The Trap

May 2, 2016
Linda Conrads, the narrator of German author Raabe’s suspenseful if flawed first novel, hasn’t left her home near Munich in the 11 years since the stabbing murder of her sister, Anna. She actually caught a glimpse of a man leaving the crime scene, and when she sees journalist Victor Lenzen on TV, she’s certain that he’s the man who killed Anna. Linda, who’s a celebrity author, begins to plan a trap that involves a new novel based on the murder. Interviews with her are in high demand, so she arranges for Victor to interview her, but as Linda and Victor engage in cat-and-mouse exchanges, she often second-guesses herself. Victor seems to be exactly who he claims to be: a successful journalist who’s certainly no killer. Excerpts from Linda’s novel give insight into the events leading up to the crime. The tension rises, but the final revelation is a letdown that diminishes the otherwise taut storytelling. Agent: David Forrer, Inkwell Management.

May 1, 2016
German author Raabe puts together an intricately constructed story featuring a woman haunted by her sister's death. Linda Conrads, a bestselling author who writes lyrical prose, is tormented by a dark and terrible burden: her sister, Anna, was murdered more than a decade ago. Linda caught a glimpse of her sister's killer and has been unable to cope with life ever since. She retreated to a home that's both a fortress and a hideaway and hasn't left it in years, stirring much speculation among her readers. Then one night Linda recognizes a well-known television journalist as her sister's killer and decides to set a trap for him. She immerses herself in research and uncharacteristically writes a crime thriller in which she describes her sister's murder. Then she invites the man to her home to interview her; it's an invitation he cannot turn down--the press has been dying to interview the reclusive author--and the game to extract a confession out of him begins. Raabe has a good idea: take a reclusive author and have her dangle herself as bait, but despite the intriguing premise, the novel's hard to read for many reasons. The dialogue is ponderous and clunky. The characters are never fully developed. There's a lot of padding and verbal throat-clearing before Raabe gets to the long game, and when she does, readers will be confounded at the execution of Linda's plan, which includes writing an entire novel in order to trap the man she thinks of as the bad guy. There's also a story within the story, as the reader also has to plough through Linda's lackluster novel, which is interwoven with the main tale. The result is anything but thrilling. Despite the nicely done twists and turns, this melodramatic mess is hard to love.

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May 1, 2016
Suffering from depression, anxiety, hallucinations, and panic attacks, Linda Conrads is agoraphobic and hasn't left her home since her sister was murdered 11 years earlier. Linda discovered the body, caught a glimpse of the murderer as he left the apartment, and has been haunted by the scene ever since. Fortunately, Linda is a very successful novelist, so she has the means to live her life isolated on a luxurious estate. Her only links to the outside world are her editor, her part-time assistant, and television. She is watching the news when she suddenly realizes the reporter, Victor Lenzen, is her sister's murderer. She decides to set a trap; she writes a thriller utilizing all the details of her sister's murder, then arranges for her first interview in 12 yearswith Victor. Linda hopes to maneuver him into a confession, but her careful plan goes horribly awry. A fast, twisty read for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

November 15, 2015

Best-selling author Linda Conrads, star of first-time German author Raabe's intricate thriller, spots the man who fled the scene of her sister's murder and sets up a plot in her next novel to entrap him. With movie rights to TriStar Pictures and a 100,000-copy first printing.

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