End of Story by A.J. Finn

Sebastian Trapp, a reclusive mystery novelist invites Nicky Hunter, a detective fiction expert to come live with him to help write his life story before he dies. Sebastian is known for his best-selling mystery novels but also for a tragedy that happened 20 years before. His first wife and son disappeared from different locations on the same night. Rumors ran that Sebastian was to blame for their disappearance. Nicky moves into the Trapp’s San Francisco home and helps write Sebastian’s story. During her time there there is a murder in the home and Nicky becomes obsessed with discovering the truth behind the past disappearances and present murder. 

I have to say I was heavily disappointed in this book. The Woman in the Window, A.J. Finn’s first book was one of my favorites and I was excited to hear he had come out with another novel. I’m glad I gave it a try but unfortunately it did not hook me and I resorted to listening to this as an audiobook halfway through just to get through the book. 

What I Loved: the unexpected ending reframed the way I saw the whole story 

What I Didn’t Love: the point-of-view constantly shifted and was difficult to follow. The author took a long time to set the scene and provide many details around the family and the mystery. I understand some people may appreciate and enjoy this, but it felt unnecessary to me and made the story feel too long

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ 2/5

This book is for the one who: appreciates playful and witty humor tied into a thriller, enjoys being kept in the dark until the very end with very little hints

If you like this book, you may also like:

• The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose 

• The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz