"Real events inspire me"
ntv.de: Mr. Fitzek, it's getting darker outside again, more uncomfortable - the perfect time for a gruesome psychological thriller?
Sebastian Fitzek: Definitely, especially when it's set in a secluded Alpine chalet like "The Invitation". I myself used to prefer reading when it was stormy or snowing outside and the rain pattering against the windows provided the perfect soundtrack to the comforting creepiness. Come to think of it, that's still my favorite reading weather today.
You have a new book coming out: "The Invitation". What's behind the title?
It took Marla Lindberg years of psychotherapy to understand: She was never the victim of an attacker, the perpetrator who lay in wait for her in the dark only existed in her imagination - and she also only imagined the killer's whistling, rattling cough. Now Marla is attending a class reunion in a secluded mountain hut. But when she arrives, there is no one there. There are used dishes on the table, and the jackets and shoes she wouldn't leave the hut without in the freezing cold are in the checkroom. She is alone. No sign of life. Until she suddenly hears someone whistling and coughing - outside, in the icy darkness.
Young Marla is at the center of the story. She suffers from face blindness. What does that mean?
People with face blindness cannot distinguish or recognize other people by their faces. So, contrary to what the colloquial term suggests, this is not a visual disorder, but rather facial amnesia. Statistically speaking, two million people in Germany suffer from prosopagnosia. However, "suffer" is actually the wrong term, as many are completely unaware of this impairment. Like Marla in "The Invitation", they have learned to distinguish people by other characteristics, such as gestures, facial expressions, unchanging features, hairstyle or voice.
What does the illness mean for Marla? How does she deal with it?
Marla can't memorize faces, but the rest of her powers of observation are much sharper than those of her peers. That's why she was one of the LKA's best video analysts for a long time. Her job was basically the worst the police have to offer: she had to watch gruesome internet videos of heinous crimes in order to find clues about the perpetrators. As they are usually masked or not visible at all, it is not faces that are important here, but the analysis of the environment in which the mistreatment, abuse or even worse took place. Marla doesn't miss the slightest detail: the wallpaper on the wall, the squeaky duck on the edge of the bathtub, the shower gel that was discontinued years ago and is now only available from one supplier. She is not only a meticulous analyst. She also has a gift for drawing conclusions about the perpetrator's profile based on such information.
How did you come across this topic while researching last year's bestseller "Mimik"?
No, the topic has been on my mind for years, ever since I read an exciting scientific article about it. But it wasn't until I received an invitation to a class reunion that I thought to myself: "What if I was face-blind and couldn't be sure whether I really went to school with the people I haven't seen for over a decade?
The material is reminiscent of classic escape games, refined with a dash of "there can only be one". There are also plenty of twists that will take readers' breath away. Is "The Invitation" a typical Fitzek?
At least that's what most readers have said so far. Although I myself am not sure what a "typical Fitzek" actually is.
The end of the book has a few surprises in store that belong on the big Hollywood screen. Are there already plans for a movie?
There is indeed a team already working on the development, but it is still so much in its infancy that everything is open.
A twist - or a spoiler: Are you afraid of what happened to Marla in "The Invitation" happening to you?
(Laughs) ... In fact, I'm always inspired by real events and I can't get them out of my head, so I have to write about them. When my editors say: "Fitzek, now you've exaggerated!", 99 percent of the time they're referring to scenes that (unfortunately) actually happened in real life. So it's not a slogan when I say: thriller writers have to tone down reality so that we can believe it in fiction!
"The Invitation" immediately hit number 1 on the bestseller lists again. Do you already have ideas for a new book?
Yes, I'm already writing my next thriller and have already finished 100 pages. However, I would really share the fate of my protagonists if the publisher found out that I was already blabbing the plot here.
Thomas Badtke spoke to Sebastian Fitzek
Despite the thrilling events in "The Invitation" taking place in a secluded Alpine chalet, Sebastian Fitzek prefers reading thrillers during stormy or snowy weather, reminiscent of his favorite reading climate. His new book, "The Invitation," contains an intriguing title that references the story's encircling atmosphere and its chilling reunion setting. A thrilling bookstore display, showcasing "The Invitation," could captured readers' attention and draw them into the suspenseful world of Sebastian Fitzek's gripping thriller.
Source: www.ntv.de
