‘Seat 7a’ by Sebastian Fitzek

Published by Head of Zeus,
13 May 2021.
ISBN: 978-10838935818 (HB)
Translated by
Steve Anderson

Nele is waiting for a taxi to take her to the clinic for a caesarian operation when her waters break. She hurriedly texts her father in Buenos Aires and tells him it has started. However, the taxi driver takes her to a remote abandoned building and ties her up. Her contractions start.

 

We then go to her father Mats, a psychiatrist, boarding a flight to Berlin to be with her. He is terrified of flying and has been convinced seat 7a is the most dangerous place to sit. He has booked it as an extra seat so that no one sits there, but he gives it up to a distraught mother with her young baby when there is a mix up over her booking.

 

Not long after take-off Mats receives a phone call from someone using a voice changer, saying his daughter has been kidnapped and her and her baby will die an agonising death unless he does as he is told. He is to find an old patient of his on board, reverse her treatment and somehow get her to cause the plane to crash, killing all on board.

 

He is desperate, not only is the overriding fear of flying making him feel ill, but he also now has to choose between his daughter and her baby's lives and being the cause of the death of everyone on the plane.

 

He manages to contact a colleague of his, Felicity who agrees to find out all she can concerning his daughter's whereabouts. He pleads with her not to alert the police as it will mean instant death for Nele and her baby.

 

Tension mounts now to an almost unbearable pitch as we are taken constantly between Mats' dilemma on the plane, Felicity's attempt at finding out more, and the terrible suffering of Nele at her kidnapper's hands. To make matters even more tense, we are kept up to date constantly with how many flying hours there are left before reaching Berlin.

 

It can only end in disaster one way or another surely?

 

My goodness by the end of the book I felt drained, there are so many tense moments and unexpected turns of events, my head was in a whirl by the last page. A highly recommended exceptional psychological chiller. Especially if the reader is not afraid of flying!
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Reviewer: Tricia Chappell

Sebastian Fitzek was born 13 October 1971 in Berlin Germany. He is a writer and journalist. His first book Therapy was a bestseller in Germany in 2006, toppling The Da Vinci Code from the #1 position.  Fitzek is currently one of the most successful writers in Germany.

Tricia Chappell. I have a great love of books and reading, especially crime and thrillers. I play the occasional game of golf (when I am not reading). My great love is cruising especially to far flung places, when there are long days at sea for plenty more reading! I am really enjoying reviewing books and have found lots of new authors. great new authors.