Sebastian Fitzek's "The Inmate," a translated work by Aries Fiction, is a pulse-pounding thriller that grabs hold of you from the first page. The story revolves around a father's desperate search for his missing child, entangled with the enigmatic silence of a convicted murderer, Guido T. While Guido has confessed to other crimes, he remains tight-lipped about the disappearance of Max, leaving the child's parents in a painful limbo.

In a bold and risky move, Till, Max's father, decides to infiltrate the high-security institution where Guido is held, with the help of the lead investigator. His goal: to extract a confession from Guido, even if it means putting himself in harm's way. Fitzek's mastery lies in his character development, particularly his portrayal of Guido's unsettling psyche and the agony of Max's parents as they search for closure.

The narrative is a rollercoaster of surprises and twists, keeping you on the edge of your seat. Fitzek's skillful pacing, with short, intense chapters, makes it hard to put the book down. I found myself devouring it in a single afternoon, eager to uncover the next twist.

Overall, "The Inmate" showcases Fitzek's talent for crafting gripping thrillers. If you're a fan of the genre, this book is a must-read, offering a thrilling ride that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page

"A missing child. A desperate father. A monster with a terrible secret"



Author Sebastian Fitzek was already right up there near the top of my list, as master of the twisted psychological thriller. However, with this storyline, he ramped things up another notch and took the genre to a whole new level for me!

To reveal too much of the premise, would be to offer up far more spoilers than necessary - besides which, I'm not sure how to go about describing what I have just experienced to myself, let alone a wider audience. You really need to immerse yourself in the book and it won't be long before you too, will lose all sense of time, place, reality and more importantly, self!

Think 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' and you're only just beginning to scratch the surface..

...

Guido Tramnitz, a disgraced former intensive care neo natal nurse, is arrested and convicted of several very unorthodox abductions and murders that he has confessed to, including at least two children and he is now incarcerated in a Berlin, high security prison psychiatric hospital.

Till Berkhoff is a good firefighter, but has a very short fuse if members of the public stop him from doing his job the way he sees fit. Following one altercation too many and because of his medical training, he has recently been demoted to paramedic status. Till is married to Ricarda and they have two children, six year old Max and baby Emilia. When, against Ricarda's strict instructions, daddy's boy Max is allowed to leave the house alone to visit a neighbour and is subsequently never seen again, Ricarda cannot live either with herself, or Till, and leaves the marital home taking Emilia with her. It is assumed by the police that Max was another of Tramnitz's victims, so when after an agonisingly long year, the prisoner inexplicably continues to maintain his silence about the whereabouts of the boy's body, the case is closed, much to Till's distress. Desperate to find closure, mourn the loss of his son and move on with his life, Till approaches Ricarda's brother Oliver, a police officer, for help. He wants Oliver to provide him with a new identity and background which will get him admitted to the same institution as Tramnitz, where he hopes to get close enough to his prey, to illicit the information he seeks.

Patrick Winter, deceased, is the alias that Oliver chooses for Till to adopt. A husband and father of two, Patrick's wife Linda and daughter Frieda, left him after he inadvertently caused the death of his young son Jonas, in the most terrible of accidents. Losing all sense of reality, a distraught Patrick can see Jonas's kindergarten from his house and in the final act of a desperate man who cannot live with what he has done, pours lighter fluid over himself, walks into a parent/teacher evening at the kindergarten and dies after setting himself alight.

Till realises after just a few short hours, which to him seem like a lifetime, that life in the hospital is not at all what he expected. The patients seem to be running the institution, whilst the medical staff, many of whom are clearly not fit to hold their positions, profit at the inmates expense by providing all those extra deviant little luxuries and indulgencies which have often been the reason for their incarceration in the first place. Director Sanger seems blissfully unaware that many members of her team belong behind the units closed doors, rather than indulging in life on the outside.

How much danger is Till/Winter going to face in his quest to get to the truth?

But remember; nothing is as it seems and no one is to be trusted!!!

...

