Dear Mr M.

Mr M is the Dutch author of Payback, a best selling book.

 Based on the true story of Laura and Herman, teenage lovers who were suspected and then cleared of murdering one of their teachers, Jan Landzaat, Payback went on to became a successful film.  

But all that was some years ago, Now Mr M is elderly with a writing career in rapid decline and outdated views that are highly controversial. In a bizarre twist of fate Mr M, along with his young wife and child, move into an apartment building in Amsterdam where the real life Herman of Payback notoriety also lives...

I admire Herman Koch's writing and whilst this novel was much slower paced (and somewhat longer) than the previous works that I have read by him, I enjoyed it immensely.

It is a complex tale that flashes backwards and forwards in time and there is an air of foreboding that adds tension and darkness to the book. There are lots of strange coincidences woven into the story and while the ending was somewhat unexpected I loved spending time with Mr M and his characters.

Recommended.