Well this one kept my mind reeling and after quite a slow start I never knew what to expect next! The story is told by Myles and my goodness what a detestable character he was, married to Lana he is struggling with debt and hiding just how bad the situation is to her. A solution must be sorted and after a dinner party with neighbours Gabe and Holly it’s seems like and answer is found when they all decide to embark on an insurance fraud but oh my from that moment everything begins to take a very nasty turn.
I liked this book a lot though I think it stretched the imagination somewhat but I quite liked that. What made it for me was I disliked nearly all of the characters, I’m not quite sure what that says about me but it certainly made the book one heck of a good read!
My first book by Olivia Kiernan and based on what a great book this one was it won’t be the last.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books, Riverrun for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

It’s a story that at least at the beginning will draw sympathy for homeowners. Myles and Lana Butler live in a gorgeous development and are the embodiment of the good life (ie, the costly life). Their mortgage is just within reach but when one of Myles’ investments fails, it looks like their curated life could come crashing down. Step forward new next-door neighbours, the Wrights. Gabriel and Holly have the life that the Butlers could only dream of – they look and appear to be tremendously wealthy and really nice to boot. As the two couples become friends, secrets are shared and it’s not long before someone suggests a solution to the Butlers’ incoming financial issues. Something as simple and completely illegal as life insurance fraud. It’s all talk, though, right? No one would actually consider following through with it… until one day when Lana doesn’t come home and Myles doesn’t know what to do…

I was really intrigued by this book and I’m not much of a thriller reader but this has definitely left me wanting more.

Lana and Myles are a wealthy, attractive, successful couple who move into a new exclusive gated neighbourhood and the book follows Myles’ POV as they get involved in an insurance fraud scam. Most of the characters were super unlikable but they needed to be for the story to work.

I would have liked to see this from other characters POV as it did sometimes seem a bit slow paced but the twists and turns kept me engaged.

The ending was really good, it left me frantically flipping pages to check there wasn’t more to read. The whole book did seem ever so slightly far fetched but maybe that’s me being naive to the lengths some people would go to.

Overall, a good domestic thriller read and it’s always enjoyable to see unlikable characters get their comeuppance.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Quercus Books and Olivia Kieran for this advanced copy!

My Rating Style: 2.5 rounded up to 3⭐️⭐️⭐️stars - 2 felt unfairly low but 3 feels high ENOYED BUT…

Myles and Lana Butler live the high life in a gorgeous exclusive estate in Wimbledon. Myles is playing the balancing act with his mortgage and cashflow, but as Lana is accustomed to a certain lifestyle he is sure he can get on top of the rising mounts of debts. Everything is fine (or so you are led to believe) until one of Myles investments goes horribly wrong and they are set to lose everything.

Myles will tell you everything went wrong when the Wrights move in next door. A successful couple, a beautiful house and they hit it off instantly. At drinks one night Myles and Lana share their financial worries with their new friends and a somewhat dangerous solution is discussed. Life insurance fraud… of course with a cut going to the Wrights for their agreeing to assist.

No one was being serious … right?

No one really agreed to go through with this far fetched plan … right?

No one mentioned murder … did they?

That is until one night Lana doesn’t come home… this is when Myles real trouble kicks in…

Soooooooo…. Anyone who has been reading my recent reviews has noticed I have found a new author and quickly made short work of her back catalogue. So when I realised that Olivia Kiernan the author of the Frankie Sheehan books (HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND BTW) had a standalone thriller on NetGalley I got my requesting skates on and immediately asked pretty please of the publisher. ANNND here we are….

So as my rating suggests to me this was a 2.5 star book… 2 was far too low but 3 felt generous but I rounded up because I really love this author and I absolutely adore her other books so I felt like she was branching out to something new and different that FOR ME didn’t quite land… I think there will be readers that will love this but it fell a bit flat for me and I will tell you why. First though what I liked…

I liked the premise of the book I think it was a bit of wicked dangerous fun that turned into something much more sinister. I do like the story of the rich kind of getting their up yours especially when they are pompous and judgmental to others who are less than in their opinion so this was fun for that reason. I also really liked the description of the houses in the Court where they lived. They did sound gorgeous and lets face it who isn’t going to live in a comfy gorgeous house when they have money so that made sense to me.