Thankfully, this well-structured, highly textured, sinister and atmospherically charged storyline, was broken down into bite-sized, well-signposted chapters, which left me in no doubt, despite the ever-changing perspectives, where I was and to whom I was listening.... However, for me those assumptions it transpired were only reality in my dreams, or rather my nightmares and at no time was I ever really in control of my thoughts about what I was reading!!


That the writing is fast-paced, dark, violent, vivid and graphic, is beyond doubt for any readers who are particularly squeamish and I quite surprised myself that I didn't feel the slightest urge to skip any pages, but that was possibly only because I was frightened of missing some vital snippet of important information concealed in the compulsive dialogue and narrative. It is also written with a palpable sense of urgency, which raises the stakes exponentially with each new chapter. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, unintentionally holding my breath, as many secrets and even more lies, were fed into the storyline, one agonising drip at a time, drawing out and ratcheting up the addictive suspense and tension almost to breaking point. Just when I thought I had worked out the many additional strands to this story, another curved ball was thrown into the mix, with that eventual dovetailing not finally happening until almost the final agonising scene of this mind-bending, rollercoaster ride, although I just knew from the start, that there could only be a terribly horrific, twisted ending that I wasn't going to see coming - and I wasn't to be disappointed.

The well drawn and authenticated characters divided themselves quite nicely into two separate camps; those who were victims of their failure to cope with life on the outside; and those who sought to turn and manipulate the weaknesses of the more vulnerable to their own advantage. They were all however, equally distant and unconnected and I was neither surprised nor particularly concerned, that I didn't need or want, to invest in any of them. Even Tramnitz's reminiscenses and recriminations about his childhood experiences, whilst explaining some of his own wantonly sadistic and perverted adult behaviour, failed to persuade me that he was anything but a manipulative and malevolent force of evil, with nothing but deadly intent on his mind.

The only small niggle for me personally, is that, although I knew the story was set in Berlin, that was as much as was revealed. This storyline was all about the characters, their relationships to one another, the events which had drawn them together, and which were destined to rip them apart, so location was never really going to be a dominating factor. The physical footprint is almost exclusively limited to the two houses of the protagonists and the inside of the prison psychiatric hospital. This definitely isn't one for any avid armchair travellers, or sites which recommend books based on location. However, not to include it in those catalogues would be a crying shame, as for what it is worth, author Sebastian Fitzek is a consummate weaver of words and did use the full palette at his disposal to describe the medical surroundings in graphic detail, which as I already suffer from 'white coat syndrome', did me no favours at all, but I simply couldn't look away - and neither should you, not until the final page is turned and the final toss of the dice is made!!

The Inmate is a dark and suspenseful psychological thriller by Sebastian Fitzek. It is a fast-paced and page-turning read, and it will keep you guessing until the very end.

The story follows Till, a desperate father who is searching for his missing son, Max. Till believes that Max was kidnapped by a serial killer named Guido T., who is currently incarcerated in a psychiatric prison hospital.

Till convinces the police to allow him to interview Guido T., but Guido refuses to cooperate. Till then decides to take matters into his own hands and break into Guido T.'s cell.

What follows is a thrilling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse between Till and Guido T. Till must use all of his cunning and resources to survive and find out what happened to his son.

Fitzek does a masterful job of creating a sense of suspense and dread throughout the novel. The reader is constantly on edge, wondering what will happen next. Fitzek also does a good job of developing his characters. Till is a sympathetic and relatable protagonist, and Guido T. is a truly terrifying villain.

One of the things that makes The Inmate so effective is that it explores the dark side of human nature. Fitzek shows us how easily people can be manipulated and how easily they can be driven to violence. He also shows us how the past can come back to haunt us, even if we think we have escaped it.

I must admit I was hesitant to read this after being disappointed when I read The Package but I actually enjoyed this one a lot more! This book is most definitely more of a dark thriller with a fair bit of intense violence which others may not like but I love reading! It’s original and disturbing and will definitely keep you gripped. It was slightly far fetched in places but I think one that will make a memorable impression on you and make you wonder what you would do!

I knew when I saw this book description that I had to read it. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Max has been missing without a trace for a year. Guido T has admitted to two horrific child murder's and has hinted he may be involved with Max's disappearance. The problem is he is locked away in a maximum security psychiatric hospital and is refusing to talk.

