26 June 2016

Review #468: The Trap by Melanie Raabe



My rating:
4 of 5 stars


A sister is both your mirror - and your opposite.

----Elizabeth Fishel


Melanie Raabe, a German author, has penned a heart-stopping and extremely mind-boggling psychological thriller in her debut book, The Trap in which the author weaves the story of an elder sister who lives her life in isolation after her younger sister's death, who was murdered and she knows about her sister's killer, but back at time, no one believed her story, and so, eleven years later, when she sees the killer's face on TV, she sets The Trap.







Synopsis:

I know who killed my sister.
I wrote this novel for him.

Twelve years ago, Linda's sister Anna was murdered. Her killer was never caught, but Linda saw him. Now, all these years on, she's just seen him again. On TV.

He has since become a well-known reporter, and Linda - a famous novelist and infamous recluse - knows no one will believe her if she accuses him, so she does the only thing she can think of: she writes a thriller about a woman who is murdered, her killer never caught. When the book is published, she agrees to give just one media interview. At home. To the one person who knows more about the case than she does.

He knows what happened that night and she wrote a book about it but, when the doorbell rings, neither of them can be sure how the story will end.



Linda is a late thirties popular literary fiction author, who lives in absolute isolation within the four walls of her home and is occasionally visited by her assistant and publisher. Eleven years ago, her younger sister, Anna, was murdered and luckily, Linda caught a glimpse of the killer before discovering her sister's body. She tried really hard to make people as well as the authorities believe that she has seen her sister's killer, but unfortunately no one believed her, instead, they all either suspected her of killing her own sister or called her crazy. Hence she reclused within the comfort of her own home with her dog. Now eleven years later, she has seen the face of the very killer who took the life of her sister on TV, and now she has to lay a perfect trap so that she could get this popular and renowned journalist to confess the crime that he has committed by writing a novel about her sister's murder in the form of a thriller thereby inviting that man to interview her for his newspaper. But will this killer easily fall prey to Linda's trap?

Honestly speaking, I expected the story to have more than one layer or dimension, instead, I found it out to be quite simple and foreseeable. Although, the whole book is one hell of an addictive roller-coaster ride filled with quite a number of unexpected turns and so much fear. The book's cover image depicts an eerie feel to the story inside it that will instantly lure the readers into the story. Being a debut book, the author's efforts, smartness as well as her imagination which knows no bounds are extremely impressionable and these factors make the story as worth a read for the mystery/psychological thriller readers.

I believe the translated edition writing style is not that polished or strong, as there are so much loose ends that lacks from emotional depth. The narrative which, although is not much in the book, still it is engaging and well structured, that holds the power to keep the readers glued to the story. The pacing of the book is quite moderate, as the story is told from Linda's POV, which is actually a web of so many thoughts, where some are confusing and some are very much clear and easy to comprehend with. The story building is really well-developed as the author wraps her plot under so much misdirection and twists.

The story is so much painted with bone-chilling and thrilling scenes which are penned vividly as well as descriptively the author, which will eventually help the readers to visualize the scenes right before their own eyes. The mystery of Linda's sister's murder is unraveled with so much backstories and turns that will leave the readers baffled about the real identity of the killer and this part really suited me, as at times, I too was left puzzled with the underlying question about the identity.

The characters are well-structured, but felt a bit vague and unreal, except the main character, Linda. Linda's character is so well portrayed that the readers are bound to feel like they are inside Linda's head and can easily feel what she is feeling, who is projected as someone coward and fragile suffering from mental trauma over her sister's death and her inability to give justice to her sister. Although, eventually, with the course of the story, Linda gains a lot of confidence to bring her sister's killer to confess thereby evolving in a positive way. The readers' will learn about her sister's death from the excerpts of Linda's novel, Blood Sisters. Linda is not only psychologically twisted, but is also quite clever and her bond of sisterhood with her sister will make the readers root for her till the very end. The rest of the supporting characters, apart from the killer, Victor, don't have much presence in the story, hence the readers' won't get to know them thoroughly.

In a nutshell, this compelling and riveting story is a must read for all crime/thriller fans as this debut author leaves her mark in the literary world with this book of hers.

Verdict: Engrossing as well as gripping read about a sister's journey to give justice to her younger sister's death.

Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Pan Macmillan India for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
Melanie Raabe grew up in Thuringia, Germany, and attended the Ruhr University Bochum, where she specialized in media studies and literature. After graduating, she moved to Cologne to work as a journalist by day and secretly write books by night. Her novel, The Trap, won the Stuttgarter Krimipreis (Stuttgart Crime Prize) for best crime debut of the year.
Visit her here


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1 comment:

  1. Ohh awesome review this is actually the first time I hear about this book, but it absolutely looks and sounds totally fantastic and right up my alley. Thank you for your great post.

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