Cover Image: This is How it Ends

This is How it Ends

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First line: This had been a happy home once.

Summary: The building is nearly empty. At one point hundreds of people lived in the apartment complex but after the purchase by a developer it has slowly dwindled down to only six occupied apartments. Ella, has spent the last several months using her platform to help the people who are being forced to leave their homes. However, one night Ella is attacked and kills a man in one of the empty rooms. With the help of fellow tenant and activist, Molly, they decide to hide the body in the hopes that the police will think it was an accident. But even with an empty building someone heard Ella arguing with the dead man. How are Ella and Molly going to help the tenants and stay out of jail?

My Thoughts: I had requested this book years ago from Netgalley but never got around to reading it until now. It did not have a high review average and it was an unknown author to me but I finally decided to clean off my Netgalley list, starting with this book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!
At the beginning I was a confused by the layout but once I got the hang of the plotting I found it to be a great way to tell the story. Molly’s point of view moves forward from the death of the man in the apartment but Ella’s goes backwards showing more of her backstory leading up to the tragic events. Molly has to deal with comforting, planning and stressing over what is going to happen if/when the body is found. And the reader follows Ella back to earlier protests, relationships and her first meeting with Molly.

Each chapter was filled with anxiety about what is coming next. Nearly halfway through I thought I had figured out what was happening and was planning to give it a lower rating but when I was wrong it made me so excited! The ending is very dramatic. I had to check to make sure that the story was over. It ended with such a sudden bang it felt final but unfinished as well.

The themes of the story are something our society has become increasingly familiar with in the last few years. Ella and Molly are activists who clash often with the police leading them to be targeted as well as fearful of repercussions. We have all seen photos of protests, peaceful and violent, so as a reader I could imagine those images while reading making the story feel even more real. A very timely thriller.

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After attending a party Ella finds herself alone with a dead man. Unsure of what to do, she calls her best friend Molly. Ella tells Molly that the man attacked her and she accidentally killed him while defending herself. Molly does not want the police involved so she helps Ella by hiding the body in an abandoned building. But ultimately the two friends start to question each other's motives and they do not trust each other.

This story is told from Ella and Molly’s point of views with alternating timelines.

Wow! This is a superbly twisted and suspenseful psychological thriller. My jaw almost hit the floor after reading this one. I loved the complex characters and the strong plotline. Not only is this a fantastic thriller but it is a social commentary on activism. Eve Dolan is a brilliant writer and I look forward to reading more of her work.

I highly recommend this book to all psychological thriller fans! This book would be perfect for fans of Alice Feeney and Mary Kubica. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

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Only a few residents remain in the once crowded apartment building, refusing the developer's offers to buy them out, knowing that their days there are numbered. A party in the building ends with a man's body in one of the vacant units and two of the protesters disposing of him down an elevator shaft. Its bleak setting sets this thriller apart from others I've read. The plot moves slowly, but it's definitely got atmosphere.

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This Is How It Ends is the story about Ella and Molly, two women who have fought back against the property developers who want to throw them out of the apartment building and create luxury dwellings. Will a horrific situation pit the friends against each other and threaten all that they hope to preserve?

The novel has a great premise, but the author fails to deliver even one likable main character.
With alternating time lines that take place in either the present or the past, the book is off balance. The beginning of the novel is confusing and does not allow the reader to gain a foothold into the story. The social issue of the rich displacing the poor when the situation arises for them to do so is lost in the shuffle, as Molly and Ella grapple with what they have done and what is yet to accomplish. Overall, This Is How It Ends never grabs my attention and, for this reason, I would not recommend it to other readers.

Disclaimer: Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley provided me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of This Is How It Ends. The choice to review this book was my own.

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This book had a good ending, but it was so slow! It really took me forever to get into it, which was a bummer. I've definitely read better thrillers recently.

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This is How it Ends is an atmospheric thriller about a housing project in London and the activists (some by choice and some by circumstance) who refuse to leave when their building is slated for demolition. On one of their final nights, a body is found - and as we learn more about the pasts of the various characters, many become likely suspects. This book has a very interesting premise, and the characters were developed thoughtfully and realistically. While slow at times, for the most part I really enjoyed this.

