Dr. Marc Schlossler provides the first-person narration in this title, which is not really a mystery but has some mystery to it, and isn't an extreme thriller, but does have some suspense going on. If nasty, reprehensible characters make your eyelids twitch (Ha! If you read it, you'll see what I did there!), then you should probably stay away. 
 Dr. Marc overflows with self-centeredness and an extreme dislike of his patients. He's homophobic and hypocritical, and his inner thoughts are vile, cruel, and twisted. This might be annoying in the hands of a lesser writer, but Koch knows how to write, and nails the characters. There are even other characters that are nastier than Marc! 
 I loved being privvy to Marc's painfully honest thoughts. Most of the story centers around a summer vacation, at, of course, a house with a swimming pool. So much happens there in a compressed amount of time, things that set the course Marc takes for the latter part of the novel. 
 I usually only read some at night, and during lunch breaks here and there. This one, I devoured. It's really a page-turner. Yet I liked the first half or so much better than the rest. I was sucked in enough to see how things played out. Some flash-backs are thrown in. Not all questions are answered at the end, and some that are still remain unclear. 
 Last summer was my first exposure to this Dutch author, and I liked The Dinner too. I don't plan on seeking out any translations for his earlier work, but I will likely pick up his next localized for English title.