Ben Biller verliert innerhalb weniger Tage alles. Obdachlos, zurückgewiesen von seinen Mitmenschen erkennt er, was für ihn wirklich wichtig ist. Doch es ist zu spät sein Leben zu ändern, ein Wahnsinniger fordert seinen Selbstmord...
"Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Heute beginnt für Dich nicht nur ein neues Lebensjahr, sondern auch ein neues Leben. Du wirst erkennen, was Du getan hast. Bereue und richte Dich selbst."
Jahrelang hat Ben Biller all seine Energien darauf verwendet, sich an die Spitze eines namhaften Unternehmens zu kämpfen. Als er an seinem 38ten Geburtstag diese anonyme Nachricht in seinem Briefkasten findet, hält er es zunächst für einen üblen Scherz. Doch dann verwandelt sich die glänzende Fassade seines Lebens in ein Trümmerfeld.
Ohne Job, ohne Geld, obdachlos, zurückgewiesen von seinen Mitmenschen erkennt er, dass ein wahnsinniger Rächer hinter ihm her ist. Ben kann die Hetzjagd nur überleben, wenn er den Jäger unschädlich macht. Doch wer ist er?
Und was hat Annelie damit zu tun, seine Jugendliebe, die ausgerechnet jetzt wieder in seinem Leben auftaucht?
I found this a quick read, not exciting, but not dull enough to put down. It still had something going for it, however, I have to be honest, its not a story that hasn't been done before and the suspense was not making much of an impression on me. I feel the author should have jazzed it up about with some question mark happenings that keep the reader is more of a wonderment, I just thought it lacked something.
So for my personal taste I can only give it 3 as it was just an OK read for me and nothing stood out.
I was expecting a lot better. Of course, the blurb does not help -you know just bout everything that is going to happen, but the story itself is not brilliant and has been used too many times. Yes, a quick read because it is not enjoyable.
I really love reading psychological thrillers, but this boy in this book just takes the cake. lol I mean I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry for the boy. I could just see the flakes falling out of his head. But what he did to his victims was beyond psycho(killing animals, wiping out a person’s hard earned bank account, causing them to lose their job, burning down their house.) I was glad you put an end to his reign of terror.
I liked this book. The story was quick paced, interesting, and uncomplicated enough to make it easy to follow. I would have liked to have seen more introspection of the villain as I found it difficult to understand the lengths he would go to in order to prove his point. Not that he didn't have his reasons, I just think it would have been nice to have more details.
Bill was a mostly likable character. The reader does feel sorry for him when his life is falling to pieces. He isn't necessarily a bad guy, he just keeps to himself and is single minded and focused on his job and the power that this gives him. He doesn't purposefully set out to hurt people, nor does he go above and beyond to be selfless.
There is so much missing for me in the telling of the heroine's story. Annelie is strong, but what made her that way? She is smart, but what are the details behind why she stopped practicing medicine? She loves Bill, she hates him, she feels bad for him, she revels in his misfortune, but we never really get deep enough in there to find out what makes her tick.
I think a lot of what makes this book hard to read is the fact that it was written in German and translated to English, though the translator really does a great job of it.
I also had a hard time with the timing of some of the things that happened to Bill. How could his money disappear from his account with the writing of a check, be donated to a church or religious organization and drained from his account all in just a matter of hours? And how long had the checks from his job been disappearing? His boss had said that he embezzled so much over time, but for how long and why didn't he notice? These are just the questions I asked myself while reading the book. I guess it kept me engaged enough to want answers.
I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Amazon Publishing! Repent tells the story of Ben Biller, a successful businessman whose life unravels after receiving a note pressing him to commit suicide to atone for his sins. Ben is not a very likable character and at first it is hard to sympathize with him. The fact that he was physically abusive to a woman in the past made it hard for me to like him. The fact that he keeps doing so, made me think that maybe his torturer had a point. However, the more we get to know him and the motivations behind his demeanor, the more we want him to find the person doing this to him and stop this absurd punishment. Still, the plot is a roller coaster ride that leads to a satisfying conclusion.
An OK read for fans of mystery/suspense. Explicit violence and sexual activity mentioned. I think it was overwritten at times (though I wonder if that has something to do with the fact it was translated into English). I laughed out loud when the target of the killer thinks to himself "Forward!". It seemed goofy, out of place and out of character. The ends were tied up too quickly and easily to really be believable, but nonetheless I didn't feel reading this was time wasted. This fit the bill for easy reads than can be picked up and out down easily as I tend to mostly read in little chunks of time in between tending to the kids and life.
A psychopath who destroys peoples lives, driving them to suicide... what an intriguing idea for a book! So, I had to immerse myself in the story. I'm very glad I did, this book is so well written. The villain is deliciously horrible, and meticulously cunning. The trials heaped on the main character seem insurmountable, but you can't help finding yourself rooting for him. Pick up a copy and find yourself hooked. I have only one criticism of this book... it had to end!!!
Wow this book sucked me right in and forced me to read it all in one sitting. Lisa Fink's English language debut is utterly captivating and actually terrifying.
This book brought up questions about how easy it is to manipulate someone else's life and when you think about that it's downright scary. I look forward to reading more by this author, she has a great writing style.
I actually really enjoyed it. Almost didn't read it as read a lot of bad reviews. It was a quick and easy read which is what I was looking for. It had love and suspense and a protagonist who you loved and hated in equal measure.
Repent is a psychological thriller. To me it also a horror story. Imagining how one's life can be completely undone in just a few short days is beyond scary! Originally published in German the translator did an excellent job of putting the story into English. I was given a copy to review.
I couldn't get past 10% because who wants to read about sinister beings with no depth or goodness in them? If you appreciate multi-layered characters you can feel compassion with, you won't find them here.
-Overly strict catholic mother -Businessman who has no friends and everyone hates him because he has no time for anything but BUSINESS -That female character with the tough exterior? She's really a sweetheart inside!
I gave up halfway through out of sheer frustration.
I thought this book had quite an interesting story, it was quite disturbing at times but I'm glad it finished the way I wanted it to. Lovely moral to it too.
A really good book, consistent story line and well written. I'm not sure whether to like the main character, Ben, or not. I did expect him to get arrested for strealing the car though (not returning it), but the story took a different turn.