Special thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC of this book.

Publication day September 12th 2023 people!

I enjoyed this book because because it's about studying the psychology of deception and lying.

This book is an academic thriller and 5 students studying deception and possibly the science behind it. One of the students ends up dead and the other 4 are suspects and studying all manners of deception, they have become great liars themselves.

I gave this book a 3.4 or almost a 4. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, but without a plot twist that is thrilling or crazy. It was an enjoyable who-dun-it read.

Happy pub day to this book!

What a ride this took me on! I’ve always been curious about different scientific studies and what it takes to be a part of them; from sign ups I saw in college to hearing of a family friend’s sleep study, there are so many things we can gain more insight into through studies.

This tale is that of a group learning about the science of lying and, what makes for the best kind of book deception? A murder mystery!

Told through multiple perspectives, you’re taken on a journey though the psyches and interactions that build in a winter storm. There were a handful of characters from all sides, within the study to the detectives on the case, that helped to give many sides to the story, but I did have a few questions at the end.

The chapters themselves came off as long, but due to the change in perspectives breaking up the chapters, it does flow quickly.

If you’re in the mood for a rousing suspense thriller from a practicing psychologist, this is the one for you! I know I’ll be picking up more of this author’s work in the future to see what other tales be weaves.

Thank you so much to the author, R.J. Jacobs, Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the eARC copy of This Is How We End Things in exchange for my review!

4.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5 on here)

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Campus is empty, a winter storm is blowing in, and someone is lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to kill again.
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I will forever be an R. J. Jacobs stan! His writing always pulls me in right away and doesn’t let me go the entire time! This is a dark academia thriller that also has some psychological thriller aspects to it as well! I love the psychology aspect of the novel and how it ties into the storyline. Not only are following the characters who are in graduate school and conducting experiments but the readers also follows storylines of deception, friendship, and morality. Jacobs did a great job of tying everything together and keeping the reader engaged and wanting to know more. I also loved the setting and how the characters are racing against the impending storm that is about to hit the city. Overall, one I would definitely recommend if you are wanting a book to keep you on your toes!

*Warning Spoilers Ahead*

5 grad students are conducting an experiment to get insight into lying under the supervision of their professor. Yet all of them have secrets of their own. After one test goes awry, one of them is found dead and lies become enigmatic.

Perhaps it was the inclusion of a seemingly random prologue that immediately had me suspicious. I’m not the type that can sit back and enjoy a journey. I need to know how to expect to get to the destination, who is driving and how long we are staying. There is one character’s inclusion which is not quite like the others. The story is told from multiple perspectives, including the team and detective. As for team members we don’t learn a whole lot about unless it pertains to their interactions with other main characters. Except for one character whose perspective gets secondary supporting characters who aren’t directly involved. RED FLAG. I want a mystery to give me whiplash from the events I didn’t see coming and since I was able to predict everything as the story went along it left me wanting more.

I also figured the psychology aspect would take more of a prominent role in the story but it was more about a murder mystery and we don’t really delve much into what initially drew me to read the story.

It definitely wasn’t for me but I’m sure there are many who will enjoy this.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an advanced reading copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This book had a great premise but didn’t deliver on my expectations. The writing was a bit odd and difficult to understand at times. I found myself rereading sentences a couple times because of this. I was hoping for more psychology driven plot elements and descriptions but felt like we got too many red herrings instead. It was boring at times and none of the characters felt likable or fully fleshed out.

Unfortunately this was not for me and I had to DNF @ 33%. I tried to get into it but was struggling with not liking any of the characters.

✨this was just a fine read! I didn’t love or hate it, and I feel myself leaning that way more and more these days…

✨I went into this read expecting dark academia vibes with a group of students under an experienced mentor and I guess this books did deliver, but my expectations were more skewed. instead of if we were villains, this reads more like in my dreams i hold a knife. the characters are more aged up, they each have pasts that no one else knows about, and this was extremely easy to read! super accessible language and formatting!

✨overall, I just wasn’t satisfied with the twist! as soon as the character was introduced it became obvious to me it would be them and sometimes I like guessing the twist, but for this it made the rest of the book fall a bit flat.

✨if you’re new to thrillers and want a more aged-up cast of characters, then this one is for you!

✨thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is How We End Things
Author R.J. Jacobs
Publishing day!

Thank you @bookmarked and @netgalley, for my e- arc!

This one was right up my alley! Dark academia, the psychology of lies and deception, a suspenseful whodunit, some interesting medical diagnoses - all during a raging winter storm in North Carolina!

