End of Story: The addictive, unputdownable thriller with a twist that will blow your mind

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I enjoy this author’s work. She manages to deliver an emotional ending while keeping the story light and easy to read. By the time I reached the end of this book, I was amazed by where the story ended. In a dystopian future, stories are forbidden, and former authors have been thrown into hidden prisons. However, the passionate power of storytelling pulses through 2035 – with its infamous Big Four books being among the last ever written before fiction was banned. Fern Dostoy wrote one such book to honour her late husband in grief…but it came at a cost; she now labours away under an alternate identity for meagre wages while two persistent police inspectors keep watch over her every move. Yet even as reality is heavily guarded by oppressive forces, people will still find ways to share their sacred tales –– making life quite difficult for any formerly famous author trying to stay isolated! What a fantastic book, I really didn't see the twist coming but oh my gosh!' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5* Inventive, original, moving, with a unique premise and a heart-wrenching drop-the-book twist' TAMMY COHEN

Note: The chapter endings in the initial half or so are quite abrupt, stopping mid-sentence. Don’t assume that this is a defect in your audio/digital/print copy. It is a deliberate writing choice, and you will learn the reason for it soon enough. Fern Dostoy is a criminal. Officially, she has retrained in a new job outside of the arts but she still scrawls in a secret notepad in an effort to capture what her life has become: her work on a banned phone line, reading bedtime stories to sleep-starved children; Hunter, the young boy who calls her and has captured her heart; and the dreaded visits from government officials. She still writes in a secret notebook which she must hide, so her entries, which we read, labeled by date and time-often end mid-sentence or mid-word.I think the ending was what I enjoyed most though, and perhaps that is because I don’t really read dystopian novels, but Louise Swanson managed to make it all sound so believable in the huge twist and consequential fallout.

Wow , what have I just read? I honestly could not put this book down , I read it in one sitting .' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5* I hadn't actually read the blurb, I love this author when she writes as Louise Beech and genuinely if you can manage to read this with as little influence as possible I'd recommend doing that. Any description you get couldn't possibly encompass the strange beauty of this story it is entirely its own thing. Only, Fern doesn’t plan on going down without a fight. She’ll keep writing, no matter the consequences. She will make her voice heard.

Unfortunately, a lot fo this book felt predictable to me - all of the twists I had managed to guess but it did help to make sense of other things, like the appearance of the trainers and the aversion to milk. Although I predicted the twist at the end, I really did enjoy the more psychological aspect to the book. I also did not agree with the take "I remember a proposal before the full fiction ban to have trigger warnings in novels, which I found ridiculous. Real life doesn't have a trigger warning."

I want to say thank you to Louise. Thank you for this incredible book and the emotions it unleashed. I can’t even say why the book had this effect on me without ruining it. This is a real work of genius. It shows us how strong our minds can be at protecting us from things we don’t want to face. I understood Fern and her story moved me deeply. This is, without doubt, a contender for book of the year and an unparalleled look at allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and open; to be human. This is an incredibly powerful novel about storytelling, creativity, grief and fear. It also asks the question: who are we when everything that defines who we are, is taken away?

YOU KNOW HOW THIS STORY BEGINS.

A terrifying portrait of a near future . . . Both thought-provoking and heartfelt, END OF STORY is a unique dystopian mystery about human connection amidst automation, renewal amidst defeat, and the power of writing." - Winnie M Li I had requested this book mainly on seeing the part about the ban on fiction. But the book spoke not just to the bibliophile in me but also to the woman and the mother in me. I hadn’t expected such an emotional impact.