It is rare that I don’t finish an audio book. Indeed, I often write that I can listen to a book when I wouldn’t be able to or bothered to read it. This is the opposite. I’m not sure that I would necessarily love to read this but at least I could skip through the drawn out first half to get to the action. To begin with, the narrator of this audio is so irritating! I would go as far as to avoid any books read by her in the future. Sadly, she didn’t have a great work to deal with anyway. Yes, it’s a mystery but to be frank I became uninterested after the first few hours. Not for me.

📚 Book Review 📚

Nicky Hunter is invited to the lavish San Francisco home of the reclusive writer Sebastian Trapp, a man who has lived away from the public eye since the disappearance of his wife and son twenty years ago. The mystery has never been solved and as Nicky soon realises, the man is a mystery himself. The million dollar question though, is he a murderer?

Nicky starts to build relationships with Sebastian, his current wife Diana and his daughter Madeline in an attempt to find out the truth. Then the paper butterflies start appearing and then a body is found floating in the fish pond in the grounds of the garden. Suddenly, the past is no longer buried and is fighting to be heard.

This book is a slow burner, a VERY slow burner. So slow in fact, I nearly gave up on it completely. It’s just over 400 pages long and it isn’t until the last 100 pages that things start to kick in. Luckily, I’d read lots of reviews that told me it was very slow so I decided to persevere and the narrator did a sterling job.

The book pays homage to the wonderful crime writers who came before and that, I did enjoy. After watching the film adaptation of the author’s last novel, I can see how this may well also be adapted for film and I can see it working, I wasn’t as engrossed in this book however.

I guessed the main reveal around half way through and it really is a fantastic twist. I enjoyed that the book is littered throughout with clues but I’m not sure I enjoyed the writing. I will read his other book though as it may have just been me!

All in all, great ending but a real slog getting there.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow that twist! I did NOT see that one coming. A.J Finn is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook in return for a fair and honest review

I tried listening to the audiobook version of this, but I really couldn’t get into it. It was really hard to follow and at times I would switch off and had no idea of what had happened. It’s not often I don’t finish books, but this one was really too hard to keep going.

I listened to the audiobook & really struggled to get through it. I wanted to dnf so many times. I'm not sure how much was down to not being able to engage with the narrator or that the story was very slow with no real plot but I struggled to keep track when the character pov changed & could go whole chapters without taking anything in.

The ending was better but not worth the effort to get there.

I received this book via NetGalley.

This book was difficult for me to get into, and I struggled to finish it. The writing style was not what I'm used to, and it didn't keep me engaged. However, the twists were surprising. It takes a while for the story to pick up; it's a slow burn for sure. The last chapters, though, redeemed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio | Hemlock Press for the free copy of the book.

I listen to this on audio books. I found the narrator off putting to start with but got used to her towards the end. I think this is a book you need to read rather than listen to, so you don't miss any of the build-up and small details. Halfway through, I was completely hooked and loved all the twists. At one point, I felt emotional when one of the characters talked about their childhood. If you love psychological crime thrillers, then this is a must!! You won't see the end coming!

Sometimes, I'm in the mood for a thriller with an unreliable narrator.

End of Story is a twisty, psychological thriller.

It keeps you second-guessing everything.
The author crafts an eerie and suspenseful narrative, filled with layers of deception.
As a thriller should be!

The audiobook enhances the experience, with the narration adding to the unsettling and immersive atmosphere. Helen Laser did a great job with this, and I recall liking her performance in Yellowface.

While the plot of the book unfolds deliberately and slowly, the tension builds steadily, making it hard to stop listening.
If you enjoyed The Woman in the Window, this has a similarly gripping, psychological depth.

I had high hopes for End of Story—the concept was intriguing, and the setup had potential. However, the execution left a lot to be desired.
The pacing was incredibly slow, making it a struggle to stay engaged. I kept waiting for something to hook me, but it never quite delivered. The characters felt flat and unmemorable, which made it even harder to stay invested in the story. While I did manage to finish the book, it was more out of determination than enjoyment.

The Woman in the Window still to this day stands out for me as a book that I absolutely loved so when I saw that A.J. Finn had a new book being published I was super excited to get my hands on it.

Firstly, this was definitely a slow burn story. There were some sections that I questioned their relevance and maybe it could have been slimmed down, but on reflection, I do think it went someway towards misdirection. It certainly kept me guessing on when/what the plot twist was going to be.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere created in this book. It was very old school, classic mystery and I loved that. I'm not entirely sure that the locations were visualised in my mind how they were supposed to be, but I set the vibe for myself right from the beginning and I ran with it.

There were lots of characters in this book, but I felt like there were only a few that I got to know closely. That was fine though, I wasn't too angry about that and the book was definitely more plot than character driven in my opinion.

This book didn't quite live up to The Woman in the Window for me, however I did have a good time with it and although it was a slow burn, I flew through it. Enjoyable experience and I will continue to read from this author.

