One hot July day, twenty-four year old Cora Bender decides to commit suicide. Her plan is simple, go to the beach with her husband and two year old son, swim out deep, and drown. Her death would stop the nightmares and silence the horrible song that plays in her head. Most importantly, it would keep her from remembering snippets of the “black time” in her life. But she isn’t able to kill herself. Before she has the chance to swim out into deep water, her son wants an apple. As she peels it for him, the couple on the blanket a few feet away begins making out. The wife slips a tape into the player and Cora hears the song. Something snaps inside her. She takes the small knife she’s been using and stabs the man in the neck over and over again until she’s dragged from his lifeless body.

It should be an open and shut case. There are several eye witnesses, and Cora readily admits to the murder, but all that isn’t enough for Police Commissioner Rudolf Grovian. He wants to know why, and he won’t stop until he breaks down the wall in Cora’s mind that hides the black time.

THE SINNER is the story of Grovian’s investigation into Cora’s past. Originally written in German, THE SINNER is an exhaustingly fascinating examination of the lengths the human mind will go to in order to protect itself. I was riveted by this story. Cora’s world in all its variations stayed with me even when my schedule dictated I put the book down. I found myself wondering what really happened, what was truth, and what was fiction in this darkly compelling psychological thriller. It is easy to see how this book stayed on Germany’s bestseller list for fifteen months.