Find out what Mumsnetters thought of The Trap by Melanie Raabe

An interesting thriller novel. I liked the idea of Linda, a crime writer and the protagonist, writing a crime novel and then allowing one interview in order to trap her sister's killer. It is quite an unusual both in terms of its plot and the structure of the novel itself (story within a story). It starts off very well, but after a while it does seem to drift a little. The ending wasn't unexpected. I wonder how much has been lost in translation.

Great storyline, great characters who show strength and an insight into how tragedy can affect a person. thoroughly enjoyed it. Some good twists and turns, keeps you guessing.

Great story. Thoroughly enjoying it.

Sounds like a very good read.

This is the story of Linda, a famous author who has been a recluse for 11 years. She suffers extreme anxiety since finding her sister murdered and catching a glimpse of her sister's killer.
Then one day, watching TV, Linda sees a journalist who she believes is her sister's murderer. She hatches a plan to trap him. She writes a book about the murder, inviting this journalist to interview her when the book is released.
The narrative is written from point of view of the main character and sometimes it seems that Linda is going mad and has lost her mind from being a recluse who has suffered a trauma. At other times it seems she has really found her sister's killer and has set a trap to solve the unsolved murder.
I really enjoyed this book from start to finish - it kept me guessing with twists and turns and a surprise ending. A good read!

read this very quickly as couldnt wait to find out what was happening, and the weather was too crap to go out!

I enjoyed this, but I found the narrator's voice a bit awkward at times. Not sure if this was an effect of translation? It was a real page turner though and I would recommend it.

I found this a really easy to read book which I got into immediately. I liked the way the tension was built through the opening section.
I was less of a fan of the excerpts from her book but understand why these were included.
I haven't finished it yet but am gripped!

Love the sound of this book, looking forward to starting it this week.

Thanks for my free copy, I really enjoyed it, it got me totally hooked and was hard to put down as I needed to sleep. It was very well written and the plot kept me guessing right until the end. I did incorrectly think another murder was going to occur with the characters Pa or Dog but that was just my overactive imagination.
I am going to order the next book written by the author. Thank you

Really liked this book. It was a real nailbiter in the lead up to the meet and the interview. Is her mind playing tricks on her from long ago or is he the killer? You hav to read it to find out.

Sounds good. Im guessing it has a lot of interesting twists and turns which sounds gripping.

I read this over two nights, really gripped me, twisting and turning, and not knowing until the end what really happened,well written and believable characters, hope there's more to come from this author.

Thrillers are my favourite books to read, and love the suspense in this one

my child hasn't read this one just yet

I went in to reading this with an open mind as I'm not really that keen on thrillers. i found it quite 'bitty' and overly complex to keep up with as I read it on and off over a few weeks. This way of reading it may not have helped, but I think a good book should not be difficult to pick up after a break, without forgetting intricate facts that are important in keeping up with the overall story. I'm afraid it is not really a book I would say go and read, but might be just my personal preferences that are concluding this.

Thank you for sending me the book, I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

The book Is written in the present tense, which gives a sense of immediacy, adding drama to the story. The reader feels like they are living the story along with the characters.

At first I found it difficult to empathise with Linda (the heroin), she has been living in seclusion since her sister Anna was killed, and is severely traumatised. She seems to be totally absorbed with herself, and quite manipulative. However, as the story unfolds I began to understand how she became so reclusive, and wanted to know what happened.

From discovering who killed Linda's sister, readers are taken on a tale of revenge, whereby Linda wants the murderer to be charged for the crime. The story is full of twists and turns which leaves us wondering what is going to happen. We are drip fed pieces of information which adds to the plot, and builds of Linda and her sister's characters.

The pace veers between fast and a little drawn out in places, a sub plot running parallel with the main story can be distracting as it tends to slow down the main plot.

I found the book to be interesting and intriguing, and couldn't wait to reach the last chapter when all becomes clear.

An interesting and unusual story, which I would definitely recommend.

Thank you so much for my copy. I started reading it on my commute and I am actually looking forward to my train journeys!

The concept for this story is a unique and clever one - I really like the main character Linda and what she is trying to achieve.

I am about half way through and I am enjoying the switch between the past, present and the book within a book.

I really want to know if Linda's plan works and if she manages to get her sister's murderer convicted.

The book has been translated well from the original German and is a fast, easy read. I definitely recommend it.

Thanks for my copy.

Like others I found it a bit clunky to start with but then I warmed to the style of writing. I never warmed to the narrator though.

The main body of the book was enjoyable with lots of twists and turns. I thought it depicted what was going on inside her head very well.

I did not enjoy the ending though and the change of genre, it left me feeling let down somehow.

Thanks for this.

I liked the unpredictability of the story and the second half of the book.

I didn't think the story flowed well at the start. We dropped straight from planning into the interview.

I also found the protagonist unbelievable as a character, without wanting to give the plot away I am reluctant to say more.

Thanks Mumsnet but sadly I had to give up on The Trap. The idea was good but the execution of it left me very confused. I normally enjoy point of view switching but not this time. The writing appears very disorganised and I didn't engage with the characters at all.

Truly sorry as I thought this was going to be a good read

I've just finished reading The Trap and was very impressed. I've read a lot of thrillers so it takes a book with something a bit unusual to really get me interested and this definitely ticked that box. I loved how the story of the main character interwove with her own novel, and how the reader was made to constantly question what was fact and fiction. One minute you were convinced you knew the outcome only for another twist to happen to make you re-evaluate the whole thing again.
I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers and look forward to reading more from this author.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book but once I did I was not disappointed.
The plot had you guessing at what would happen next and constantly made you change your mind about different characters.
A great read.

I thought that this would be hard going as I generally don't like books written in the first person present tense but I got used to it. Found the beginning slow then flicked to the end and read the reading group guide sentence - 'The book is narrated by Anna herself'. What? I was gripped immediately and wondered how this twist would pan out. It turns out this statement was an error but I was glad I'd read on. None of the characters were particularly likeable, not even the dog, but I didn't mind as the story was interesting enough. Would I read another by the author? Probably.

An intense thriller, and though I was gripped by all the twists and turns, I did find it a bit slow at times. But the descriptions of Linda's agrophobia/ anxiety were very well portrayed and though I found the protagonist a trifle stupid, in the end I enjoyed it. Thanks Mumsnet for introducing me to a book that's just a bit different from what I normally read