Do you still want to know the truth?
Author : Petra Hammesfahr
Title : The Sinner
Published : 02/10/2007
Pages : 475
Format : Paperback
Publisher : Bitter Lemon Press
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.
This was another book I came to because of a T.V show. Having binge watched it on Netflix I discovered it had been based on a book. So as every I duly when and sort out a copy. I like the premise of a killer confessing to a crime she cant explain and only one dedicated cop is trying to get to the bottom of how the events of Cora's life lead her to kill a man on a beach.
Our central hero is a tuff one to crack she throws so many different versions of her self out into the world that it took some doing on my part to try and peace them all together. This is a woman who is trying her best to run away from everything she was and thinks she is. I found Cora a hard character to wrap my head around but I guess to some extend that's the point. She doesn't want anyone to get to close. At the very being of the book she states today is the day she is going to kill her self. As we progress through the book you start to get a better understanding of why. This is some one who has been as close to hell as one might want to get. To her there is a certain finality to all the actions she takes. And the lies she tells come across as a wall she has built up to protect her from things she doesn't remember or understand. All the while we have Commissioner Grovian Trying he's best to get to the bottom of what takes place. He is the epitome of the dogged cop wanting to get to the why of the crime he has been given. While everyone else around him is satisfied with Cora's confession he can't let it be with his need to understand and also comprehend why some one would kill a complete stranger.
Petra is great at leading the reader by the nose. With every confession Cora gives the author throws us through a loop as each explanation seems plausible given the facts we are shown. The story keeps up pace as we past through the years of Cora' s life and the dark and disturbing events that happen to her. She gives us a hero who is broken and desperate to bring an end to a life she perceives as going no where good. The only light in her life is her son who she also believes is better of without her. These are hard topics to tackle and I think she does it with great empathy. All the while stringing together a tale that drew me in. Much like Grovian I want to know why she did the things she did. Unlike the T.V show we get much more detail as to the events that take place. I think this is typical of most adaptations. It is also a much more bleak telling of the story certain characters come across as much more manipulating throughout the course of the book namely Cora's sister. Who while I felt some sympathy for due to her health problems seems to try and push her sister into an ever more darkening world. I felt like Cora spends most of the book being pushed rather than being able to live her own life. This is a book that took me on a varied ride of emotions as I wanted to better understand the motives of those involved. This is also another case of some one being brought up in a toxic family. In her case religion plays a major role in her upbringing. I could help but feel that a lot of the blame heaped on her by her mother was completely unfounded and lead to some very bad decisions. While I was already aware of the final outcome from having watched the show the book lead me to the realisation that even when the truth final outs nothing is set in stone for our heroine.
This is a book that crams a lot into its pages dealing with so much you might wonder if it all got overwhelming. But for me it seems like the story played out well there is enough time devoted to it that I could follow each strand to its outcome. The twists and turns never let up as much like our characters we dig ever deeper. These are people with whom I enjoyed the ride. If you haven't watched the show yet I would suggest going with the book. The TV show in itself isn't bad but as always the book adds many more demission's to the story. While most of the people we spend time with are not likeable in this story the serve to push Cora's plot forward I just could help but feel if one ore two of them had stop to think about her for a moment some things may have played out very differently in the events of the book. But hey then I would not have a such a great book to spend time with.
This was another book I came to because of a T.V show. Having binge watched it on Netflix I discovered it had been based on a book. So as every I duly when and sort out a copy. I like the premise of a killer confessing to a crime she cant explain and only one dedicated cop is trying to get to the bottom of how the events of Cora's life lead her to kill a man on a beach.
Our central hero is a tuff one to crack she throws so many different versions of her self out into the world that it took some doing on my part to try and peace them all together. This is a woman who is trying her best to run away from everything she was and thinks she is. I found Cora a hard character to wrap my head around but I guess to some extend that's the point. She doesn't want anyone to get to close. At the very being of the book she states today is the day she is going to kill her self. As we progress through the book you start to get a better understanding of why. This is some one who has been as close to hell as one might want to get. To her there is a certain finality to all the actions she takes. And the lies she tells come across as a wall she has built up to protect her from things she doesn't remember or understand. All the while we have Commissioner Grovian Trying he's best to get to the bottom of what takes place. He is the epitome of the dogged cop wanting to get to the why of the crime he has been given. While everyone else around him is satisfied with Cora's confession he can't let it be with his need to understand and also comprehend why some one would kill a complete stranger.
Petra is great at leading the reader by the nose. With every confession Cora gives the author throws us through a loop as each explanation seems plausible given the facts we are shown. The story keeps up pace as we past through the years of Cora' s life and the dark and disturbing events that happen to her. She gives us a hero who is broken and desperate to bring an end to a life she perceives as going no where good. The only light in her life is her son who she also believes is better of without her. These are hard topics to tackle and I think she does it with great empathy. All the while stringing together a tale that drew me in. Much like Grovian I want to know why she did the things she did. Unlike the T.V show we get much more detail as to the events that take place. I think this is typical of most adaptations. It is also a much more bleak telling of the story certain characters come across as much more manipulating throughout the course of the book namely Cora's sister. Who while I felt some sympathy for due to her health problems seems to try and push her sister into an ever more darkening world. I felt like Cora spends most of the book being pushed rather than being able to live her own life. This is a book that took me on a varied ride of emotions as I wanted to better understand the motives of those involved. This is also another case of some one being brought up in a toxic family. In her case religion plays a major role in her upbringing. I could help but feel that a lot of the blame heaped on her by her mother was completely unfounded and lead to some very bad decisions. While I was already aware of the final outcome from having watched the show the book lead me to the realisation that even when the truth final outs nothing is set in stone for our heroine.
This is a book that crams a lot into its pages dealing with so much you might wonder if it all got overwhelming. But for me it seems like the story played out well there is enough time devoted to it that I could follow each strand to its outcome. The twists and turns never let up as much like our characters we dig ever deeper. These are people with whom I enjoyed the ride. If you haven't watched the show yet I would suggest going with the book. The TV show in itself isn't bad but as always the book adds many more demission's to the story. While most of the people we spend time with are not likeable in this story the serve to push Cora's plot forward I just could help but feel if one ore two of them had stop to think about her for a moment some things may have played out very differently in the events of the book. But hey then I would not have a such a great book to spend time with.
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