Millions of readers around the world have been eager to see what A. J. Finn would do to follow up his 2018 debut, the international bestseller THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW. I am happy to report that the wait is finally over. His newly released second novel, END OF STORY, may be even more confounding and fun than its predecessor.

Much to my delight, Finn has infused this book with a huge tip of the hat to classic mystery writing, particularly that of the great Dame Agatha Christie. This is all realized by the wonderful, decidedly complex characters who fill these pages. Nicky Hunter, a longtime correspondent with reclusive mystery writer Sebastian Trapp, is summoned to Sebastian’s San Francisco mansion after he tells her, “I’ll be dead in three months. Come tell my story.”

"Nothing that comes before will quite prepare you for END OF STORY’s brilliant finale. A. J. Finn has been merely toying with us up to this point as the revelations that unfold, including one that is pure genius, will blow your mind."

And what a story it is. On New Year’s Eve in 1999, Sebastian’s first wife, Hope, and teenage son, Cole, disappeared from different locations and were never seen again. Upon arrival, Nicky is greeted by Sebastian’s second wife, Diana. His daughter, Madeleine, cares for him, and his nephew, Freddy, visits him regularly. When Nicky gets to spend time with Sebastian, he is more than forthcoming about his bestselling mystery series featuring English sleuth Simon St. John and the scrutiny that has always been hanging over his head regarding his missing family members. Along the way, Nicky will uncover and witness much more than she bargained for.

It is almost as if time stands still, or rather folds on itself, while inside Sebastian’s home as the timelines of 1999 and the present day often converge. Much of the story Nicky is to convey will be about Hope and Cole. The belief that Cole still seems to be with them in that house makes for some very nerve-racking moments throughout the novel.

At one point, Sebastian quotes his fictional detective with this chilling observation: “The past isn’t gone. It’s just waiting.” If readers take that advice to heart, it will make understanding and experiencing this book so much easier as the merging of 1999 with the present can be perplexing at times. Various notes and scribblings are discovered throughout the house, one of which reads “Cherchez la femme,” which translates to “Look for the woman.” Things get so bizarre while in the mansion that Nicky compares it to being trapped on Solider Island from Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

Nothing that comes before will quite prepare you for END OF STORY’s brilliant finale. A. J. Finn has been merely toying with us up to this point as the revelations that unfold, including one that is pure genius, will blow your mind. Finn is clearly making a stake as one of the world’s finest writers of complex mysteries, and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us next.