I found After the End a little hard for me to get into and the ending just didn't do it for me. It just felt abrupt and like it should be the end of a chapter and not the end of the whole book itself.

I appreciate the advanced copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

After the End is the gripping sequel to Mothers’ Instinct and should not be read without reading the previous book. Set eight years later, Tiphaine’s fragile peace unravels when new neighbors arrive. As tensions rise, her sanity slips, leading to a wild psychological spiral. Dark, intense, and utterly unputdownable—just like the first book.

Thank you for the arc!
Dark and absorbing, After the End is a chilling follow-up that dives deep into guilt, grief, and unraveling sanity. Tension builds steadily as new relationships trigger old wounds, leading to a twisted and gripping descent—though the ending could’ve used a touch more closure. Still highly enjoyable

After the End is the follow up novel to Abel's book, Mothers' Instinct. This book can not be read as a stand alone. I strongly recommend reading Mothers' Instinct first in order to understand the character dynamics.

So this book has us revisiting Tiphaine and Silvaine Geniot eight years after the tragedy that took their very best friends lives leaving them as the guardians to their son, Milo.

One day Tiphaine notices that she has new neighbors moving in next door. A soon to be divorced mother, Nora, along with her two children. Tiphaine hopes to become friends with Nora. At first that seems possible but the longer they stay in each others orbit the more fragile Tiphaine's mental state becomes setting in motion a bat shit cuckoo ride for the readers.

This was, like the first novel, exceptionally well written. An edge of your seat, can't look away, page-turner. This is what I want and expect from a psychological thriller.

The very end was it's only stumble in my opinion. I don't often say a book needs an epilogue but I would have liked a little more closure for these characters. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for my complimentary copy.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

A breathtaking psychological thriller, that is filled with a bunch of twisted souls, marred by past tragedies.

A captivating, well constructed read that will have you shocked by the twisted machinations of the characters , especially the protagonist.