Such an amazing book. You are hooked right away when you learn of Laura's job in a helpline and how she uses her position to get her fix for death rather than prevent it. However, someone is on to Laura and plans to make her pay for how she destroyed their life.

This brilliant book is in equal parts chilling and intriguing. You find yourself utterly appalled by Laura and frightened of her but unable to stop reading so you know what she does next. This book will have you reading every opportunity you get and thinking about the ending long after you put it down.

A book with a great concept with an unexpected twists throughout . Also set in my home town which was a great surprise!

The book follows the story of a suicidal man who talks with Laura on the ‘End of the Line’ helpline, except she isn’t the nicest of Samaritans!

Great twisty novel, full of suspense and a great ending!

Not sure what to say in this review but I haven't enjoyed this book as much as John's others. I'm not sure why. Something just didn't work for me with it.

Phew, this book was pretty intense. It was quite descriptive of different ways to take your own life. The author had obviously done his homework which really built the suspense up and that was more apparent than in most books I have read. Laura works for a helpline for those in distress who may want to die. But instead of just listening she starts to encourage them and promises to support them and be with them until the end. There is quite a backstory to Laura's life now and her past and you start to wonder if everything as it seems. A really good book that I found hard to put down.

This book was very good. I read it in 2 days. Love the Author. Only gets better. Run...to buy this book. Highly recommend!!!

Have just fallen off this rollercoaster of a book, totally breathless and with no fingernails left!! What an experience it’s been. The lovely, kind Laura is a popular volunteer at a phone centre for troubled people, but she has a bit of an agenda. Then there’s Ryan who wants answers, so it’s like Bonfire Night when these two meet. So much evil contained in these pages, foolhardy and mean, plain nasty and idiotic. Let’s hope that real centres do a few more checks before they let people loose on the phones. I didn’t want to pick this book up but I couldn’t bear to put it down, enthralling, gripping and shocking from start to finish - more John please!!

This book is genius. It’s different but you do not know that at first. Totally loved it. A thriller that will have you gasping. Even if you think you’ve read this type before you really have not.
Original. Gripping. Fabulous

I loved the previous book by the author so much. ' the one ' this book was just as brilliant with the idea and its narration.

Very suspence full. Not much of a page turner as his previous book but just as intriguing.

Would recommend.

I found myself consistently shocked at each new development in this story. there were so many different stories that made it a little hard to keep track, but it definitely made for interesting reading. this story delves into some very intense topics such as suicide and mental health, and really broadcasts the vulnerability of humans. from Laura's perspective, you believe that she is quite sociopathic towards people wanting to end their life, but it's the viewpoints of others that truly allow us to see into her mind.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a way to start of my 2018 reading! After having read and loved Marrs' book The One, I was excited to read this latest book of his. The first couple of sentences of the blurb for the book really set the scene for this one:

"The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die."

The book is very dark, disturbing, twisted, etc. Laura volunteers for a helpline for people needing someone to listen to them without judgement. We find out early on that Laura takes things much further by also encouraging and in a sense assisting those who wish to commit suicide with advice on how to do so successfully and going as far as listening in on the phone as they leave this world. After we are introduced to Laura and spend some time in her head, we are introduced to Ryan who is reeling from the suicide of his pregnant wife and in desperate need of answers. His deceased wife, Charlotte, was Laura's latest "victim". The lives of Laura and Ryan intersect in multiple ways in this twisty book, and I can't say much more without giving things away. Laura is a really complex character that is sick and disturbed but also fascinating and has a gripping backstory. A gift that the best psychological thriller writers have is creating villians who are complex and more than their devious acts. There are many evil characters out there who are just evil and two-dimensional, but the best writers create ones who have so much more to them and are so much more than their evil deeds. Marrs is great at creating these complex and fascinating villians that you can't help but be intrigued by and almost feel some empathy towards in ways.

I highly recommend this one, especially for those who do enjoy the really twisted psychological thrillers. Marrs has a devoted reader in me!

I loved The One and I really loved this book, So twisted. The first part was a great set up and I could not put the book down once I hit the second half. So exciting. Can’t wait for more from this author!!

Great book with lots of twists and turns. Not my favourite John Marrs book as I found it a little slow to begin with but really enjoyable.... and let’s face it, his standard of work is very high so saying that it wasn’t my favourite is by no means a criticism

I just loved this book. I just new it was a good one from the 1st page. Who could resist it? A good samaritan who doesn't try and help you get better but rather than to kill yourself. It was a great thriller. Lots of twists and turns that went through the whole book right until the end. The main characters were fantastic, both competing to out do each other. One more psychotic than the next. This is defo going to be a no 1 on the hit list when it comes out.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

I would like to thank the publisher, Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

This is my first read from author, John Mars, it was a great introduction. His writing style, but more importantly, how he weaved knowledge about mental illness and suicide and suicide prevention all into this psychological thriller. After reading this book, I have more understanding of the twisted mind.

The main character Laura volunteers at a charity called "The end of the line", a suicide prevention line.
Her job and that of her fellow volunteers is to provide a patient and non judgemental listening ears to those who are in despair and are considering suicide as their way out and an end to their suffering.
The mandate of the End of the Line is that everyone has a right to live or die on his or her own terms, and will not talk anybody out to it, provided that it is their own free will and nobody else gets hurt.

However, Laura, convinced herself that the charity needed somebody who offered another viewpoint, a more truthful take on the predicaments of the callers, she considered herself the savior of lost souls and was on the prowl to find the right candidate to convinced them to end their live and aid them in doing so.
Along the story we are witnessing the twisted mind of Laura, her delusion and manipulative ways. At times, you will loathe her, but the author is also able to invoke compassion and understanding for Laura.

