Randolph and his family move into a new flat. A man called Dieter Tiberius lives in the basement flat below them and becomes fixated on Randolph’s wife and children. He sends them letters saying that they were sexually abusing their children. They try everything they can to reason with him but nothing works, they even seek legal advice and go to the police but nothing helps. What more can Randolph do to protect his family?

The is the second book I’ve read within a month expecting a tense psychological thriller that turns out to be something different.

I had high hopes when it opened with his father in jail. Why was he in jail? Well you find that out pretty quickly, (I don’t want to spoil it for you) then it goes back in time and you basically get Randolph’s life history, as it documents his relationship with his father, then later his wife and brother.

It does go backwards and forwards between the past and the time they are being terrorised by Dieter but with all the back and forth I felt it lost a lot of the tension.

Then there was our narrator, Randolph. I found it really hard to relate to him, not just because he’s a man but I also found him condescending, selfish with a tendency to waffle on a bit. Okay it is horrible to be accused of any crime, especially if you’re innocent, but I kept thinking to myself why don’t you just move?

Overall not my style but if you’re a fan of character driven plots focusing on family relationships then it might be for you.