Dear Mr. M by Herman Koch

As with his other books Herman Koch gives us a storyline we think we know, characters we think we understand and then he pulls the rug from under the reader and ends the story with a surprise. The story begins with an unknown narrator who pens letters to a once famous and respected author letting him know that he is not alone. The letter writer is not a fan of Mr. M , his books or the way he handled the story of a very real event that the letter writer was a part of. The letter writer keeps egging on Mr. M who is actually his neighbor and we the reader, are delightfully pulled in. There are parts of the book that deal with the state of Holland and the war that could have been deleted in the translation but then the true crochetty nature of Mr. M would not have been complete. I love that one of the main characters is named Herman! Twisty and deceptive, this thriller will have you staying up to the bitter end.