I chose this book as I have a challenge to read a translated book every month for 2025 and I’m glad I did. The book had a much different feel to it than other thrillers ai have read and while it took some getting used to, I really enjoyed it.

The audiobook was narrated by Liam Gerrard whom I have never listened to before but will seek him out in the future. It’s clear why he has won many accolades for his voice work. He has such a sooth British accent and the tone he used fit the prose perfectly. It gave it this uncomfortable feeling but in the best way possible.

At 1x speed the narration was good. It was on the slower side of typical speaking pace but again, it fit the narrative. I however did speed it up and many times when I’m listening to an accented voice that is not my own I can’t go too high with the speed adjustment. This was an exception. I easily listened at 2x speed and could hear every word crisply.

As far as the prose itself, it is very well written. The author creates the background that could be easily a book on itself own about grief and trauma and how it can physically and mentally impact your life. However, it’s a thriller so things turn in a dime with family secrets and lies and it leaves you reeling when you finally get to put everything together.

I have read several translated books this year with varying degrees of success. This is by far the cleanest and most understandable one of them. Part of it could be the Germanic base to both languages but I have read other translations from the same roots and this still exceeded it. Now some folks may never realize a book is translated at all! But my neurospicy brain seems to zero in on sentence structure and sayings that seem “off”. But alas, that’s not the case here.

The book comes out on August 5th for its US/ English debut. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, especially focusing on challenging father-son relationships, this is the book for you.

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Harlequin Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My general rating system is below. Since I primarily read ARC books I rate according to how I think like minded readers will receive the book. I will round up or down depending on many factors and try not to let my personal wants affect a books ratings.

⭐️ Hated It but pushed through as so don’t DNF ARCs I have received.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, content issues, poorly edited.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but it had something that stopped me from rounding up. Usually the book may have much more potential than what was given. I recommend it but with reservations.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I Really enjoyed it or think others will. These are solid reads that I definitely would recommend for a variety of reasons.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! These are books that remain rent free in my head for well after unfinished the book. It can be for a variety of reasons from being very well written or just the vibes that captured my mind. These books are also ones I would probably read again.