The beginning instantly hooked me in. Based on it and the back cover text, I expected a(n even) more gruesome variant of "Der Steppenwolf". However, the secrets in the basement turned out a bit too tame for my taste. There is an incredibly gripping sequence at around 2/3s of the book, but that, too, went too smoothly in the end. The ending is just a bit weird/edgy/cringe. Maybe I'm just not made for horror?