Professor Joe Lyons is leading five graduate students through an experimental study of the science of lying. In turn, he is teaching them all how to be quite deceptive and cover up plenty of secrets of their own.

A local detective gets involved in the study when one of the students ends up dead. Who could be capable of murder among them? Although I knew pretty soon into the story who was the murderer, the understanding of the why was fascinating and a little eerie. The winter storm is raging, and the killer in on the loose!

Fast- paced and suspenseful, This is How We End Things is a perfect atmospheric thriller to add to your spooky season tbr today!

My rating: 4/5 stars
Content Warning: Violence: Discussions of murder, torture. Themes of deception and obsession.

This Is How We End Things is a dark academia psychological thriller that follows a group of five graduate students studying the art of deception under their professor, Joe Lyons. An experiment goes awry, and later, one of the students is killed. Detective Larson and the remaining students have to figure out who among them is lying, which is no easy task since they are experts in deception.

I wanted to read this book because I love dark academia themes and psychological thrillers. I thought this would be a perfect novel for the start of fall.

Author R.J. Jacobs is a mystery writer and has been a practicing psychologist since 2003. His writing creates a vivid sense of place and time. I felt as though I were watching a movie rather than reading a book. I can relate to the characters' stories, and sometimes I do question who is being deceptive. I find the plot suspenseful and unpredictable, and the story has its fair share of twists and turns.

The best way to describe this novel would be a murder mystery, psychological thriller, and police procedural. While I appreciated the story's mystery, I found some things predictable. I also would have liked a little more character development; while we do learn about the characters., I had some unanswered questions at the end of the book. However, the fast-paced story kept me hooked from beginning to end. I did very little skimming because I wanted to get every detail.

This Is How We End Things explores themes of deception, morality, friendship, and identity in a suspenseful plot. I would recommend this read for lovers of thrillers and mysteries.

This is How We End Things will leave you guessing at the why-and-who-done-it until the very end!

Five grad students are studying deceptiveness under the leadership of the somewhat infamous Professor Joe Lyons. When one of their experiments veers off track, and one of them is found dead, everyone is suspicious of each other, and the fact they are trained in deception only adds to their distrust. With a blizzard on its way to close them all in, figuring out who killed one of them becomes more and more important.

Told in multiple POVs with breakneck pacing, this semi-locked room, dark academia inspired thriller had me hooked from the very beginning, and I struggled to put it down! Fans of twisty college thrillers and deceptive characters will absolutely devour this one!

I just finished this last night and really liked it. The premise was different and the various POVs and surprises kept me glued to the pages. I wasn't sure who to trust which I really like in books. Read if you like dark academia and a good mystery!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my copy. This Is How We End Things comes out September 12, 2023!

I enjoyed this author’s previous work so I was really excited to receive this awesome book mail. With fall right around the corner, I’ve been in the mood for an academic thriller and this fit the bill. The action starts off relatively quickly and I found all the psychology tidbits about psychopaths fascinating. I also liked the way the psychologist’s session notes were presented in between chapters. The ending did feel like it was wrapped up a bit too quickly, but otherwise, this was a solid psychological thriller. If you’re a fan of dark academia, I think you’ll enjoy this one!

I love a good dark academia thriller! In this story, a group of graduate students are conducting an experiment on the psychology of lying. But as a severe winter storm blows in and the campus empties, someone is going to end up dead. These students are about to find out that deception is a lot more sinister than any of them bargained for. I really wanted to love this one but I found it really slow and I never connected to any of the many characters. Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on September 12, 2023

Firstly, thank you so much to Sourcebooks for providing me with an early copy of “This is How We End Things” to read and provide an honest review 🧡

Premise:
This story takes place at a university in North Carolina where five graduate students are studying the psychology of deception and if anything, uncovering the science behind lies is just turning each of these students into incredibly skilled liars.

One day a psychological experiment goes awry and when one of these five students are found dead, the remaining four each become a prime murder suspect.
They all appear to have their own secrets - something to hide. So for the local detective on the case, trying to figure out who’s actually responsible for this death when each of the suspects are essentially a master of deception, proves to be rather difficult.

Thoughts:
Overall, I quite enjoyed this story. I found the premise very intriguing and thought this was well-plotted mystery/thriller.
I loved the whole idea of the deception type storyline - it was nice for something a bit different from my usual reads.

I would absolutely recommend this book to other readers, particularly those who are looking to start getting into the mystery and thriller genre or anyone who loves a good “whodunit” type book, without having massive crazy plot twist after plot twist.