I liked Laura from the beginning as her character seems honest to the reader, funny, too opinionated and hiding a very bad attitude and dishonest with those around her. Or was she dishonest to the reader too. I guess she got me fooled. As I read on things kept on unraveling and you just can not believe how twisted she really is.
The story line is darker than any psychological thriller I have ever read, but it will keep you at the edge of your seat and turning the page, you can not predict anything.

This book is a great read and I highly recommend it!

Laura is a mom, she is a wife, she has a 'picture perfect' life...she also works at End of the Line. End of the Line is a phone center for people that have reached the end of hope. They have no good days (that they can see).
You would think this would make Laura a good woman wouldn't you?


You would be wrong. Because Laura is a batshit crazy woman.
She uses her job at End of the Line to find her special people, the ones that have no will to go on. Then she talks them into killing themselves with her on the phone. She wants their last moments to be with her.
I'm getting mad just recapping this character. She is the character that you don't even love to hate. YOU JUST LOATHE HER. I need a shower after reading her character.



Then Laura "helps" a pregnant woman to end her life. The woman's husband is devastated and begins to try and find a reason that his wife choose to die. And he ends up finding Laura.

Has Laura finally met someone who is going to give her what she truly deserves?

This dang book gave me extra gray hair.

Now I almost gave it a lower rating because there were some things that bugged me. But after sleeping on it last night and having a freaking nightmare I got scared of damn Laura and gave her four stars.
The things that bugged me actually made me mad. To me a book that either makes you happy or angry as heck means something. It may mean that I'm off my rocker but then we knew that anyways.
Now for the buggy stuff. I'm going to put it under a spoiler tag so don't go and click it and then whine because I spoiled. Yes, people do that.
(view spoiler)

So would I recommend? Yes, if you are the type of reader than can deal with a book of hateful, evil characters that have no redemption. Just get your shower ready when you finish it.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

This particular book was an advance copy I received via NetGalley. The tale definitely qualifies under the thriller category because there is no secret who is thinking villainous thoughts and acting on them.

Despite the clear announcement of the plot of the story, there are multiple changes that alter our processing of the book.The main lead person is Laura and we are given a free pass into the twisted thoughts of her mind. She is handling calls on a suicide help line and things just get worse from the start of the book. The writer's efficiency in keeping us hooked is the highlight of the book. We add into the picture one major other character who starts a war that he may not win.This warring of minds and desperation and the intricacies of what could go wrong in the functioning of seemingly normal efficient humans. Although the book is well written, at its core it was too uncomfortable for someone like me who tries to be blind to the crazy out in the world to sleep better at night. It has though made me more interested in the author's other works and I am going to be following up on them.

Trigger alerts include suicide and depression. If you are feeling suicidal I’d encourage you to go to www.befrienders.org and find the details of an organisation in your area that can help. Helpline volunteers are truly remarkable people who deserve way more credit than they receive!


There’s a visceral quality to John Marrs’ writing that I love! I read the blurb and immediately judged Laura. I mean, there you are, at your wits end and you call End of the Line. A woman named Laura picks up the phone and her voice is soft and soothing. She listens carefully and without judgement to all of your problems. You feel like finally someone understands what you’re going through so you call a second time, hoping to speak to Laura again. Over time she earns your trust and she goes above and beyond to help you ... right over a cliff.

How can you feel anything but disdain for someone who actively encourages people to kill themselves? Read The Good Samaritan and you’ll discover that there are many contradictory and confusing emotions you can attach to her character. I found I developed an empathy I wasn’t expecting to feel for this villain/victim. What shocked me was that I found I could understand where she was coming from and why her actions made perfect sense to her.

I really appreciate when an author can take something I see as a moral no-brainer and adds enough grey that I can no longer accurately distinguish whether something is more black or white. The complexities of Laura’s character had me rooting for her, against my better judgement. I wanted everything to turn out okay for her, despite feeling from the get go she was destined to crash and burn. (Or was she?!) Even after I learned more about her from the perspective of other characters I still liked her.

Accompanying Laura on this journey are her husband, two daughters and son. Running parallel to Laura’s story is that of Ryan, who is grieving the loss of his pregnant wife and desperately searching for answers. We also meet a number of helpline angels who are doing their best to support callers through their most vulnerable times. I would love to tell you all about the story but telling you just one more thing would cause an avalanche of explanations of why that is important, who it relates to and why, and how that’s then going to spiral into something unexpected and extraordinary.

While the themes in this novel are dark, the storytelling is brilliant! I got caught up in the intricacies of the major players’ characters, motivations and actions. With so many pieces of half-truths and hints of information to come being dangled in front of me throughout the book I wondered how the author could possibly wrap it all up in time. Not only were my questions answered, they were satisfying and mostly unexpected. When you have so many people involved in morally questionable actions at best and reprehensible ones at worst, how do you determine what outcome is fitting for them?

The exploration of the events that help mould us into the people we become and our responsibility in determining whether we use the potentially devastating events in our lives to propel us forward or to get stuck in the mire was fascinating. The interplay between nature and nurture is an area of interest for me. The half a psychologist in me (the half that doesn’t pay) got sucked in by the character studies of Laura and Ryan, and gave me so much to chew on I expect I’ll be thinking about them for a while to come.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback. I have to read everything that John Marrs ever writes!

Wow. This book had my skin crawling in a way I didn't even know was possible. For me, this was a study into human depravity like no other. I felt disgusted at the main characters and their actions but yet, I understood them too. I felt the complexity of their inner turmoil while trying to remember that thankfully these are fictional characters. I felt that this book sheds a light on depression in a new and eye opening way that I think is important to recognize. This is not for the squeamish in my opinion but it is a book that I could not put down because I just had to see what was going to happen to these disturbed individuals.