3.5⭐⭐⭐



- the book honestly got me hooked from the first pages, until i wasnt .
it gotten to the point that it has to be combine with two scenes that i couldnt understand and nearly dnf.
Apparently , i tried to finish it and it was worth it the end .




+ thankyou netgalley for the opportunity .

❤️shaye.reads

Michaela is an unreliable yet likable character. She can’t remember fact from fantasy as she recalls the traumatic events she endured 15 years earlier while camping with friends. She now runs a bookshop with her mom in Berlin and keeps to herself. One day, she runs into an old school acquaintance and reluctantly accepts and invitation to a party. At the party, she is positively sure she sees and hears the man responsible for the attack 15 years ago; it’s not a false alarm as all the other times before. Her plan for revenge is about to kick in.

I enjoyed this dual timeline mystery thriller. There were some cringy moments with good twists-some predictable but in an unsuspecting delivery. This book was translated from German but maintained a European feel in a Nordic noir style.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Evil in You by Jutta Maria Herrmann is a terrifying thriller that you won't be able to put down! The story revolves around Michaela who escaped from a killer 15 years ago. Back then, she and four friends had been camping in a remote forest when they were brutally murdered. Only Michaela survived. But now, years later, she sees the killer again. Is it really him? What will she do to take him down and bring him to justice?

Here is a terrifying excerpt from the Prologue:

"Stop! Wait! You can't leave me like this!
She tries to scream, but the words die away in her throat and she can barely manage a squeak. Terror wells up inside her, her heart thundering like a cannon.
She pulls frantically at the ropes. The coarse fibres cut deep into her wrists. Blood trickles down her hands, drips on to the forest floor."

Overall, Evil in You is a fast-paced read which was so good until the disappointing ending. One highlight of this book are the gripping and terrifying flashbacks. They made the story very exciting to read. I did take off 2 stars, because I did not enjoy the ending of the book. When I finished the book, I was left wondering, "What was that ending?" It was much too ambiguous for me. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, you can check out this book, which is available now!

I'm not sure if it was lost in translation, but I found the beginning very confusing due to character names. Even with the beginning not clear, if you stick with this thriller, the twists at the end make it worth it.

This was the first book I have read by German author Jutta Maria Herrmann and it may be her first novel translated into English. Born in Sarland, Hermann has been a trained bookseller and studied German, has organised rock concerts, scrubbed floors as a cleaning lady, worked as a secretary in a carpentry shop, been an assistant to political editors of a daily newspaper but has now dedicated herself to writing psychological thrillers.

The book centres on unreliable narrator Michaela whose life has been impacted by tragic events that took place 15 years earlier. Going on a camping trip to celebrate the end of school she and 4 friends had a terrifying ordeal which saw only Michaela return, forever damaging her psychologically. She and her mother run a bookshop in Berlin and being fully aware of her triggers, Michaela keeps to herself and avoids social encounters. However, after meeting a one-time fellow pupil from her school, far more popular than herself, Michaela is convinced to go to a party.

As the novel develops we follow the events of 15 years earlier in parallel with the contemporary storyline which reveals that Michaela is haunted by the face and voice of one of the perpetrators. Convinced that she has run into him again, she concocts a plan to abduct him and extract a confession. Where better a place to do so than the remote forest that she was at on the camping trip. Yet a power struggle occurs between Michaela and the man she has abducted and it starts to become unclear who is the aggressor and who is the victim.

I did enjoy The Evil In You. I felt quite invested in Michaela as a character who despite her obsessions was a sympathetic character. I did like her interactions with the other characters in the story. The confrontations in the forest were fairly tense and I was very keen to see how they would play out. Although the book has multiple timelines, I felt it was fairly easy to understand, although I did feel the ending was a bit open to interpretation. If you’re interested in psychological dramas in different locations, I would certainly encourage you to read this book.

This was quite a confusing plot. I love how tensed the story was, leaving you no room to digest your thoughts but I feel the plot is lacking something. I am not sure if some of the plot is lost in translation or the author intentionally leaves you confused.

This story follows Michaela in a dual timeline focusing on the past and present. Fifteen years ago, Michaela and her friends went camping in a secluded forest lake to celebrate the end of school. What is supposed to be a fun trip quickly turned into horror when they were terrorised and brutally murdered. Only Michaela survived and the culprit was never caught. She was never the same eversince and she is always on the lookout for the culprit and has gotten into trouble with the police several times because of it. She believed that she finally found the culprit and decides to take matters into her own hands. What will she do next? How will she make the culprit pay or is it all in her head?

Some parts of the story is actually creepy, just thinking about being in a secluded forest where no one can hear you scream gives me goosebumps. Despite there being loopholes, the whole story is actually quite thrilling and kept me on the edge. I did enjoy the little plot twists but I felt the ending was a little rushed. Overall, I still enjoyed reading this. If you are looking for a fast paced thriller, do give this a go.

Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the arc.

