The End of Her, by Shari Lapena, starts out with an already sleep deprived and frazzled set of parents because their twin baby daughters seem to be stuck in a colicy stage that lasts months. Stephanie and Patrick get about six hours of sleep tops, during the only time the babies will sleep. Patrick's job is suffering because of his sleep deprivation and Stephanie doesn't know how much longer she can go, never getting enough rest.
Into this mix enters Erica, dropping by Patrick's office to let him know she is back into his life, cozying up to Stephanie in a very threatening way, saying things to implicate Patrick in the death of his first wife, who died in a car accident. Erica's very insistent about what she reveals and she wants money to make her go away. Erica inserts herself in other people's lives, too, and these lives intertwine in ways the people she meets don't realize.
At first Stephanie backs her husband completely, until things she learns bring doubts to her mind. Once the police become involved, Stephanie is in full panic mode, more sleep deprived than ever, and trying to find a way to escape a living nightmare that won't go away. I enjoyed the story and wanted to see what happens next. Erica gives us someone we love to hate but there is a chance she is telling the truth and if she is, Stephanie and her babies are in grave danger.
The story is a quick read and there is always a sense of tension and danger, with Erica in the picture. I did not care at all for the short choppy sentences that made up the thoughts of every character. Those short sentences may have been used to imply a sense of urgency but, for me, they also made each person seem too much alike. But then, maybe most of the people are alike because this cast of characters all seem to have secrets that they are hiding.
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books/Penguin Publishing Group and Edelweiss for this ARC.