I somehow managed to read a book that’s only available in 6-7 languages, neither of which is English. The title says “The Scream”, and it got creatively translated to “Patient 488” because it starts with the death of a person who has the number 488 on their forehead. The crime scene looks like suicide but officer Sarah Geringën is not going to be fooled and will follow the lead wherever it goes. Unfortunately, some creep shows up who starts extorting her to add suspense to the book. That creep serves no other purpose and annoyed me for hundreds of pages.

The book comes with a subtle sci-fi element. It doesn’t target sci-fi fans, more conspiracy thriller fans, but nevertheless a sci-fi enthusiast could appreciate the absurd scientific theories. It’s unrealistic in the way the Three Body Problem is, which is not a bad book to be compared with.

All in all, I got tricked by the publisher’s “inspired by real events” on the cover and bought a book I shouldn’t have. I was upset that the detective abandoned her craft and started acting Commando very quickly, and I don’t think this is what should’ve happened.

3.5/5 – Not bad, may consider reading the continuation.