This book was a huge disapointment for me. I read the description and had such high expectations. It didnt live up to that. It didnt have a good plot but it just wasnt enough to rate higher sadly

This is a dark thriller that literally made my nerve endings tingle... with FEAR!

Fear is the modern urban tale of a family under threat, a family scared in their own home and it brings into question how far would YOU go to protect those most precious to you from an outside threat? Its disturbing, its thought provoking and it is god damn scary. Its not a race through the pages, high octane thriller, but we need to learn a novel doesn't need to be to send the fear of god into you... it can be a slow burner, a disturbing, slow mind bender of a story that chills you to the core. The undercurrent of fear followed me onto every page, and this book has haunted me for a long time after i finished it.

We watch as life gets claustrophobic for the laid back Randolph and his beautiful wife Rebecca, we see what begins as an seemingly innocent act of the downstairs neighbour ( Deiter) leaving a plate of biscuits, spirals of control and escalates into a serious case of stalking. The successful, middle class couples marriage starts to suffer as the stress of the situation takes its toll on them both. I couldn't put this down, it was such a compelling read... I can only describe it as a really intimate, fly on the wall look at a normal family, put in a terrifying situation, the effects and how they deal with it... moral codes are called into question, we learn a lot of back story about both Randolph and Dieter and we start to really question the line between right and wrong.

Its claustrophobic and uncomfortable and really makes you empathise with the family.

We know there is a crime, we know the motive and from the very outset we know the perpetrator, so a straightforward thriller focused on the subject of stalking this is not. It looks at how a family like yours or mine might protect themselves when the police and court system fails us- and the fact this COULD happen to anyone is what makes this so disturbing and utterly readable.

Clever, very well written... 5 stars and highly recommended.

A surprisingly good read! I say surprising because I have previously never enjoyed a book written by an author whose first language isn't English. However, this is so well written, with an unusual premise and a menacing undercurrent, I found myself hooked. I can't say that I enjoyed it, as it's an uncomfortable read. However, I would recommend as its all the better for being uncomfortable.

A creepy tale which makes you evaluate your own relationships and your vision of right and wrong and how these views can be distorted. The story is told with the added benefit of hindsight and acts as a warning of how the words and deeds of a person can set off a chain of events, which once underway, gather momentum and have profound effects. A book to make ponder which has put the author on my list of ones to watch out for!

This was a depressingly realistic book of a normal families life being torn apart by Dieter Tiberius, a scheming but mentally ill man who lives below them.
Told from Randolphs point of view, it details how he grew up to be the man he was and in effect, the reason why he acted the way he did towards the verbal attack on his family.
It would be a nightmare to be antagonised, the way Tiberius does, I'm not sure how I would react in this situation though I can sort of understand the way the family finally does react.
The novel was well written, if slow sometimes but was descriptive and smoothly told, the characters were solid but not altogether likeable though I really felt for their plight.
All in all a decent read.

I couldn't get into this book but my fault not the type I would normally read I like a faster paced book

This book investigates what it takes to drive a pacifist family man to consider murder as the only solution to a problem neighbour when the law is unable to protect his family from the stalking neighbour downstairs.

It is written as a sort of confessional from husband to wife after the events and after his father has been imprisoned for their neighbour's murder.

The story does well to demonstrate how upbringing builds one's character and how our memories are often at odds with each other. Was our childhood happy or was it really full of these unsavoury events and how has this shaped the person we have become?

Unfortunately for me the pace of the stalking behaviour was too slow to create the tension. I expected with the stalking neighbour becoming secondary to the reflections on the past. There was an unexpected twist to the story towards the end which was welcome but it is a shame there was not a higher sense of urgency throughout the story.

This book is superbly written. By reading the blurb I expected a straightforward stalker thriller. It was much, much more.
Because I read so many books, it was quirky to read something that was either translated or else written where English is not the author's main language. It made me more aware of the words that we use and it was a satisfying difference.
The story is being written by the main character and covers his childhood and family relationships, and compares them to his relationships later in life with his extended family of his wife and chlldren. In doing so, I felt that the words spoke volumes about things that were unsaid, and in fact did not need to be voiced.
Simply superbly written. I am still thinking about this book, That's rare for me. Very highly recommended.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for.n honest review.

This book had my emotions all over the place, I couldn't put it down from when I picked it up. The author knows how to get inside your head and just keep you guessing. 5 huge stars from me!!

This is a slow burn thriller which is one of my favorites. The insight to the family relationships and reflection of the central character are highly intriguing.