I didn’t dislike Myles but he grated on me as the story went on…I don’t know about you but I am not a huge fan of reading about men who will do ANYTHING for a woman just cause shes “out of my league” and I gotta keep her or shes “Uber gorgeous” and I gotta keep her or whatever other superficial reason to basically act like a pushover pussy. It gets on my nerves, he does redeem himself as the story goes on (in a terrible way) but I wont say more than that cause I don’t want to spoil it for people.

Most of the characters are unlikeable and I think they are supposed to be except for loveable Daniel who was a bit of a loser to redemption story which was good I guess… but I think he could do better than Charlotte… just saying. Either way this is a popcorn thriller where you are meant to be misdirected and red herring’d like crazy and that’s what it tries to do… Unfortunately it doesn’t quite land.

I did guess most of the twists and the ones that I didn’t guess I was a bit meh about anyway. Basically for me it was like reading a completely different author there was none of that humour and fun that her other books have. It wasn’t set in Ireland so she had taken out all the Irish slang (which is fine and relevant to this particular book) but I missed it and it honestly felt like I was reading a debut novel from a completely different author.

The ending left me looking for more pages… even though I think the story itself was a little too repetitive and descriptive, lots of hand holding through scenes about making coffee and getting the cup from above the sink etc etc… but again it isn’t like this in her other books so I was pretty confused. I think the book could have been shorter but had a better ending or a little more…

Also what I think would have improved this (and we all know I am a sucker for this so maybe its just me) was a multi-POV rather than first person from Myles only. I think if we were able to read a few different POV that would have improved this story a lot… it would have given the reader more insight into the devious things going on.

Overall: would I recommend… well… sure I would BUT… only if you don’t mind the things I raised as meh moments above. If you think this would annoy you though… don’t write this author off she has an amazing Police Procedural series that you should absolutely check out it was nothing under 4 stars for me in four books. Loved it and would read it again!!!

Thank you to Quercia Books, NetGalley and Olivia Kiernan for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Myles and Lana are a successful professional couple living a successful professional lifestyle; he's a GP in a private practice whilst she is a psychotherapist. Unbeknown to Lana, however, Myles has been borrowing more and more money to keep their lifestyle afloat and their dream house is at risk of being re-possessed. When Lana finds out, she is understandably furious and he's sure that their marriage is in peril One night however, Gabriel, a neighbour and old friend of Lana's jokingly suggests that an insurance fraud could be the answer to their financial nightmare, if they could pull off a life insurance scam, everything would be paid for. Suddenly things start spiralling out of control, with Gabriel and Lana concocting a plan that's sounding more possible......

The End of Us was a page turning domestic psych thriller, with unexpected twists and turns and I read it quickly. None of the characters were very likeable; they were all self-centred, selfish and only out for themselves. I didn't really have any emotional connection to them, so I wasn't that bothered when things started to go wrong. I enjoyed the plot-twists and moments of realisation in the storyline. It was full of drama and suspense - 4 stars for me.

Oh this was an unexpected delight and makes me very weary of talking business with my neighbors now! This was somehow amusing and dark at the same time, but so so addictive. Five stars.

An interesting, twist filled domestic thriller. Private GP Myles enters into an insurance fraud after bad investments force him to the brink. Fast paced and a neat twist at the end.

I loved this! A dark, twisty, suspenseful read with morally-challenged characters and "what would I do in that situation" moments. Unexpected ending I didn't see coming.

Thank you so much to Quercus books for this ARC copy from Netgalley!

One of the best thrillers I’ve ever read!

There were so many twists and turns to the plot that I just was not expecting! It dealt with a lot of morally grey characters that were not very good people in such a great way. This book was absolutely incredibly written I completely flew through it. I loved everything about this book, it was tense and had great plot twists.

I loved the writing style of this author, she had a wonderful way of writing these characters and capturing them with a lot of dimension. I’ve already been recommending this book to family and I’ve only just finished it. I loved the ending, it had me so shocked.

Overall, I don’t think there’s a single thing I could fault with this book. I recommend it to everyone, and anyone.

I gave this book 5⭐️.