Max's father convinces a homicide detective to smuggle him into the facility to confront Guido himself to try to find out where Max's body is for some closure for him and his wife. This is where the fun starts and some great twists and shocks. With some blood, gore and great story line this was right up my street.

Loved it. Highly recommended.

Fitzek never fails.
Amazing book and easy reading, I couldn't stop reading!
If you like thrillers and fast pacing books, this is perfect!

I loved the book. It's so well written psychological thriller that I couldn't put it down until I finished. I admire the author's ability to create excellent book and to present it in such a concentrated manner, that every sentence had an impression being very important and leading you forward through the story until the very end.

This is definitely a dark thriller with intense and violent scenes throughout the book. If you're sensitive to graphic content, be aware that there is a lot of gore.

The protagonist, Till, goes through a lot, and it's surprising that he manages to endure everything. The ending leaves some suspense, making you wonder what happened to him. Overall, I appreciate that Fitzek immediately grabs your attention from the start. The first chapter had me completely engaged!

The story is fast-paced and highly addictive, perfect for binge-reading. I tend to enjoy European authors because they are unafraid to explore darker themes and push boundaries. Rather than focusing on mundane or unrealistic situations, I prefer delving into the mind of a genuinely disturbed psychopath, understanding their motivations, and discovering what makes them different.

Fitzek skillfully raises the stakes with each chapter, creating a sense of urgency and making Till's mission all the more important. However, what impressed me the most was how everything unraveled towards the end. While it may not have been entirely original, the twist took me completely by surprise. I can't deny that my jaw dropped!!

This is a seriously creepy book: very clever though. The author is new to be, evidently a hugely successful German writer.
The hero/anti hero is tortured by his part in the loss of his son and is determined to find a way to understand what really happened. He cooks up a strange way to do this and co opts a friend into helping him in a nefarious way.
There are parts of this book that are very hard to read, and I skipped over parts that I didn't want to read but did find my way to the end.
The ending was a shock, what an imagination this author has!

Did I like it? Not sure, hard to read but well written and certainly new to me....

This is far-fetched crazy book, but you will be on the edge of your seat reading it. I was on edge while reading this and couldn't wait to find out what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Not my first Sebastian Fitzek book and it definitely won’t be my last!
His books are always so easy to read and suck you right in.

This book was so creepy and full of twists,
I did manage to guess most of the end twist but I think that may be because I’ve read so many thrillers!

But overall the book was a great read and i would highly recommend.

Wowww! The best word to describe how I feel after reading this is MINDBLOWN! This is my second book by Sebastian Fitzek and he is fast becoming a new favourite! His books are so cleverly written and the twists just blow me away! The characters are so complex, especially in this book. There was lots of different perspectives and it was really clever how they all connected and their stories intertwined.

I thought I had the plot figured out but I absolutely didn’t and the plot twist in this book was one of the best I’ve read in a long time. This was just brilliant and I can’t wait to read the rest of the books by this author.
Thank you so much to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me hooked from the first pages!
This book got me out of my reading slump!

I loved almost everything about it. The characters, the plot, and the twists. And that ending! Wow!

What I didn't like was that there were many points of view. I understand why we needed that many people, but at some point it was tiring for me.

Other than that, the book was great. The writing was solid, the characters very well written, the pacing was good and there was no info dumb.

Wow this book was a wild ride. When the first chapter chucks in a twist you know it’s going to be a good read. I did find it a bit confusing to start with and there are a few characters that it took me a while to get straight. However, once I got into the flow I couldn’t put it down. I had zero idea where it was going and every time I thought I knew what was what, bam another twist. There are some gory scenes and some graphic violence but it’s not forced for shock value. The psychiatric prison is the perfect setting and makes it so much creepier. The suspense was kept up until the very end and it was one of those books that I had to take a second when I finished to process what I just read. The reveal does seem a bit far fetched, however, I enjoyed the ride so much that I didn't care. This is the first book I’ve read from this author but I will definitely be checking out more. Highly recommend if you are looking for a psychological thriller.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

WoW..........and Breathe!
The Inmate by Sebastian Fitzek was a fantastic book a from start to finish, which became hard to out my kindle down. This book is a Strong psychological thriller and is full of surprises and "Not for the faint hearted!" as It is truly horrific.. But I loved it!!!! Hmmmmmmm
This book is based in Germany in a mental Asylum for the medically insane. It's full of gruesome scenes, and of manipulation. about sex and pregnancy, with a serial killer who commits gruesome murders, etc. Everything you want from a book that will keep you on your toes and will keep you awake at night!!!

