back to the real world of our snowed-in psychiatric hospital! As I say, once I found my acceptance of a horror story this all become much more enjoyable. It ticks all the core boxes and adds some nice flourishes. The riddles are there to add an element of thought to it all for example. And, the biggest riddle of the book offers a rewarding conclusion to the main story. It turned out there was a bit more to it all than being just a simple horror story after all. It's clever and well thought out.

If you dislike horror then give this a skip, but if you're up for that kind of book this one offers that and more. The interesting thing is, for a book I wasn't sure if I'd even finish, I now want to reread it.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this spooky book

oh my word this book frightened the life out of me after reading that last chapter...well it spooked me throughout but that last chapter sealed it for me....

cut off with a raging snow storm and the soul breaker in the hospital, what could go wrong...

a tense thriller that will keep you up at night and not just because of the way its written because this book will send shivers down your spine

well worth a read

The opening scenes of the story are fairly gruesome, when things about the Soul Breaker a revealed, definitely a highly disturbed person. This story is most definitely for the faint hearted. Told in a dual storyline the reader joins a professor and his students as they read the patients shocking medical notes. The students are then invited to take part in an experiment, which means reading the rest of the medical records. Bearing in mind they have already found the. Pretty atrocious.

It’s not the reader and the students continuing to read the medical records, transporting everyone back to the psychiatric institute where everything took place. One of the patients suffers from retrograde amnesia, one of the doctors has been attacked by the soul breaker. The place goes into lockdown but what if the wrong person is on the wrong side of the shutters?

The professor in charge of the experiment has already told the students that they cannot stop the experiment, for it to be a success they have to continue without any long breaks.

Who is the sound breaker? Who is the professor? This is one of those stories that makes you doubt everything you are thinking, the writer keeps you guessing. What actually happened in the clinic? What was wrong with the experiment?

This is a totally different type of serial killer book, after all it’s more like a locked room story, the killer is not out on the loose.

You will get the answers you want but not until the very end. This is a tense thriller keeping you engaged throughout, there are some very good twists. At times some of it is a little unbelievable but it is fiction.

If you like a fast paced engaging read with puzzles to solve along the way then grab this.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #HeadofZeus for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

This is definitely one of Sebastian Fitzek's most impressive thrillers so far and that's a big praise considering the extravagance of his overall work. The plot is labyrinthine and the reader has to connect the dots as the story moves forward and the protagonists struggle to survive the presence of an elusive serial killer, nicknamed by the media as the "Soul Breaker" because of his unique modus operandi that involves the mental destruction of his victims. The action primarily takes place in a mental asylum where the staff and the patients become the targets of the killer. Fitzek adopts a double timeline narrative timeline and the story jumps back and forth in time further accentuating the feelings of bewilderment experienced by the reader who are sitting on the edge of their seats throughout the course of the novel. The twists and revelations succeed one another as the book reaches its shattering conclusion which satisfies even the most demanding and seasoned bookworms. It's rare to encounter such a terrific denouement in the works of the crime/horror genre and the author is notorious for his exceptional skills in shocking the readership and weave intricate plotlines where nothing is what it seems. In my opinion, "The Soul Breaker" is Fitzek's best thriller and you ought to give it a try, especially if you are a loyal fan of crime and horror fiction. A solid 4/5 stars.

Whoa. What a book. I was not prepared for how much this writer manipulates the reader. Will definitely be reading more by this author. Fabulous plot and great characters. You may want to read this only in the daytime. With lots of people around.
Buy this book and be prepared to be jumpy after reading.