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I have to say the writing was brilliant. I enjoyed the pacing, and the atmosphere that the author evoked. I really wanted to connect with the characters, but found to my disappointment that I really could not. This impacted on my overall enjoyment of the novel - I think it would have been a 5-star read otherwise. Perhaps the lives of the characters were just so far divergent from my own experience? I don't know... If I had to pick a favourite character it would be Molly Fader.
Ultimately, this is a novel about betrayal. About how people who you would trust your life with can turn around and betray you in the worst ways. It asks the age old question, "Can you really EVER know another person?"
"This is how it ends" has a VERY memorable ending. One of those endings that you just know will stick in your mind for months, years...
This is my first read by Eva Dolan and I know that I want to read more of her work. The first novel in her Zigic and Ferraria police procedural series "Long Way Home" is on my TBR.

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When your back is against the wall, you'll do literally anything to fight for what you believe in. This is How it Ends by Eva Dolan is the story of the occupants of an apartment building who are being forced out of their beloved homes by the developers of these new state of the art luxury homes.

With dual perspectives between Ellie, a passionate protestor who happens to be squatting in one of the apartments and Molly, her friend, the story of how these two girls come to find and hide a dead body together plays out in full suspense and keeps you sweating.

The fact that this book started off so dull to me, made it even better when the crazy stuff started happening. I was half expecting some mundane story about an old apartment building and the social injustices of it coming down, while that was part of the story, the other parts of the book were shrouded mystery and had this dark undertone that really pulled me in.

All though this wasn't my favorite book, it had some decent parts. The writing started off weak, but as the story progressed I felt as though I was finally being shown the light. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

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Not my favorite story. Sometimes going back and forth between two characters adds an unique dimension to the book but it seems overdone lately, especially in the case of psychological thrillers. The characters engaged me here and there but not enough to keep my attention so I had to put the book down a few times. However, I believe it had a satisfying ending.

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Thank you Netgalley for an copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I found this book very difficult to get into. I didn’t enjoy the format.....I stick with it....I enjoyed the ending, but just too slow!

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A twisty novel of psychological suspense which will keep the reader up way past bedtime.

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Heather Fineisen
Apr 10, 2018 Heather Fineisen
I almost put this book down after the first 20 per cent but I am glad I didn't. After a shaky start, the story captured me. Told by one character moving forward in time and another moving backward, the aha moments seemingly came right when the Author was ready to reveal them. A sly, tension building look at an activist and her confidante and a dead body. Dolan pens a suspenseful tale that stands out.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalle

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Part thriller. Part expose on shady industries. Part social commentary. I felt like it was trying to hard on all areas and came up a bit short as a whole as a result.

I did like how it went between the two main characters (Ella and Molly). It helped you see more of who the character were aside from who they thought they were. They are both unreliable narrators so makes it even a bit more fun to try to figure out who they truly are.

I agree with other reviewers on how the last say 1/4 for me was really good and definitely threw me off what I had been thinking. If the first 3/4 had been a bit tighter and more cohesive it would definitely have been a 4 star book.

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It was well-written, and I'd love to check out what else this author will write. Very intriguing look at the subculture of activists.

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Eva Dolan pens a dark tale of intrigue and fast-paced mystery set against a backdrop of London gentrification in THIS IS HOW IT ENDS. Ella Riordan, a community activist who achieved notoriety when she was beaten by police at a protest, is squatting in an apartment building that has been sold to developers who have plans to tear it down to make room for a luxury high rise. Ella is determined to defend the evicted tenants despite numerous threats to her safety. One night, after a party celebrating Ella’s efforts to raise awareness of the growing number of London residents being displaced by gentrification, she discovers a dead body in one of the apartments of the building she has been living in. Panicked and frightened that the police won’t believe her, Ella contacts her friend and fellow activist, Molly. The two concoct a plot to dispose of the body and hide what happened. As the truth emerges, mistrust grows between Ella and Molly and threatens to change their lives forever.

