No thriller: Fitzek's "Horror Date" approaches death with humor

From death to Tinder? That's what the title "Horror Date" combined with Sebastian Fitzek's name might suggest. But even though this is his third "non-thriller" novel after "The First Last Day" and "Parents' Evening," death remains the bestselling author's core theme. After all, it's "the only unavoidable date," as he writes.

"We constantly try to suppress death, but we don't succeed, and we shouldn't always succeed, because in the end it is precisely what determines all of our lives," Fitzek told the German Press Agency.

In "Horror Date," the protagonists use the dating platform "The Walking Date" – inspired by the popular zombie series "The Walking Dead." The site is for terminally ill singles who want to fall in love one last time. Nala is one of them.

Through the portal, she meets Raphael, who, despite all the back-and-forth texting on their first date, suddenly doesn't live up to her expectations. What she doesn't know is that Julian, dressed completely inappropriately, has spontaneously stepped in for his best friend. One white lie leads to another – and ultimately, sheer chaos.

True to Murphy's Law, everything that can go wrong does. Fitzek's usual cliffhangers at the end of a chapter can be summed up this time with a "This too?!"

Fitzek mixes the severity of the fatal diseases with comically absurd moments—such as an elephant in the garden, sex rituals, and bathrobes that are too short. "I prefer to approach death with a wink. Because I find many things easier to bear with humor," says the 53-year-old. He therefore finds it somewhat easier to write about death humorously than to address it in a thriller.

Bizarre elements also emerge from experiences that have happened to him or others. "What some perceive as madness is everyday life for others," he says. "Here, too, life is always stranger than Fitzek."

The Berlin native also has a personal anecdote on the topic of dating. "I helped my wife get a horror date," he reveals. "That was after our second date in Leipzig. She thought I was already on my way back to Berlin." It was already late in the evening when Fitzek decided to take a later train to fulfill her wish and deliver a signed book for a friend. "Since she didn't hear the doorbell, I sent her a photo of her doorbell as a sign that I was there."

When she didn't respond, he finally went home. "And then at some point I got a very disturbed call. She thought this psycho-author was also a psycho-stalker because she looked at her cell phone that night and saw her own doorbell. While I was supposed to be out of town," he says, adding with a laugh: "It was very brave of her to meet me a third time."

Fitzek is so popular with readers that he offers highly sought-after book signings at events such as the Leipzig Book Fair. Why are his books so successful? "I don't do market research; I always go with my gut," says the author. He is convinced that readers primarily follow their instincts when choosing books. "Someone once said I'm a sushi author. And I don't think that's a bad definition: You either love it or you can't do anything with it."

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