A gritty and in places disturbing thriller. Could someone make your life so miserable that you want to kill them? The story is told by Randolph. The accusations his wife and him endured are horrific. Their life continually keeps getting worse. Getting rid of the lodger in the flat below them is the only answer. But is killing him the only solution?

Tremendous story, about a great "what if" scenario and how far someone will go to get something done, an ordinary person. Easy to relate to and a great nail biter of a story!

I'm not sure how to review this book, there are some good parts in it but overall its dull, the actual story is supposed to be about a family so called terrorised by their neighbour who lives in the basement flat below theirs, but this part of the book is almost hardly mentioned, its been written almost like a true story and the author Dirk Kurbjuweit does say at the beginning that its loosely based on his experience with a stalker and he has created a character, Randolph, to be the main person of the story, but the more I read the more it seemed to be about Randolph and how he is with his family and the main story was lost amongst it all, even the ending was a bit quick and glossed over, maybe if it has an edit, draw out the tension and lose the self indulgence parts and then you could be on to a winner.

I confess I was expecting a thrill packed read but instead this is an interesting read about the nature of fear. I found it pretty enjoyable and I would recommend it.

Written well, felt almost like an autobiography. Found it a little stilted in places but the characters were believable and I liked the twist towards the end and didn't see it coming.

I was given a free ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
I read this book in 2 days. There is something about the way it is written that made me unable to put it down. A fascinating insight into the way families interact and see their relationships.

Wel, this is definitely a thriller with a difference. From the outset we know the crime, the motive and the murderer........ so what's the catch? And how can it be so damn page turning despite all this!
A German architect is this books narrator. The fact it is a translation is clear. It is certainly a very different and unique tone of voice compared to the psych thriller genre staples that have been done to death now, if you'll excise the painful pun!
I'm not sure I loved, but I turned those pages, and am waiting for someone to discuss it with now! So for all those reasons it has to have been a good read!

Excellent book with great characters. Very well written. I would recommend this book.

This is such a unique quirky read but it is also the first read this year to give me literal nightmares! Out of a staggering 56 read so far! The plot and themes really get inside your head.
Fear is written by German author Dirk Kurbjweit and loosely based around his own real life case of being stalked. Stalking or most so terrorising is the central theme and it is so subtle yet eerie and fear provoking all at the same time. Randolph is the protagonist he is reluctant, kind and maybe slightly too passive and a successful Architect by trade. His wife Rebecca is the real intended victim of the stalker with every attempt being made one to strike at her emotions and generate fear. They also have two young children Paul and Fay. What they don’t know when they move into the flat in Berlin is that it harbours a rather sinister secret within its basement in the form of the neighbouring tenant.
The stalking begins with biscuits and treats and is taken as it should be a friendly gesture of kindness. However, it quickly develops into poetry and letters. The basement tenant Dieter is relentless in his approach to victimise and terrorise the family, especially Rebecca. What starts as innocent over shows at attempts of affection escalates into sexualised harassments and intimidation. Eventually Dieter fully accuses Randolph and Rebecca of abusing their own children. They begin to both become self-conscious and self-accusatory and their marriage begins to suffer.
One thing that really struck a chord with me with this novel, is that early on whilst receiving no help from the police at all. The couple begin to play down Dieters disturbing behaviour. I am not criticising their experiences, just wonder why do we do that in society? It’s almost as if we rush to assume that something we did actively contributed towards someone victimising us? Often we like to think when reading a novel that’s dark and haunting, that it could never happen to us, but as this novel shows essentially it can happen to anyone!
There is a backstory surrounding Randolph’s father being in jail for murder. The obvious conclusion is drawn that it is linked to the case, but to learn the full truth we must read the novel to discover. Randolph’s childhood is talked about and he perhaps too often repeats that he had a normal/happy childhood and is thoroughly middle-class. Dieter on the other hand grew up subjected to abuse, humiliation, physical beating and sexual assaults. Could this be his motivation for tormenting the family? Is Dieter jealous of the family’s previous happy state? Is their Happiness the source of his rage?
With friends, family members and even the children affected by Dieter’s continued passive aggressive actions the question becomes what is Randolph going to do about it? They exhaust the legal procedures. Sgt Leidinger can provide no further support due to their being no anti-stalking laws at this time. The family hits breaking point!
This novel would make ideal reading for book groups as the plot raises so many questions. Why do we allow casual sexual harassment? Why do we wait to be attacked? Why do we our legal systems undermine the power that slander and accusations can have in a modern world? I thoroughly recommend this novel for fans of the thriller genre and as I have stated it will get in your head! 5*