The novel presents the story in the alternating viewpoints of Ella and Molly. Molly’s story is told in the present and Ella’s story travels backwards from the time she discovers the body in the apartment to the actions that set the events of the night of the party in motion. I found the pacing of the novel to be a bit slow at first, but it picked up as the plot unfolded. I wasn’t particularly fond of either of the characters and found it hard to be sympathetic to or root for either one of them. Ella ends up coming off as a bit spoiled with unrealistic expectations and Molly is judgmental and quick to form worst case motivations for Ella’s behavior. I wish the first three-quarters of the book was as readable as the last quarter. This book is the typical who-done-it, but rather, and examination of the motivations and decisions that led the characters to a satisfying conclusion. The end of the book presents a thrilling conclusion that I didn’t see coming and that I enjoyed. THIS IS HOW IT ENDS is a 3.5/5 stars for me, with the pacing and plot twist at the end of the book earning it an additional half-star. (Rating rounded up to reflect additional 0.5 star)

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A suspense thriller, This is How it Ends will keep you guessing until the very end. Ella Riordan is a community activist attempting to fight for the cause of individuals being displaced by bigger corporations. The corporations are buying up cheaper properties, tearing them down, and putting in more expensive housing. Ella has come into connection with Molly, an older fellow activist. They are currently working together to fight for the tenants in Molly's building. The book begins where Ella has accidently killed someone. She calls Molly for assistance. And from here the story unravels in past, present and future stories, that build until the end comes to the surface. A great read that will keep you guessing until the very end.

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My apologies but I was not able to complete this book. Normally I do enjoy thrillers but it just was not my taste at this time. (I hate being forced to rate this book when I DNF, so I just give an average rating rather than one star as it's not fair otherwise) Again, my apologies.

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Loved it! Read this between reading the books "homeowner with a gun" and "neighborly". It was a great thriller and I really enjoyed it! Thanks!

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Ella Riordan is a community activist who became famous when she was beaten by police during a social protest. Now Ella is a squatter in a building where the owners are evicting tenants so they can convert it into luxury condos. On a night where all the tenants and other guests are on the building's rooftop for a party, Ella finds herself next to a dead body. Instead of calling the cops, Ella calls a fellow neighbor and activist, Molly. Ella tells her friend the unknown man just attacked her and it was an accident. Together the two women decide to hide the body. But soon after, Molly starts to see holes in Ella's story.

This story was told in alternating point of views between Ella and Molly. I also got confused because it was jumping between the past and the present. I thought the story was slow and boring. I actually started skimming the book but I don't think I missed much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for supplying me a copy of Eva Dolan's "This is How it Ends" in exchange of an honest review.

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This is How it Ends is about two women (Ella, young, and Molly, middle-aged) who met and became friends while working on various protests together. Following a roof-top party held to raise funds to support their latest effort (protesting the closing of an old, ratty building and the displacement of the few tenants that still remain), Ella tells Molly that she found a body in her apartment. Rather than either of them calling the police, Molly helps Ella dispose of the body.

Now they hold a secret, a BIG secret, and as time goes on, and especially after the body is found, the two women find their friendship stretching and changing as they each wonder what the other will say and do, and how much they really trust the other.

The story is told through the alternating POVs of Ella and Molly, both in the present and in the past. This construct had me very confused at the beginning of the book - alternating the POVs was fine, but when the time period being talked about changed as well, I found I had to flip back to see what was going on. As I moved deeper into the story, and knew more about the background of each woman, this wasn't an issue.

I realize I'm in the minority, but I really struggled to get through this book. I found myself not caring about either of the main characters, Eva or Molly (although Molly was much more relatable to me), nor their protest activities. I almost put it down several times, but held on because one reviewer said that things really picked up and came together in the last 100 pages. In my humble opinion, it wasn't worth the wait, and I would've spent my time better by quitting when my inner voice told me to do so.

If you are wondering why I rated this book 2 stars instead of 3 stars, it's because my personal grading scale is:
1 star - didn't like it (sites don't publish reviews with 0 stars)
2 stars - okay
3 stars - good
4 stars - very good
5 stars - exceptional
There was enough there in plot situations and a twist at the end that I feel the author deserves an ok. Not a great match for me, it happens.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloosbury for allowing me to read an review an e-ARC of this book. I sincerely appreciate their putting books in the hands of the people to review. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

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