End of Story by A.J Finn

A.J. Finn, the author of the New York Times bestseller The Woman in the Window waited six years to give us his second book, End of Story. No comparison can be made between the two. Finn seems to have entered a new realm of mystery thriller. With an undeniable, shocking twist at the end, the book itself is good, but in a curious way. It was a bit confusing, and although the ending was riveting, it took too long to get there. Now I am certainly not saying I disliked the story. It was genius. But perhaps because I enjoyed his first so much, my expectations were just too high.

Nicky Hunter has been the pen pal of Sebastian Trapp, an elderly famous mystery author who lives in seclusion for years. So, when she is invited to his mansion in San Fransico she certainly jumps at the chance. But unfortunately for her the reason for the visit to Trapp is that he has discovered he only has three months to live and wants someone to document the good, the bad and the hidden of his life.

What intrigues the general public and Nicky so much is the fact that twenty years ago on New Year’s Eve, both his wife and teenage son disappeared into thin air, never to be heard from since. The bigger mystery is they were at two different places when the disappearances took place. His wife disappeared from their New Year’s Eve party and his son, while having a sleep over at his cousin’s home.

Of course, gossip has swirled for years as to what happened to them. Did Trapp kill them? Are they buried on the estate? So, Trapp chose to ignore it all and live his life in seclusion with his new wife, Diana, his daughter Madeleine and his very troubled nephew Freddy and his mother.

As Trapp begins to tell Nicky about his life, he seems to not only leave out the important parts, but hint at clues she should try and guess at. She begins to search the house for answers and discovers the diary of Trapp’s missing son. What she learns is very unpleasant. Trapp was not a very nice man. But is he a killer? All this sends Nicky down a rabbit hole of trying to discover what happened.

Just when you think the tension in the house could not get worse, there is a body found in the Koi Pond after a celebratory party. Nicky and Madeleine decide to come together and figure out what is happening. Because you see, it looks to them both that Trapp’s son may have possibly returned. And is leaving clues. What does this all mean?

End of Story is an extremely imaginative who done it, with a slow build, but as I said, the ending is the masterpiece of the story.

Published by William Morrow.