A slow burner that grips you and doesn't let you go. Nicky Hunter is called to write author Sebastian Trapp's memoirs. Trapps wife and son disappeared twenty years earlier and there's a body in the pool. Full of memorial chracters and an addictive listen. Helen Lasser does an excellent job narrating to book. Thanks to Harpercollins audio UK and Netgalley for this review ARC.

This took a lot of percervering to get through, the overall story was good and it was enough to keep me intrigued in what was going on, however in parts it really dragged and I was getting a bit bored of it.
The last 20% or so really did pack a punch and there was twists I didn’t see coming. One of my biggest bug bears is when and ending is rushed and not really explained, this was totally opposite to that it was unraveled and explained so nicely that I was glad I had managed to get to the end.

We start with a murder, a body floating in a fishpond, but whose body we don’t discover until nearly halfway through the book, as we backtrack a few days to the arrival of Nicky Hunter at the home of acclaimed author Sebastian Trapp. This book is not what you would call gripping as the pace is slow, however there is the need to find out, not just who the body is but also what happened to Sebastian Trapp’s wife and son twenty years before.
I struggled with the narrator and actually switched to the kindle version of the book which I found much easier. Although the pace of the book is slow and the style a bit contrived with Sebastian and Nicky talking in quotes from detective stories, I did enjoy reading the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to hear the audiobook arc. It is 3⭐️ for the audio and 3.5⭐️ for the story.

The main two characters are (we are told multiple times in the narrative) insufferable - never using their own words instead quoting anyone and everyone but themselves, cocooning themselves in the intelligence of others. Unfortunately this does make the writing of the novel.....well annoying at best. The plot is ok, the imagery a little overdone perhaps and the pacing uneven.

Nicky is invited by her penpal to his lavish mansion to write the life story of Sebastian Trapp. He is dy8ng and mysteries from his past need resolving. His wife and son disappeared years ago and many believe he killed them. The interviews begin but who is this author and what really happened to his family.

Enjoyable mystery novel, well written and narrated (I listened to the audiobook). Good characters and there will be twists and turns before the truth is unearthed.

Veryyy slow-paced book but still very enjoyable! I liked the premise - a mystery novel about a writer who writes mystery novels. Nicky, the main character is very relatable and likable. I always enjoy books with a lot of family drama, so this one was perfect haha.

I liked the ending and the plot twist about Cole even tho I guessed it a bit earlier in the book. All in all I found the story very entertaining.

I really disliked The Woman in the Window, so I had to give End of Story a try. I don't like to completely dismiss authors based on one book. However, I wish I had. This was such a drag. I love audiobooks. I can usually listen to them all day while hanging around at home. But I dreaded picking this up. Nothing seemed to be happening. For a thriller, you really need some entertaining scenes instead of just characters talking. I barely even knew who was talking at any given moment. I wanted to stop and listen to something else so many times. I even tried different reading speeds to help get into the story and give me a reason to keep going.
Nothing helped. at 45% and still close to 8 hours more, I called it. I read some spoilers and decided there was no reason to keep going. I did not care how this was going to play out, and the end sounded like it was going to be a disaster. Either way, I had to find out, so I skipped the audiobook ahead to the last 20%.

The narrator was good. If I was rating based on performance, I would rate higher.

Also, after looking into AJ Finn more, I have learned that this author has lied about having brain cancer. He has been accused of plagiarizing The Woman in the Window. I don't think I will ever pick up a book with any of his names on it. I'd honestly suggest dropping him from your publications

Will have you locking all the doors and flipping pages in order to find out what happened… Seriously one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time!… Your heart will be pounding! ‘Wow!!!!… Amazing…

Nicky Hunter has received an exciting invitation from famous mystery novelist Sebastian Trapp, to write his memoir. Trapp's wife and son went missing twenty years ago and Trapp's involvement in the disappearance has been speculated and examined by the public. Nicky accepts the invitation and goes to stay in Trapp's spooky mansion to interview him and perhaps uncover some answers

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I really enjoyed The Woman in the Window, so I was excited for this ARC opportunity. But I honestly found myself a bit bored and confused throughout this book. I really like Finn's writing style. I think it's unique and very poetic which can help to add to the suspense. However, at times it felt a bit too poetic and even a bit pretentious. I did enjoy the characters and their development. I also enjoyed the overall storyline, but I feel like it got covered up and muddled by the prose. Overall, an interesting read, but it wasn't my cup of tea. This would be good for those who like a more poetic writing style like Alice Feeney or Tana French.

Thank you HarperCollins UK Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I’m having a hard time following the story since it’s not told in the first person, but as a huge thriller fan, I really love the premise.

The plot seems truly intriguing, so I’d definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy third-person narration.

This isn’t my final review—I plan to give it another listen someday and see if my experience changes.