There are a few different point of views in this book, which does work and makes sense considering the storyline. For myself however, I know at the start of the book, it did take me a little bit to wrap my head around who was who, just because at the same time, you’re being introduced to the story itself, as well as having all these characters thrown in.
Once the story got going though, it was totally fine and manageable.
So although there are a number of POV’s, it isn’t anything too confusing. Just something to be mindful of!

The only other real comment I would make is that I would’ve loved to see the deception side of things explored a little bit more, but regardless, I think the writing itself was incredible!

My overall rating for this book would be 3.75/5 stars. Although not personally a five star read for me, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend.
This was my first read by RJ Jacobs, so I am looking forward to reading more of his work soon!

This Is How We End Things is a dark academia thriller based in a University psychology department! A snow storm turns the college into a death trap as one by one, each classmate could become closer to being killed.

At a university in North Carolina, a small group of graduate students is working with Professor Joe Lyons on a research project about the propensity to lie. When an experiment goes wrong and the student becomes violent, police are called in and everyone needs to be questioned. The problem is that the witnesses are slowly dying before the police can find the killer. The graduate students are all very different from each other in background, circumstances and personality, so some of them do not get along with each other very well. The local detective, Alana Larson, teams up with Officer Patrick King to solve the murder.

I love a good academia story, especially if it's a dark thriller. The Author sets up the scene and his descriptiveness transforms you right into the action.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author R.J Jacobs, and the publisher Sourcebooks Landmark, for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book.

This Is How We End Things is an exciting psychological thriller by R. J Jacobs centering around the psychology department in Hull Hall, a part of the prestigious Dorrance University. Professor Joe Lyons and his team of five graduate students are conducting a controversial study in deception and lying. With winter break starting, coupled with an impediment blizzard, and very few people on campus, the study takes a tragic turn when one of the team ends up murdered in the office of the professor. Quickly, the tense environment matches the study, who is lying and can you trust anyone?

What I liked about the book:
-dark academia vibes
- the creepy setting of an elite university campus basically abandoned during winter break with few people remaining
-the fascinating world of psychology studies and insight on how it works
-locked room story during a snowstorm
-multiple POVs
-twists and turns and red herrings
-collaboration between campus and city police departments
-great pacing with short chapters that kept me guessing who the murderer was and the fact everyone had lied

What I disliked about the book:
-would have liked to see more backstory on minor characters such as Tom and Veronica

My rating: 4 out of 5

My final takeaway: I’d highly recommend this thriller for fans of dark academia, locked room stories that have a psychological edge that keep you guessing until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this eARC which will be published September 12, 2023.

This review will be posted on September 12, 2023 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

Often times, I get disappointed with murder mysteries because they're predictable and/or they miss marks for me. In short, I have a high bar for murder mysteries and I'm often disappointed. However, that was NOT the case here. I really enjoyed this! The novel was hard to put down, so I literally finished it in one sitting. The characters had secrets up the wazoo and there were several clever red herrings bound up in the plot. Where the @rjjacobs75 really exceled was the tension of the ominously impending blizzard. It really leveled-up the plot in a way that was realistic and a driver of friction for all characters. I'll also say this: I pegged who the murder was early on and I *still* enjoyed this mystery ride. #ThisIsHowWeEndThings Rating: 😊 / really liked it
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This book is scheduled for publication on September 12, 2023. Thank you @bookmarked for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Taking place at a university in North Carolina this psychological thriller follows a tight-knit group of graduate students studying the psychology of lying. When one of them is discovered dead after an experiment, everything the group thought they knew about deception crumbles...

Told through multiple POVs this one keeps you guessing until the very end! I thought this book was so atmospheric. I loved the winter setting and how everyone is essentially “snowed” in. Would be a perfect winter read!

Here’s the quick list of things I loved
✨ multiple POVs
✨ atmospheric setting
✨ dark academia-esque vibes
✨ guessing until the very end
✨ questioning EVERYONE
✨ felt shocked by the revelation at the end

4 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks for the chance to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This Is How End Things by R.J. Jacobs will be released on September 12th, 2023.


I'm going to be completely honest here - I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I can't pinpoint what exactly it was that didn't keep my attention, that made getting through it so difficult, but I just could not get into it. I was disappointed because the plot seemed so interesting. I have heard that it is easier to get into the story via audiobook, so there is a good chance I give this another try at some point.

With that said, I'm not saying to not give it a try. If you like psychology and dark academia, you very well might rate this book 5 stars.