Publishers Weekly
★ 11/27/2023
Historian Kahler (The Ghosts of Eden Park, as Karen Abbott) makes a brilliant pivot to fiction with this spine-tingling psychological thriller set in the 1970s. Twenty-two-year-old Kat Bird wakes from a coma after a car accident, with her memory wiped clean. Luckily, Kat’s identical mirror twin, Jude, is there to fill her in on their shared past. Though Kat wants to believe Jude’s stories—and that Jude’s efforts to keep Kat inside their apartment are for her own safety—holes in her sister’s recollections, plus encounters with people Kat meets when she sneaks out of the apartment to explore the wider world, begin to undermine her trust. Flashbacks from Jude’s perspective slowly reveal details of the twins’ upbringing in their mother’s sinister self-empowerment cult, allowing readers to stay one step ahead of Kat in understanding her horrifying past, and in suspecting that it may come back to haunt the sisters—particularly if she keeps poking around. Kahler’s twin heroines feel familiar, but never trite: Kat and Jude make mistakes when trying to impersonate one another, and their quasi-telepathic twin language (which eventually serves as a key plot point) feels like a plausible evolution of a two-decade connection rather than an authorial contrivance. Despite working with themes that often slide into the absurd—family cults, creepy twins, amnesia—Kahler never puts a foot wrong. Readers will be rapt. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
An Amazon Top Book of the Month
“Kahler... constructs a thriller so perfectly paced that you actually will not be able to put it down.”
–NPR
"Exquisitely written and you’ll ache for the sisters"
—The New York Times
"The questions and possibilities had my mind on rabid overdrive. Like an intricate jigsaw puzzle, Kahler adds one piece at a time until the final, shocking picture is blindingly clear. Deeply suspenseful and thought-provoking, Kahler delivers a top-notch thriller."
—Seira Wilson, Amazon Book Review
“Historian Kahler makes a brilliant pivot to fiction with this spine-tingling psychological thriller ... Kahler never puts a foot wrong. Readers will be rapt.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Kahler’s debut novel by turns thrills and devastates...Artful, evocative prose and realistically damaged characters contribute to the book’s potency. At once a vertiginous paranoia tale and a melancholic meditation on identity."
–Kirkus Reviews
“A perfectly paced, addictive thriller with a vicious twist.”
—Paula Hawkins
“A vividly written, deeply layered novel about the intersection of sisterhood, memory, and trauma. Abbott Kahler is a powerful storyteller, and this book kept me in its grasp until the final page.”
—Sarah Pekkanen, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Tonight
“A genuinely startling tale of love and revenge, Where You End’s ingenious structure and breakneck pace had me feverishly turning pages. But it’s Abbott Kahler’s sharp-witted and intrepid heroines, portrayed with such depth and compassion, who elevate this haunting inquiry into the indelible power of memory. Heads up, Indies: this fiction debut is a handselling book lover’s dream.”
—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Never Have I Ever and Mother May I
“Where You End is haunting, suspenseful and beautifully written—a modern-day gothic that explores the peculiar bond between twin sisters and the twisted power of cults; the mysteries of memory and the ineluctable pull of the past. It unnerves and beguiles in ways reminiscent of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks”—but it’s a true original.”
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker staff writer and author of The Entertainer
“Where You End is a savvy, gripping psychological thriller with perfectly crafted multifaceted characters and literary flair. Abbott Kahler’s mesmerizing, addictive plot starts with a bang and never lets up, asking disquieting questions about our capacity for reinvention, and how far we’re willing to go for the ones we love. An astonishing debut.”
—Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
“If you pick up this book (and you should) be sure to clear your calendar for a few days because you will not be able to put it down. Where You End is a gripping, breathtaking, page-turning, and completely satisfying psychological thrill-ride. I was utterly mesmerized.“
—Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
“Where You End is a captivating, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller that revolves around an unspeakable secret that binds mirror twins. The stunning tale of sibling love, the haunting manipulation of memory, and the "lovely little lies" that bind us to the past is a spectacular ride by a storyteller at the very top of her game.”
—Susannah Cahalan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire and The Great Pretender
“What an incredible thrill ride! Abbott Kahler's gift for period detail and unforgettable female characters is evident on every page of this propulsive mystery. Her masterful portrayal of ‘mirror’ twins battling trauma within and evil forces haunts me to this day.”
—Ada Calhoun, New York Times bestselling author of Why We Can't Sleep
FEBRUARY 2024 - AudioFile
Megan Tusing and Samantha Desz provide a captivating dual performance with confidence, especially when the narration is deliberately unreliable. Kat Bird awakes from a coma, coming face-to-face with her twin sister, Jude. Her memory a blank, Kat must piece together the story of their lives, with Jude's guidance. Secrets come to the surface as Kat puts the pieces of their shared lives together. Tusing keeps listeners' attention from the start. At first, her voice has the quality of an ingenue. Desz, as Jude, sounds dominating, subtle, and quietly terrifying. Their voices align beautifully, with a darkness that entices deeper listening, particularly when motivations aren't clear. Listeners may be lost at times as the story's puzzle expands, but the shared performance never wavers. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-10-07
In 1983 Philadelphia, an amnesiac must rely on her twin for information regarding who she is and what she’s forgotten.
When 22-year-old Katherine Bird wakes in the hospital two weeks after dying for 93 seconds, all she remembers is the name and face of her twin sister, Jude. Per Jude, they were driving a rural road late one night when Kat swerved to avoid a deer and crashed. The girls were homeschooled, their father left when they were 10, and their mother is dead, so only Jude can fill in the blanks comprising Kat’s past. Jude recounts a sheltered, largely happy childhood, but if her stories are authentic, why is Kat prone to sudden bouts of anger and violence? Further, why are there so few pictures of her and Jude, and who is the strange woman seemingly following Kat whenever she ventures from the siblings’ apartment? Although Jude has answers for everything, Kat can’t help but wonder whether all she thinks she knows about herself is a lie. Kahler’s debut novel by turns thrills and devastates, interspersing Kat’s first-person-present narrative with third-person flashbacks from Jude’s perspective detailing the twins’ actual adolescence spent living with a New Age cult co-founded by their mother. Jude’s desperation to protect Kat intensifies in tandem with Kat’s determination to uncover the truth, fostering tension and drive. Artful, evocative prose and realistically damaged characters contribute to the book’s potency.
At once a vertiginous paranoia tale and a melancholic meditation on identity.