I loved it and highly recommend it........... I need to take a breath now! lol

Till is facing every parent's worst nightmare. A split second decision results in his son Max going missing, believed to have been abducted by the notorious child killer Guido T. However, the most excruciating part for Till is the not knowing. Because Guido T likes to play games, and despite confessing to other murders, he won't say what happened to Max or let them know where his body is.

Delirious with grief, Till makes the completely irrational decision to take over another person's identity in order to be placed in the same psychiatric prison hospital where Guido T is being held. He wants answers and will do anything to get them, but what he hadn't bargained on was who he would need to pretend to be, and Patrick Winter has his own dark story to tell which doesn't go down well with the other inmates. As things go from bad to worse, it's a race against time for Till to push for the answers he desperately needs about Max before his own life is also put at risk.

The Inmate is one of those books that messes with your mind. There are so many elements to piece together but every time you think you know what is happening there is another level of mystery added to the story. It's basically the definition of a psychological thriller and if you are put off at all by the premise being slightly far-fetched, I would urge you to reserve judgement until later in the story. It is important to continue with Till's mission to get the full chilling effect.

Behind what is quite a complex story is a very dark case of child abduction which you think is the worst level that the story will reach, but this book will continue to surprise you with more and more devastating revelations. The Inmate is certainly not a light 'beach read', it is gruesome, raw and pretty shocking but fellow thriller fans will love this dark exploration of a killers mind.

Review to be posted on www.instagram.com/kayleyisreading as part of the blog tour for this one on 19th June 💖

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
This is my first title by this author and will read more in the future.
Will recommend this to anyone looking for a thriller.
I requested this book as i was drawn in by the cover and thought it looked interesting.
This book is dark and creepy and i really enjoyed it.
Very unique and interesting story line
Thanks again for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy. This book was a little slow at first, then I was so into it I couldn't wait to see what happened. Imagine, your son is missing, it is suspected he was kidnapped and possibly killed by this serial killer, who is now in a psychiatric hospital. You have a chance of sneaking in as a patient and trying to get close to the killer to find out where your son is. This took me on an emotional roller coaster and I loved it!

This gripping thriller is an ideal companion for a day at the beach, promising a compelling narrative that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The story's pace is relentless, making it a page-turner that demands your attention.

The author's ability to craft a captivating and engaging tale is evident throughout the book. With an intriguing premise and a maze of mystery, the story weaves together a complex web that keeps you guessing until the end. Each chapter unfolds with an energy that propels you forward, unable to resist the urge to uncover the truth.

The setting and atmosphere of the book add an extra layer of intensity to the narrative. The vivid descriptions immerse you in a world fraught with tension and unease, adding to the overall sense of suspense. It's a skillfully created backdrop that draws you further into the story.

However, the conclusion of the book falls slightly short of expectations. Without spoiling anything, it left me feeling a tinge of disappointment. The resolution felt rushed and didn't quite match the buildup of the earlier chapters. It was a missed opportunity that left me wanting more closure and answers.

Nevertheless, as a beach thriller, this book still delivers an engaging and captivating experience. It's a fast-paced journey filled with suspense and mystery that will keep you entertained throughout your day by the ocean. While the ending may not satisfy all readers, the journey leading up to it is undeniably thrilling.

In summary, this riveting beach thriller offers an engaging narrative that will keep you hooked. Despite a somewhat underwhelming conclusion, the overall reading experience is enjoyable. If you're looking for a gripping page-turner to accompany you on your beach vacation, this book fits the bill, offering plenty of suspense and excitement along the way.