It was creepy, and believable full of twists and turns. I loved the setting of the story and that it had been translated into English. It felt foreign, dark and even more creepy than if it had been set in England or America. There were times where I believed Michaela and times where I was seriously doubting her sanity which made for a thrilling read. I found it hard to put down.

The Evil In You, is a quick and easy read. I really enjoyed this book from the minute I picked it up to the minute it concluded. This is my first book by Jutta Maria Hermann, but I will be sure to keep an eye on her for the future.

This book had all key components for a suspense novel . The Evil in You, instantly grabs your attention and does not let it go. I finished this book in one sitting. The twist is one you will never see coming.

The story line was well developed and the characters were multi-dimensional.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a quick and suspenseful thriller!

Fifteen years ago, Michaela and her friends are so exited schools over they decide to celebrate by taking a camping trip in the forest. All but one are viciously murdered. Michaela was the sole survivor.

Since that horrible day, she has never been the same. The face of the killer follows her everywhere she goes. Unable to let the events of those nights go, Michaela goes on a rampage. What transpires is a chain of events that no one can see coming.

I really liked this book! The concept reminded me of some of my favorite horror films.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

Micheala survives a horrific event in her teens and is haunted by the voices of the killers who slaughtered her friends. She frequently feels she recognizes the voices and immediately behaves rashly. Unfortunately she is not right.

Once again, she hears the voice of one of the killers. This time it belongs to an old schoolfriend's husband. She decides to take matters into her own hands.

I didn't love this book. I found the ending a little confusing and not in a "was this a twist" way.

The evil in you by Jutta Maria Herrmann.
Michaela is sure it’s him. The killer. She’s been wrong before, but she knows she’s right this time. And she’s going to make him pay for what he did—at any cost.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Great story and characters. 5*.

The Evil in You, by Jutta Maria Hermann, is a psychological thriller with plenty of family drama. The family drama is actually a huge part of what makes this book a psychological thriller. It's also what lends a lot of sadness to the story. It really kept me guessing the entire way through and had a huge twist at the end.
Fifteen years ago Michaela stumbled upon the campsite murder of four of her friends. Somehow she was the only one who was able to get away. Now traumatized, she continually tries to make sense of such senseless violence.
She remembers one of the killer's faces and not only suffers from flashbacks but she often thinks she sees him in real life. Now she’s absolutely convinced that she has found him. Even his voice sounds the exact same. She knows that she's the only one that can make him pay for his crimes.

"I'd like to read this in the original German" is something I usually say when I'm (meanly) trying to imply that something has fascist vibes. In this case, it's because I think something was lost in translation. The story doesn't flow as it should, to the point that it was challenging to follow. I think there's a good story here, but I don't love this execution.

Wow. Enjoyed this one so much.
The story is about a woman who went through some terrible stuff 15 years ago. She still has nightmares and she feels like she can hear and see him (the man who hurt her) everywhere.
At first the books is a little confusing because of the constant traveling between past and present while still not knowing many details.
As I was reading more and more I became more invested in the story, curious to find out if the bad guy will be caught.

Thank you netgalley for this!

Plot ✍
Fifteen years ago she escaped with her life. Now he’s back but has her luck run out? Fifteen years earlier: five teenagers, camping by a remote forest lake to celebrate the end of school, are terrorised. All but one are brutally murdered. All but Michaela. She is left alive, left to try and make sense of the trauma, to piece together the fragmented memories she has of that day.

TW: Animal abuse

Thoughts 💭
I will start with the things that I liked.. I liked that it went back to 2003 when the murders happened and forward 15 years later as she was thinking about it. I enjoyed the pace of the book. The suspense was slowing building it went on.

Now the bad, the ending absolutely ruined it for me. The entire book built up and made you wonder the whole time what really happened that day at the lake. They threw tons of theories at you. Then it had a terrible and abrupt ending. There needed to be so much more to explain at the end. I feel like the book was a waste because nothing for me was resolved. I did not enjoy it because of the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the eARC. These are my honest opinions.

This book was just fantastic. It was dark and gritty. It had me from the beginning. I definitely would love to read more like this by the author or by other authors.

I am really not sure what to make of this book; could have been the translation and the different timelines but it seemed predictable and the ending was a bit meh.

However I am glad I read it.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

Thankyou to NetGalley for this book. I found that it started off quite slow and I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to carry in reading it. I’m glad I pushed on because the twists and turns of the book really made it worthwhile! Some of the twists were quite obvious but there were some that made my jaw drop in shock! I would definitely recommend this book!

Not for me I’m sorry to say. I ended up skimming through the last quarter. The story seemed all over the place with lots of inconsistencies and too many far fetched scenarios.

This story starts out SCARY and the pace is quick containing a few surprising plot twists. This is a very well done translation. I loved the setting in Berlin and enjoyed trying to figure out what was happening with our main character. I did find the ending a little rushed, but would highly recommend this one as a fast, fun thriller. Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer Publishing and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.