3.5 rounded up
Grabbed me at the start. Did slow down a bit but I still enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This is a quick read. Interesting characters and a great plot, but unfortunately the writing is somewhat awkward. I did enjoy the story, although it was confusing at times. I was disappointed with the rather abrupt ending.

The story starts in 2003, when a group of schoolfriends go camping in the woods. During their outing something terrible happens. Only one of them survives the ordeal, albeit leaving her deeply traumatized.

Fifteen years later, a young women at a Christmas fair in Berlin, notices two children who have escaped the attention of their parents, and buys tickets for a fairground attraction. ( I'm sure that would make any parent nervous, to say the least. I teach my kids not to take anything from strangers, and assume many a parent feels the same way, but that aside).
After that the story gets more confusing and sometimes downright unbelievable. There are also inconsistencies in the story.
The main character thinks she recognizes the voice of her perpetrator from years ago, and decides to kidnap the man, stun him with a taser, anesthetize him with chloroform, kidnap his baby son, holds the women who helped her out earlier at gunpoint, or have a reasonable conversation with a man who has just confessed he killed a man to help her.
I am sorry, but that just doesn’t make sense at all. And how can someone who goes cycling, return later by car
( and be in a car accident later on? )
Nope, too unbelievable, too much drama, too much focus on silly and unnecessary details, too many adjectives, too much of everything really, making the story more of a farce than a psychological crime thriller.
Writing was below par for me too as well. Not recommended, 1 star.

“For a fraction of a second, my heart stops. Something in my head goes click. In my mind’s eye, the lake drifts into view, the water dyed blood-red by the setting sun. An icy shiver runs through me. And then I see him.”

From the title I was intrigued, the short prologue hooked me and I never looked back. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours and that including having to work a full day. Michaela our main protagonist was so brutally tortured physically and mentally 15 years ago the scars still feel raw. Finally starting to come back out into the world causes many disturbances in her life and mental stability. Hearing the voice of the person who caused so much pain around every corner….or is it just in her own mind?

She plans to get revenge for her friends that went for a lovely summer camping trip and never made it home. Knowing she finally has the killer in her sights she sets about planning her revenge.

I loved how the author was able to break it up between chapters going back and forth from 15 years earlier to present day. Breaking it up into full chapters instead of flashbacks made me just keep turning pages to get more information. Constantly trying to piece it all together in my head before the reveal of all that happened comes to light. There are great twists and so many emotions throughout this book I even had to remind myself to breath a couple of times. The imagery she paints of Germany is beautiful and just made me want to visit all the Christmas marketplaces. So ein tolles bunch, ich kann es kaum erwarten, mehr von dieser Autorin zu lessen. 5/5

Thank you & Danke schön to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for sharing this digital copy in exchange for my honest review

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.

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.

I loved this story. 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.

I kind of went back and forth on this one?! This book had suspense , intrigue, action and a crazy twisted who done it! The storyline was very unique, and I did enjoy reading this book but I was a little confused at times?! All and all it was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it but it wasn't one of my all time favorites! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the eARC.
A very creepy thriller, this story features a traumatized woman who, fifteen years ago, had such a terrible experience that she is still suffering from PTSD: sleepless nights, panic attacks and hallucinations are just some of the symptoms. She keeps hearing the voice of or seeing one of the attackers who killed her friends and the police and her mother are getting fed up with her sightings and accusations. Are they real or are they part of her hallucinations? She decides to take revenge when she recognizes a man as the killer and events spiral out of control into a nightmare of epic proportions.
It's a hard book to put down, even though I felt uncomfortable and tense at times. You know she's making mistake after mistake ... or is she?
Recommended!

Creeping Menace…
The past is returning to haunt Michaela and that past is bad news. Very bad indeed. This time she’s going to take the law into her own hands. But is Michaela in the grip of her own obsession? Slow creeping menace woven through this gripping suspense with solid characterisation and a well crafted plot.

Probably one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a while?? That was really great I really enjoyed the journey that this book took us on. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for this authors works in the future of course!

This book is so good. I pretty much read it overnight. It was scary and thrilling and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. One of the best stories I’ve heard all year.