The Sinner is November’s Criminally Good Book Club pick – with all the hype surrounding the TV series, I was so excited to read this one!
Book Description:
Cora Bender killed a man on a sunny summer afternoon by the lake and in full view of her family and friends.
But why? What could have caused this quiet, lovable young mother to stab a stranger in the throat, again and again, until she was pulled off his body?
For the local police it was an open-and-shut case. Cora confessed; there was no shortage of witnesses. But Police Commissioner Rudolf Grovian refused to close the file and started his own maverick investigation. So begins the slow unravelling of Cora’s past, a harrowing descent into a woman’s private hell.
Hailed as Germany’s Patricia Highsmith for her bittersweet thrillers where the innocence of childhood collides with horrors enacted by adults, Petra Hammesfahr has written a dark, spellbinding novel which stayed at the top of the nation’s bestseller list for fifteen months.
My Thoughts:
I really liked the beginning of this novel, you get a quick snap shot of Cora’s life and then you’re thrown into the thick of it and Cora is murdering a man. Unfortunately, it all seemed to go downhill from there.
I have to say, I’m usually very lucky when it comes to reading translated fiction – the narration always flows, and I never feel anything was lost in translation. However, with The Sinner, I can’t help but feel that an awful lot was lost in translation as this novel felt very disjointed and lacked fluidity, making it a very slow read. I cannot be certain that this is due to the translation, but I imagine, that due to the nature of language, the haunting atmosphere and psychological thrills were lost somewhere along the way. Maybe, some things just read better in German!
However, this feeling of disjointedness could just as easily be a result of the plot itself – Cora is so clearly disturbed and in her ramblings, she is revealing some truth and a lot of lies. Police Commissioner Grovian [and the reader] have to try and separate the fact from the fiction; so, it may well have been this that caused the disjointedness as you’re not privy to the entire truth until the end of the novel. Cora is constantly changing her story, so things are not making a lot of sense throughout the read, although you are able to grasp the consistent theme in her ramblings that link to the truth.
The Sinner contains flashbacks to Cora’s past, but I was often confused when the switch in timeline happened and this also affected the fluidity of the read, it took me a while to figure out that the third person narration was the present day and when it switched to Cora’s first-person narration, it was a flashback.
Prior to reading this novel, I had no idea it contained a theme of religious fanaticism and when you couple that with the truth we finally get to know, it made sense but at the same time, it was very underwhelming. I really struggled to connect with all aspects of this book, I felt particularly distant from the character’s emotions even though I could so clearly see them. I feel a bit hesitant about watching the TV series now as this novel overall just didn’t work for me.
This book is available to buy from: Amazon UK
Keeper of Pages 
Thanks for this review – I didn’t realise this was a book too! Given your review, I may just give this one a miss too….
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I advise you do lol. Have you watched the tv series?
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Nope, I’ve seen the trailer and I was on the fence. I like Jessica Biel and random violence but it didn’t seem to have much else going on
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My mum is watched / has watched this series but I’m not sure how she felt about it, I’ll have to ask! Shame you didn’t enjoy the book as much as you’d hoped!
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Yes, ask her! Because most people who’ve watched the show have raved about it, and I’m baffled by that after reading the book.
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Ooh I watched the series not long ago and did enjoy it but found a few episodes towards the end got a bit cringey… didn’t even realise it was a book, silly me! Shame it didn’t work for you though 😦 but great review!
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Thanks. I’m starting to realise most TV shows/films were books first – that’s why I haven’t watched so many thongs, I’m still trying to read the book first, although with this one, I wish I jumped straight to the show!
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Nice review Janel but not a book I’ll be picking up!!
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Wise decision, Kerrie, very wise decision!
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It would be nice to know if others have felt this translation issue. I hate when translations let me down!
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It’s the first time this has ever happened to me and I hate it, haha, I wish I could read German 🤣
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Thank you for your honesty in your review. This book caught my eye, but I’ve encountered mixed reviews and I appreciate your feedback on this book.
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😊 I’m glad you found my review useful. From my own reading of it and the feedback I’ve seen, it appears the TV show is much better than the book 🙂
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The TV show looks really good! I’ll have to watch it.
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I wanted to watch the tv show and I didn’t know it was a book! People here have loved the series so I still want to watch it but I don’t think I’ll be reading the book 😛
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I wish I’d just watched the series, sometimes this whole “read the book first” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be 🤣
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Am skipping your review until I finish the tv show. I’m really enjoying it so far.
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Oo it’d be interesting to see how your thoughts on the series compare to mine on the book 🙂
…I posted The Death House today so it should be with you in a few days 🙂
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I, too, have seen the show on Netflix… was wondering about it… hmm… I think, like others, I may pass o the book and just enjoy the show instead 🙂
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A very wise decision lol 😊
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