This book was hugely enjoyable . A thIriller set among the middle classes in leafy London is not unusual, but The End of Us had a tone and style that lifted it above the average. I really identified with the central character - and almost felt sorry for him! Which made the ending particularly shocking. A great read

A terrific domestic thriller telling the story of two couples that become inextricably entwined when they collude to perform life insurance fraud. I definitely did not anticipate the ending!

#TheEndOfUs #NetGalley
Awesome.
Myles and Lana Butler live on a gorgeous new development in Wimbledon, leaning on a mortgage that is just within reach. When one of Myles' investments fails they are bound to lose everything. Gabriel and Holly Wright have just moved in next door. The Wrights are sophisticated, ambitious and apparently very wealthy. At an after-dinner drink with their new neighbours, Myles and Lana share their worries and a solution is suggested between the couples. Life Insurance fraud. For a cut of the pay out, the Wrights would help them. No one thought they were being serious. No one agreed they'd actually go through with it. And no one mentioned it would involve murder.
I loved it. It was a fun read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me an advance copy.

This was a good domestic noir. It was gripping and the characters were interesting. A great book overall.

Another excellent twisty and addictive psychological thriller from Olivia Kiernan, she always writes really clever and divisive characters then throws them into situations with true moral dilemmas.

The End of Us is a real page turner, a read in one sitting entertaining plot and some excellent twists and turns that keep you engaged throughout. I always love these. Keep them coming.

“The End of Us” is a domestic thriller that follows the goings-on of affluent neighbours in Wimbledon, told from the point of view of a GP who’s hiding his true self.

Read it if: you like to imagine your GP is a secret psychopath.

Don’t read it if: you can only identify or sympathise with likeable characters. Most of the people in this book are pretty horrid.

Myles and his wife Lana appear as if they have an idyllic existence, but unbeknownst to Lana, their whole situation is threatened by financial ruin. Their seemingly perfect next-door neighbours suggest life insurance fraud as a solution and everything just gets darker from there.

The novel is told from Myles’ point of view, and I enjoyed learning about his past, his slow descent as he loses control of his life and getting insight into his neuroses. I should warn that this is one of those books where you do end up wanting the bad guy to succeed and pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.

It’s a brilliantly-paced book and the writing really grips you. I feel that this is another novel that is gagging for a sequel as I felt quite irritated at the ending. There were so many threads that were pulled at amongst the characters, and I am someone who likes to have those neatly tied up. I wanted to know more about the characters’ motivations and their backstories, and what led them to such a ludicrous situation.

With thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by the author and I was really impressed with this effort.

Lana and Myles have recently bought their new home, for them status is everything. However, when a few deals go bad, their finances quickly spiral and they are faced with the prospect of losing their home - and worse, their reputation.

Mentioning this to the new neighbours, the Wrights, a plan is soon developed which involves faking Lana's death and claiming her sizable life insurance. Myles decides no..... but then one night Lana fails to come home.......

I shall not say anymore as this twisty ride should be experienced with no expectations or presumptions made on behalf of the read. Just belt in and put a few hours aside as once you pick this up its not getting put down. The very definition of a page turner!

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books, riverrun, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent fast paced gripping read that held my interest from the beginning until the end and all the characters were good and well described.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Books for this ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I love the Frankie Sheehan series by the author so was looking forward to this, her first stand alone thriller.
Myles, a GP at a private practice and Lana, a psychotherapist, live in an exclusive housing development in Wimbledon. They seem outwardly wealthy and privileged, but Myles has been stacking up debts and they are in danger of losing their home and privileged lifestyle, when their new neighbours Gabriel and Holly come up with the idea of an insurance fraud.
This was an enjoyable, twisty and gripping read that I raced through over the course of 24 hours. The characters are so privileged and unlikeable, and this meant that initially I found it hard to connect with the plot. However, it's such a well paced and compelling read and I soon became completely caught up in the twists and turns of the plot. Recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Really enjoyed this book. Liked the medical details a lot and the characters were strong. The plot was pretty thrilling and twisty. and i thought the setting worked well too.

I was enthralled by the novel - my first Olivia Kiernan and certainly won't be my last. Deliciously dark with such brilliant characterisation that it made the premise entirely believable.