End of Story
Ratings13
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings13
Average rating3.3
For fans of Knives Out comes a spellbinding thriller from the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Woman in the Window
“I’ll be dead in three months. Come tell my story.”
So writes Sebastian Trapp, reclusive mystery novelist, to his longtime correspondent Nicky Hunter, an expert in detective fiction. With mere months to live, Trapp invites Nicky to his spectacular San Francisco mansion to help draft his life story . . . while living alongside his beautiful second wife, Diana; his wayward nephew, Freddy; and his protective daughter, Madeleine. Soon Nicky finds herself caught in an irresistible case of real-life “detective-fever.”
“You and I might even solve an old mystery or two.”
Twenty years earlier—on New Year’s Eve 1999—Sebastian’s first wife and teenage son vanished from different locations, never to be seen again. Did the perfect crime writer commit the perfect crime? And why has he emerged from seclusion, two decades later, to allow a stranger to dig into his past?
“Life is hard. After all, it kills you.”
As Nicky attempts to weave together the strands of Sebastian’s life, she becomes obsessed with discovering the truth . . . while Madeleine begins to question what her beloved father might actually know about that long-ago night. And when a corpse appears in the family’s koi pond, both women are shocked to find that the past isn’t gone—it’s just waiting.
Reviews with the most likes.
Way too all over the place. The concept normally would be a great pick for me but this was just too confusing, everyone read the same and it strangely switches character POVs. Would be much more enjoyable if there was a layout of who the characters were at the beginning.
Honestly the mystery wrapped up really nicely with nothing coming out of thin air and yet I didn't figure basically any of it out. A very satisfying mystery with what I think is a well-handled “trans!” twist that doesn't belittle the character, reduce her to the twist, or treat her as abnormal. But I'm an outsider there as a cis dude so maybe I'm off base.
Parts of this book were fantastic; parts were too long and muddled. POV was not always clear and at times, there were just too many characters to keep track of. That said, it also read nothing like (in either over-all style or voice) Finn's first book, almost as though it was written by someone else. I enjoyed the first half more than the second; perhaps it was just writer fatigue because I did think the last 100 pages were a slog to get through, while the first 100 kept me enthralled. It won't be for everyone, that's for sure, but I am glad I read it and there are passages that will stick with me. Plot-wise, it took me quite a while to catch the clues - I would have liked more of Sebastian, less of Madelaine but that's just me. If you enjoy intricate plots and spooky old mansions and a wide cast of possibly shady characters, this one should be on your list,
https://open.substack.com/pub/davidsines/p/end-of-storybook-review?r=1yhj5f&utm_medium=ios
