Therapy

Josy, a twelve year old girl, has an inexplicable illness and vanishes without trace from her doctor’s office during treatment. Four years later: Josy’s father, well-known psychiatrist Viktor Larenz, has withdrawn himself to an isolated North Sea island in order to deal with the tragedy. Until he’s paid a surprise visit from a beautiful stranger. Anna Glass is a novelist and she suffers from an unusual form of schizophrenia: all the characters she creates for her books become real to her. And in her last novel she has written about a young girl with an unknown illness who has vanished without a trace. Is the inconceivable possible? Do Anna’s delusions describe Josy’s last days? Reluctantly Viktor agrees to take on Anna’s therapy in a last attempt to uncover the horrible truth behind his daughter’s disappearance . . .

About the Author :
Sebastian Fitzek has worked as a journalist and author for several radio and TV stations all around Europe, and is now head of programming at RTL, Berlin’s leading radio station. His first three novels became huge bestsellers in Germany and his is currently working on his fourth thriller.

Review :
"Extreme grief permeates Fitzek's brilliant psychological thriller, a bestseller in his native Germany. When TV psychiatrist Viktor Larenz's 12-year-old daughter, Josy, who suffers from a number of unexplainable illnesses, vanishes without a trace from her doctor's office, Larenz's subsequent search for even the smallest clue to the girl's disappearance costs him his career and marriage. Four years later, Larenz has retreated to an isolated, storm-prone island, where he's visited by children's novelist Anna Glass, a schizophrenic who believes the characters she creates become real. One of those characters bears a striking resemblance to Josy and may have the answer to what happened to her. Unbalanced by his mourning, Larenz emerges as an unreliable but sympathetic character. Is he really losing his mind or is he being gaslighted? Undertones of gothic suspense imbue an unpredictable plot that will remind many of "Shutter"" Island"" "and "A Beautiful Mind,"" "-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)""Dr. Larzek, a highly respected German psychiatrist, is devastated by first his daughter's mysterious illness and then her disappearance. Falling into the bottle and away from his wife, he hires a private investigator to continue the search. Later, unable to work, Larzek retreats to the remote North Sea island of Parkum, where he encounters Anna Glass, a young woman who demands that Larzek treat her severe schizophrenia. We learn much of the story through flashbacks, as the doctor is now a patient in a high-security mental hospital, speaking with his psychiatrist, relating the events that led to his collapse. With an attention-grabbing opener, short chapters with headers that count down the days, and an overwhelming sense of doom looming over every page, Therapy is a one-sitting page-turner that never disappoints. When the full story is eventually revealed, it is both shocking and confusing: Who is real, and who is telling the truth? Suggest this gripping thriller to fans of Tana French, Inger Frimansson, Karin Alvtegen, and, especially, to anyone who knows Petra Hammesfahr's The Sinner (2008), another fast-paced German crime novel rich with psychological suspense." --" Booklist (starred review)""Sebastian Fitzek's "Therapy" is an immensely sophisticated literary thriller that finds great tension in the interior worlds of its characters and the interplay between plot and pace. It is written in a direct, harrowing and lucid style, well suited for readers who enjoy curling up with an intricate mystery and those seeking even greater depths of understanding. So often, in the realm of psychological thrillers, authors settle for gimmicks and cliche -- but that is categorically not the case with "Therapy," It is compelling from the opening scene -- a truly wondrous set-piece in a doctor's office -- and will continue to resonate long after the final page has been read and re-read."-John Katzenbach, author of "The Analyst" and "The Madman's Tale" "Therapy is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. It's a thriller that keeps the reader hooked and guessing right to the end. An enthralling mix of medicine and mystery."--Paul Carson, author of "Betrayal" and "Ambush"