Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

This is How We End Things

A Novel

ebook
1 of 2 copies available
1 of 2 copies available

"A captivating exploration into the psychology of lying, and a high-stakes, dark-academia thriller full of twists and secrets." —New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda

Riley Sager meets If We Were Villains in a compelling new psychological thriller following a cohort of graduate students studying the psychology of lying—until one of them is discovered dead. But how do you catch a killer who may be an expert in the science of deception?

Campus is empty, a winter storm is blowing in, and someone is lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to kill again.

Forest, North Carolina. Under the instruction of enigmatic Professor Joe Lyons, five graduate students are studying the tedious science behind the acts of lying. But discovering the secrets of deception isn't making any of the student's more honest though. Instead, it's making it easier for them to guard their own secrets – and they all have something to hide. 

When a test goes awry and one of them is found dead, the students find themselves trapped by a snowstorm on an abandoned campus with a local detective on the case. As harbored secrets begin to break the surface, the graduates must find out who's lying, who isn't, and who may have been capable of committing murder. It turns out deception is even more dangerous than they thought... 

A foreboding new dark academia thriller of deception and suspense, This is How We End Things follows the unraveling of a close group of students as they contend with what it means to lie, and be lied to.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 31, 2023
      Jacobs follows up Always the First to Die with a nail-biting closed-circle mystery set at a sleepy North Carolina college. Joe Lyons, chair of the psychology department at Dorrance University, is considered a rock star in his field, with published scholarship that’s treated “like an anticipated world premiere.” But his latest experiment—an unauthorized study on dishonesty that necessitates deceiving his subjects—goes awry when one of the trial participants lashes out after he’s falsely informed that his academic standing is at risk. Then one of Lyons’s six graduate research assistants is fatally stabbed and left in his office. Det. Alana Larson is assigned to the case, and shortly after she arrives on campus, a snowstorm confines her and her suspects to its grounds. Before long, another body turns up, and Lyons and Larson become determined to stem further bloodshed. Jacobs keeps readers on their toes, wringing maximum surprise out of the twists and red herrings, and effectively molds his leads into three-dimensional characters. Riley Sager fans will be pleased.Agent: Rachel Ekstrom, Courage Literary.

    • Booklist

      August 18, 2023
      Dorrance University in Shepard, North Carolina, has a top-ranked psychology department. Professor Joe Lyons, a well-known scholar, is conducting research on deception with a group of graduate students. In a study that skirts the boundaries of ethics, they deceive student volunteers and record their reactions. When Elizabeth, one of the graduate students, who is also Lyons' lover, is found dead, the whole group is under suspicion. Campus-police officer Patrick King and Shepard police officer Alan Larson work together to find the killer. When Professor Lyons is also murdered, things become even more complicated. Neither officer has experience with murders, and the students, thanks to their studies, are all experienced liars. A late-spring storm that snows the whole town in makes the investigation more difficult. As the detectives sort through clues and false leads, secrets emerge. Readers of this psychological thriller will enjoy sorting through the complex alliances that lead to some surprising plot twists.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Library Journal

      October 13, 2023

      In the latest psychological thriller from Jacobs (after Always the First To Die), a small group of psychology graduate students are studying the science of lying, under the direction of Professor Joe Lyons, who is known for pushing academic boundaries. During a new experiment on campus involving another college student, the test goes wrong and puts everyone on edge. When one of the grad students is killed in Lyons's office later that night, the remaining students start questioning how much they really know about each other and their professor. Everyone involved in the experiment has something to hide, including Lyons himself. As a local police detective and a campus police officer work on the murder case, secrets are brought to the surface, changing how the students view each other. Add in a heavily redacted psychological assessment found in the professor's possession, and the investigation becomes even more complicated. When a second murder is committed, and an unexpected winter storm rolls in, shutting down the college town, the students must either band together or splinter apart. The narrative point of view switches between the students, their professor, and the investigators, resulting in a fast-paced plot with many twists and turns. VERDICT Recommended for fans of Riley Sager, Harlan Coben, and B.A. Paris.--Jean King

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading