What the heck did I just read???? And... Just... WHAT was that?!?!?! This is one of the most mind bendingly twisty books Harriet Tyce has ever done, and she's good at mind bending. I'm still working through that ending in the back of my mind. Seriously awesome, seriously unexpected!

‘It Ends Before Midnight’ is a psychological thriller which bounces back and forth between the present, recent past, and distant past, to slowly build a picture of misconception. How do we construct, and re-construct, or memories to suit our beliefs and needs?

Sylvie is a high powered lawyer with ambitions of being appointed to the Crown Court as a judge. Tess, her high school friend who, after learning she has brain cancer, wants Sylvie to help tie up a ‘loose’ end from their teenage years. That door though, was closed for a reason, and opening it might just lead Sylvie to ruin.

I’ve never read this author before and found her style of writing easy to read and, despite a slow start, a good pace. Although I had my suspicions as to what might have happened, I did not guess the end, but this mostly was due to a whirlpool of events thrown in to the last quarter of the book. The result was that some of the plot twists felt forced.

For me this was an ok read.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*I was given an ARC from Sourcebooks Landmark. All opinions are my own*
Wow…whoah…wow…where to start??? I’m new to Harriet Tyce and her brilliant storytelling. She masterfully wove a tale that at each turn that I just knew I had everything figured out, I realized that I didn’t and found myself at another turn of this tale. Even the book’s description lead me to thinking that I would figure out this tale quickly, only to learn that nothing was as it seemed on the surface from the very first page.
Ms. Tyce’s use of flash-forwards and flashbacks throughout this modern tale expertly explored the ebbs and flows of a friendship over twenty plus years from the narrator’s point of view, taking the reader along the narrator’s questioning and acceptance of what is reality and what is memories seen through different lenses.
This book left me thinking about what is really considered the truth in our own stories and in those whose lives intertwined with ours.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It Ends at Midnight is a slow burn thriller that had an interesting concept but dragged a bit for me at times.

Sylvie is a judge with a checkered incident in her past, a toxic friendship with her best friend from her teenage years, and a new chef boyfriend in her life. The story is told in the present with flashbacks to her teenage years, during which time she and her friend did some things that they may now need to pay for. Sylvite’s entire life starts to spiral out of control in the present day, with threats to her job, love life, and friendship looming. And someone is going to die at midnight, which we know from the very beginning. But who will it be?

This book is full of unlikable characters. I’m not sure who in the world would want to be friends with a single one of them. The pacing was an issue for me, with the plot meandering along without much happening in the beginning half of the book, and then everything revealed all at once in the final chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

While I did figure out this storyline pretty quickly, it was enjoyable to see it unfold. I found myself rather annoyed with Tess and wondering why on earth anyone desires to be in her life at all. Slyvie says she’d “do anything for Tess” but I was left wondering… why? My biggest complaint when reading is not having characters that are likable, and that’s definitely an issue here. An extra star for the mystery aspect of the story, but if it wasn’t for that this would be a 2 star for me. Overall I wouldn’t say this had me in a ton of suspense, but it was a fast read.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC of It Ends at Midnight by Harriet Tyce!

This is the first book by Harriet that I have read. It did not disappoint! This is different than any other thriller I have personally read. The flow is consistent and the plot stays interesting but it took awhile to build up. We found out most things towards the end.

I found the ending very satisfying. Although, I did end up guessing one thing but it didn’t bother me. Overall, I found this very interesting! I different style than I’m used to, but I thought it flowed nicely.

My thoughts on this book are jumbled. I didn't like any of the characters (which might be the point) and the events took place over too much time. Or really, there was too much "build up" to the climax and the main point of the book. I feel like nothing much happened over the first 60% of the book except the same conversations: tess is sick. tess wants to find linda. sylvie's trial. sylvie's doing something sexy with gareth. yes, there were a couple of flashbacks to their childhood trauma (and some random flash forwards? presents) but none of it seemed to matter. the flashbacks, to me, didn't really add anything to the story because they're so tinged with memory and fueled by alcohol and drugs. i understand they're to set sylvie up as an unreliable narrator, but it also just didn't add anything for me.

i found the ending rushed and jumbled. particularly when the epilogue moved things forward in time and tess and marcus discussed the past events in such a clinical manner that it felt as though they were just spouting words because the author needed to tie up loose ends and rather than present those things, she just gave her characters things to say.

Very interesting twisty mystery. The characters were very vivid. The storyline was pretty good though sometimes the things said sounded off to me. All in all, I would recommend this book.

Harriet Tyce is consistently entertaining and this is no different. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

It Ends At Midnight is a psychological thriller set at New Years Eve, set in London and Edinburgh.
At the beginning of the book two bodies have fallen through the ceiling and have been impaled on two iron spikes. Their names are withheld which really builds the suspense as the author takes you on a tour of characters.
Sylvie and Tess have met back up - they were long time friends. The meeting leads to Tess telling Sylvie that she has a terminal brain tumor. She hasn't told her husband - with whom she has been having rather intense problems - and Sylvie wants to do what she can to mend this fence.

Sylvie is a lawyer working towards becoming a judge. She and Tess have a secret and Tess wants to bring that secret to light. Sylvie does not as it would ruin her career.

This book is a good tale for New Year's Eve but was not a story I became attached to. The story is told back and forth which didn't quite work for me. It didn't flow as much as I would have liked.

That said, it is an overall good book.

Wow! This is extra intelligent, twisty thriller reading with so many mind games, unreliable- flawed characters! I kept biting my nails as the mystery kept me on my toes! I kept making guesses who the victims were! I found some of the characters not so much trustable: I was mostly right about my gut instincts but I didn’t foresee the bigger surprise at the end!

The ending just made my blood cold! This story is bleak, dark, containing many triggering subjects and so much unexpected twists made your jaw drop! Just expect the unexpected! We have a very smart author who is about pulling the rug out from under you! She’s at least five steps ahead of you!

The story starts at the crime scene: a lavish party of a couple who wanted to renew their vows in front of around twenty guests literally GOES OFF THE RAILS! The party at Regent Terrace during the New Year’s Eve turns into blood bath! Two people find themselves caught on the railings-one doubled over; spikes straight through their guts, the other caught on
their back, arms splayed backward, a spike protruding through their neck.
What went wrong? Who did die?

We move back to get introduced the aspiring solicitor Sylvia who is getting closer to become a judge, taking an important burglary case at junior court.

She starts seeing a hot chef and their relationship is getting more serious. First time in her life she has it all but she doesn’t want to rub it to her best friend Tess’ face as she suffers from marriage problems with her husband Marcus who recently left her.

One night Tess calls her late and they arrange to meet at the bar. But the meeting goes unexpected:Tess pins out of a grenade and throws it on her lap! She’s having a brain tumor, suffering from seizures. She needs support but her husband who rejects to talk to her so she kindly requests Sylvia to give him the news but that’s not the only request Tess asks for.

Yes, if Marcus returns back to their home, she wants to renew their vows at a special gathering. But her last wish is way too much tricky than Sylvia can assist with: Tess and Sylvia had involved in a murder case as witnesses at the court which changed a young girl’s life. Tess wants Sylvia to reconnect with that girl to clear her conscious.

Sylvia already erased those hurtful memories of her past, moving on with her life and her climbing on corporate ladders. She doesn’t want to open the fan of worms that may threaten her rising career!

But Tess keeps pushing her to confront with the skeletons she hid in her closet!

Confronting with the past might be more harmful they can imagine! At the end of the night: two people didn’t get the resolutions they expect. Two people are dead! Who are they? What happened to them?

I loved it! Building tension left me breathless! Definitely my kind of dark mystery I wholeheartedly recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.