Dirk Kurbjuweit | FEAR

Plot (via Goodreads):

Randolph Tiefenthaler insists he had a normal childhood, though he grew up with a father who kept thirty loaded guns in the house. A modestly successful architect with a wonderful family and a beautiful home, he soon finds his life compromised when his father, a man Randolph loves yet has always feared, is imprisoned for murder.

Fear is the story of the twisted events leading up to his father’s incarceration. It begins when Randolph and his family move into a new building and meet their neighbor, Dieter Tiberius, the peculiar yet seemingly friendly man living in the basement apartment. As the Tiefenthalers settle into their home, they becoming increasingly disturbed as Dieter’s strange behavior turns malevolent. Randolph unravels the tale of Dieter’s harassment—the erotic letters he sends to Rebecca, his spying, his accusations of child abuse, the police reports he filed against them. Finally, Randolph admits his of own feelings of desperation and helplessness, which ultimately led to his father’s intervention. 

Review:

This is not only a quick, fast-paced read, but it's one that gets under the skin of the reader as we are thrust into a complicated and multi-layered plot. I devoured this one in one sitting, not because it's rather short, but because I couldn't put it down. The first chapter is addicting and confusing enough to make you devour the pages and really open your mind up to these amazing and complicated characters and the devilish things they do.

FEAR doesn't hold back on the creep-factor as we witness enough acts and scenes that do not hold back on their wickedness and the scare tactics in this one are enough to chill you on the hottest summer day. Kurbjuweit not only builds characters that we grow to love and hate, but they are imperfect, honest, and grippingly real. The family in this one is one that you really feel for as you get an inside look into how this antagonist is an evil genius and really toys with the family and these scenes are chilling, terrifying, and will ensure the reader is constantly checking for the evils that lurk in the shadows.

This read is one I will definitely recommend to any crime fiction fan. Part domestic drama, part character study, and part brilliantly thrilling, I couldn't get enough and thoroughly enjoyed these characters that this plot all the way to the jaw-dropping finale that I never saw coming.

*Special thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5